That's a great suggestion but a little difficult for me to do since I'm a 100% disabled veteran. I use to do all my own leg work. Now I don't have any. No pun intended.
Electrical interference
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That's a great suggestion but a little difficult for me to do since I'm a 100% disabled veteran. I use to do all my own leg work. Now I don't have any. No pun intended.
I've had similar problems but my tick was every second with no misses on one funny occasion.
I did all the usual stuff, turn off all the breakers and kill the UPS units but no help.
It turned out being an actual AA battery powered clock!
It was a small desk clock but with a clock movement more like what is used in the typical battery powered wall clocks. I was lucky and was able to simply move the clock a few feet away and the noise was gone. It must have entered through the radio case or maybe the power wires as the clocks signal was not strong enough to make it to the antenna and back down the coax.
I also had one more like yours where it would miss a tick every other second or so. I cannot remember what it ended up being but I do know it was also something battery powered or something with a battery backup circuit. I can remember a smoke detector causing noise also.
A cordless phone base that used a 9 volt battery so you could make a call during power outages also emitted low level RF pulses.
I had all these things written down as I intended on creating a database of all my noise sources with frequency ranges but I must have never scanned in my notes as I cannot find that list. It was very handy though with all the battery powered devices I have near my radios. Some battery powered devices can emit a decent signal level that will get into an antenna 100 feet or more away. I usually get rid of those items.
So, check things that may have a small battery for backup purposes or actual battery powered clocks and other devices if killing the AC mains does not eliminate the noise.
I've used an AOR 8200 for a sniffer before. I just stuck a 1/4 inch hunk of paperclip into the BNC jack and set it to the frequency of the noise and then waved it past my battery operated devices as I walked around the rooms. I've also used an Icom R9000 and a 50 foot hunk of RG58 coax with a 1/4 inch open stub for the antenna at the other end. I'd walk around the room with the volume up loud enough so I could hear the signal changing when I neared the noise source.
I've been able to track down a LOT of indoor noise sources using those two methods. It does not take much of a signal at all to get into the R75 so a short hunk of coax with a tiny stub for the antenna at the far end should tell you pretty fast if the noise source is in your residence.
Good Luck and please do report your findings if you figure it out!
I did all the usual stuff, turn off all the breakers and kill the UPS units but no help.
It turned out being an actual AA battery powered clock!
It was a small desk clock but with a clock movement more like what is used in the typical battery powered wall clocks. I was lucky and was able to simply move the clock a few feet away and the noise was gone. It must have entered through the radio case or maybe the power wires as the clocks signal was not strong enough to make it to the antenna and back down the coax.
I also had one more like yours where it would miss a tick every other second or so. I cannot remember what it ended up being but I do know it was also something battery powered or something with a battery backup circuit. I can remember a smoke detector causing noise also.
A cordless phone base that used a 9 volt battery so you could make a call during power outages also emitted low level RF pulses.
I had all these things written down as I intended on creating a database of all my noise sources with frequency ranges but I must have never scanned in my notes as I cannot find that list. It was very handy though with all the battery powered devices I have near my radios. Some battery powered devices can emit a decent signal level that will get into an antenna 100 feet or more away. I usually get rid of those items.
So, check things that may have a small battery for backup purposes or actual battery powered clocks and other devices if killing the AC mains does not eliminate the noise.
I've used an AOR 8200 for a sniffer before. I just stuck a 1/4 inch hunk of paperclip into the BNC jack and set it to the frequency of the noise and then waved it past my battery operated devices as I walked around the rooms. I've also used an Icom R9000 and a 50 foot hunk of RG58 coax with a 1/4 inch open stub for the antenna at the other end. I'd walk around the room with the volume up loud enough so I could hear the signal changing when I neared the noise source.
I've been able to track down a LOT of indoor noise sources using those two methods. It does not take much of a signal at all to get into the R75 so a short hunk of coax with a tiny stub for the antenna at the far end should tell you pretty fast if the noise source is in your residence.
Good Luck and please do report your findings if you figure it out!
I found it, I found it! I thought I had turned everything off or unplugged everything in the house at least once but evidently I forgot one item hidden behind a door. I have a battery charger plugged in that charges my Sear Craftsman 24 volt batteries for my 1/2" drill. I unplugged it and the ticking sound is finally gone. I'm going to celebrate and drink a glass of Orange juice.
Thanks guys for all of the input. If several of you hadn't kept talking about battery related items I may not have ever thought about the charger.
Thanks guys for all of the input. If several of you hadn't kept talking about battery related items I may not have ever thought about the charger.
That's great!
Now you can try relocating the charger on the other side of the home far away from your R75 and any antennas and see if you can still leave it hooked up. Maybe some type of metal enclosure you can set it in would provide enough shielding so it no longer gets into the radios.
Or you could hook it up right next to the radio so you can easily reach over and unplug it or remove the battery when using the radio.
I find that hunting down and finding the source is only half the fun, finding a cure for the offending device so you can still use it is the other half!
Does it still do it with no battery charging but still plugged in?
I have several security cameras that emit a lot of garbage across the entire HF range and up into the VHF low band. I need them but came up with a compromise when using the radios. I installed several X10 power line switching appliance modules. When I sit down to work with the radios, I hit one button on the X10 controller near the radios and that kills the power to the power supplies that run the cameras that cause RFI.
I replaced a couple must have cameras with ones the do not produce any RFI so I still have some security running. Those do not switch off with the others. Mainly the one at the entry doors so I can see if someone is at the door. I can't hear a knock or the doorbell very well in the radio room so I rely upon the camera. That one comes in very handy for the pesky door to door solicitors also. They can knock and ring the bell all they want but I won't budge from the radio room!
ridgescan
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Good info kruser.
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