Baofeng UV-5r transmission causes loud buzzing in outlet?

[EmilyWolf]

So I was on FRS 3 (under gmrs rules) talking to a couple bubble pack users around the neighborhood. When I held the baofeng up with the antenna tip maybe and inch from the ceiling and keyed on the speaker mic when I heard a loud electrical buzzing coming from the wall that seperates the living room from the bathroom. Later I went and investigated and realized it was coming from the bathroom outlet because I got that same sound again when I keyed the radio by the outlet.

Is it normal for an HT to do this or is there just a fault in the outlet? It had a hair dryer plugged into it at the time that was off. The baofeng had a nagoya na701 on it. All the other outlets in my house never do this.

Also is there a chance my radio go damaged from that? It never came in contact to anything and there were no sparks.

 

[mmckenna]

Was the outlet a GFCI type? Some of them don't like the RF. I've had some trip, they think the RF is current sneaking to ground and will trip. I think newer GFCI's are a bit better with this.

 

[EmilyWolf]

Was the outlet a GFCI type? Some of them don't like the RF. I've had some trip, they think the RF is current sneaking to ground and will trip. I think newer GFCI's are a bit better with this.

Ohhh ok that explains it. The outlet is old but not a gfci but the wallwart end of the hair dryer was plugged in and had the gfci type switches on it. I guess that must've been it.

 

[jonwienke]

Most electrical appliances are not well shielded against strong RF. If I key up on any VHF freq indoors, I get a loud hum from my bass amp if it's turned on. It's unlikely to damage your radio unless you make direct contact between the antenna and a wire. The best option is to just move away from whatever is complaining about the excessive RF.