RG6 Connector and Noise

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shortwaver

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Searching around the forum, I was unable to find an specific answer to a question I have. Do RG6 connectors invite noise into the cable?

If I have a length of RG6 running by a noise source (7 ft away), with a connector/coupler in the cable near that source.

My situation is; radio in one room with about 15' of RG6 running into an adjacent room. Cable connects with another cable via connector/coupler inside this second room (near the noise source - burner motor), then runs outside to yet another connector/coupler about 10' away from the house, then to a Par Endfed antenna in a sloper configuration. There are no splitters on this line- just the 2 connectors and 3 lengths of RG6.

I have noise on the radio when the burner motor is on.

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rbm

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Searching around the forum, I was unable to find an specific answer to a question I have. Do RG6 connectors invite noise into the cable?

No more than any other connector does if properly installed.

You can try routing the RG6 away from the noise source or try 'quad shield' RG6. That may, or may not help.

Rich
 

WA0CBW

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This sounds like it could be a ground loop problem. Are the connectors touching anything that is grounded? I am assuming the connectors are the correct size and have been installed correctly.
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shortwaver

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Thanks for the replies. Im going to further look into both of those suggestions as; Im not 100% sure of my connections. I used a compression tool that works seemingly well, but the fittings im using dont seem to fit the rg6 very well- they require a lot of force to get them on. The ground loop question is interesting in that, even though the connectors dont come in contact with any grounded item, the cable does run along a copper water pipe for a while.

Im going find get another continuous cable and run it in a different location for testing.

Thanks again.
 

KZ9G

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Quality compression rg6 connectors will take some force to install them.
 

FeedForward

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Will the connectors inject or allow signal to enter the cable? No, unless they are improperly installed (loose).

Cable connects with another cable via connector/coupler inside this second room (near the noise source - burner motor), then runs outside to yet another connector/coupler about 10' away from the house.
without a major re-install of the coax, be sure that all the couplers are high quality and installed with silicone grease to prevent oxidation inside the connectors. The other important part is to use good quality coax. There are lots of kinds of RG6. You want the quad shield type.

Test: remove antenna from back of scanner. Turn on burner motor. Is the noise there? If not, you are not picking up noise from the antenna, it might be coming in via the scanner power supply wiring. Another approach is to find out how the motor noise is being radiated. You could take a battery powered AM radio, set it near the burner motor and see if the noise is being radiated through the air. It should not be, since the motor should be shielded by a metal cabinet, which should be well grounded. (Is the heating unit in the attic, basement, etc?

There's a good chance that the motor noise is being injected back into the home AC wiring from the heater/motor. In that case adding ferrite chokes around the burner AC wiring (at the entrance to the heater) might work. Heaters also have control cabling to the thermostat which can radiate in the same way. Again wrapping the control cable through a choke toroid would probably work. Lastly you can try adding ferrite beads around the antenna coax just as it enters the scanner. That method would discourage noise on the shield of the coax from entering the radio. One final thought: unscrew the coax connector from the scanner(if possible, or run a temporary jumper) and let only the center conductor remain connected. Does the noise go away?

FF
 
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