Scanner interference on my PC???

[Kosingigglephits]

Hi everyone!

I'm experiencing something odd. It seems that my PRO-2037 is interfering with my internet connection. Here's whats happening...

My girlfriend and I play an online game and she noticed that whenever there is a long period of converstion or pages bieng recieved by the scanner it will affect our internet connection. At first I didn't believe her but last night I watched it very closely and confirmed that it is happening. In the game we have a lag meter that we can watch and during last nights storms there was a lot of chatter. I watched the lag meter very closely and during a long conversation I watched the connection go from 100% all the way to 86% and as soon as the conversation was done and my scanner resumed scanning, the connection went immediately back to 100%.

My scanning setup is as follows...

PRO-2037
GRE-Super Preamp 3000
External Speaker
Telescopic whip connected to the GRE Preamp

on my PC I'm running WinXPSP2 and we have a broadband cable connection and a wireless Lynksis router which my GF uses for her PC and I use occasionally for my Jornada. My PC is hardwired (standard Cat5 cable) to the router.

The only thing I can think of is that my Router and modem are about 4 inches away from my scanner setup and somehow I'm getting radio interference. I haven't tried moving the scanner (I may do that tonight) and see what happens.

Thoughts?
Steve

 

[NightFox]

How close is your amp to your router and modem? You might be getting some noise across the line and slowing the bandwidth.

 

[kb2vxa]

And the answer IS...

my Router and modem are about 4 inches away from my scanner setup and somehow I'm getting radio interference.

That was easy now wasn't it?

 

[coldtrunker]

what the software that you are using for the scanner control
ctrl+alt+delete and watch the performance of the unit as it's receiving
if the cpu is moving up during vox and drops during scanning that probably your issue
my 2037 is on the shelf above my motorola modem and linksys router
i'm decoding aprs packet on it (24/7/365) for 3 1/2 years and have never had a bandwidth issue

 

[dave3825]

Look on the preamp for a fcc id number
then go here and look it up
https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/reports/GenericSearch.cfm
see if it emits any r f it will list a freq if it does..Then post back
I would look but I dont know the id number for the amp.
Also some wireless routers operate on 2.4 GHz and many cordless phones also use 2.4 GHz and have been known to interfere with routers..Try changing the channel on the router and see if it makes a difference..

 

[nexus]

Is the scanner and the router/modem going through the same power strip? There could be an unusual draw on the power when the scanner is active that might be causing a problem with the router or modem to handle. If they're all going through the same strip on the same outlet in the room you might want to try plugging the scanner/preamp into a seperate outlet in the room with an extention cord and see if that resolves the issue.

I can't see how a receiving device which is not transmitting ANY RF at all could be interfering with your router or modem. Even if it was, it wouldn't have any effect on your PC since it's hard-wired into the router. My only thought on this is when the scanner becomes active it draws more power along with the pre-amp and that some how is effecting the modem and or router.

 

[MacombMonitor]

You have eleven frequencies to choose from on your WiFi router. Have you tried any others?

802.11 Frequencies:
http://www.qsl.net/n9zia/dsss-channels.html

 

[N_Jay]

Coincidences are easy to mistake.

I would do a more structured test.

Find a speed test that is fairly real time.

Run it with scanner off, scanner on, squelch open, on a steady channel (weather), scanning, etc.

Rerun the test several times, correlate the results.

I bet you find nothing, but until you do a test the rest of the suggestions are chasing guesses with guesses.

 

[michaelsbus]

Next suggestion: move the scanner away from the router. A scanner, like any radio, generates an RF signal which, at the right freq, can cause subtle interference problems with the data packet transfers between router and other devices - and online games are intense packet transfer demons. Miss a bit, and the entire packet must be retransmit - one packet behind. Drop another bit, and another retransmit - 2 packets behind. Etc, etc, etc.

 

[Kosingigglephits]

what the software that you are using for the scanner control
ctrl+alt+delete and watch the performance of the unit as it's receiving
if the cpu is moving up during vox and drops during scanning that probably your issue
my 2037 is on the shelf above my motorola modem and linksys router
i'm decoding aprs packet on it (24/7/365) for 3 1/2 years and have never had a bandwidth issue

You can control the 2037 with software???? i guess I should have added that it's not connected to my computer in any way.

 

[Kosingigglephits]

Look on the preamp for a fcc id number
then go here and look it up
https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/cf/eas/reports/GenericSearch.cfm
see if it emits any r f it will list a freq if it does..Then post back
I would look but I dont know the id number for the amp.
Also some wireless routers operate on 2.4 GHz and many cordless phones also use 2.4 GHz and have been known to interfere with routers..Try changing the channel on the router and see if it makes a difference..

Thanks for the tip, I'll try that after I get back from Vegas. I do think the router is 2.4 GHz, I'll double check that as well.

 

[Kosingigglephits]

Is the scanner and the router/modem going through the same power strip? There could be an unusual draw on the power when the scanner is active that might be causing a problem with the router or modem to handle. If they're all going through the same strip on the same outlet in the room you might want to try plugging the scanner/preamp into a seperate outlet in the room with an extention cord and see if that resolves the issue.

I can't see how a receiving device which is not transmitting ANY RF at all could be interfering with your router or modem. Even if it was, it wouldn't have any effect on your PC since it's hard-wired into the router. My only thought on this is when the scanner becomes active it draws more power along with the pre-amp and that some how is effecting the modem and or router.

I bet you're on to something here. Currently the scanner is not on the same powerstrip but the pre-amp is. The only other thing I can think of is that they are all on the same braker. I still have to try moving the scanner and pream to another area of the house. Again, I'll have to do that after Vegas.

 

[Kosingigglephits]

Coincidences are easy to mistake.

I would do a more structured test.

Find a speed test that is fairly real time.

Run it with scanner off, scanner on, squelch open, on a steady channel (weather), scanning, etc.

Rerun the test several times, correlate the results.

I bet you find nothing, but until you do a test the rest of the suggestions are chasing guesses with guesses.

I bet you test software. ;-)

 

[Kosingigglephits]

Next suggestion: move the scanner away from the router. A scanner, like any radio, generates an RF signal which, at the right freq, can cause subtle interference problems with the data packet transfers between router and other devices - and online games are intense packet transfer demons. Miss a bit, and the entire packet must be retransmit - one packet behind. Drop another bit, and another retransmit - 2 packets behind. Etc, etc, etc.

Agreed, The game we play is Everquest if that tells you anything.

 

[mancow]

I'm surprised you hear anything at all except hash and dead carriers using a preamp 4 inches from a router.

What model router is it? I want one.

 

[hoser147]

I would try just what N JAY suggested and stop chasing guesses with guesses The local rf is possible. but his way is the best way to figure it all out............hoser147

 

[Kosingigglephits]

Ok, I'm back from Vegas, I think (hope) I passed my exam. I'm exhausted today but will try a series of tests on Saturday when I have the time. Just didn't want you all to think I just gave up. I just didn't have any time to attempt it. ;-)