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Weirdest interference sound on AM I've ever heard

gar hi

gar hi

I was starting to do some DXing on AM tonight when this most bizarre sound interferes.

I'm familiar with so many different annoying interference sounds on AM but this one takes the cake.

And what makes it more weird is that I walked all around my apartment to see if the sound would be concentrated in a specific area and not others and that was not the case.

Not only that, it didn't matter which direction the radio faced, unlike typical electronic interference.

It was only at the lower end of the AM band and it went on for more than a half hour.

The sound is a combination of high pitch squeals and low pitch buzzing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1R5OdZ8hW8
 
Two things have given me something similar:

Modern flourescent lights, the type with cold weather ballasts. I have those in my shop and I can't begin to DX with them turned on. Even in the house which is a good 200 yards away.

Computer hard drives, particularly an older laptop I have. It will make some ugly noises come from my GE Super Radio.
 
gar fla said:
I was starting to do some DXing on AM tonight when this most bizarre sound interferes.

I'm familiar with so many different annoying interference sounds on AM but this one takes the cake.

And what makes it more weird is that I walked all around my apartment to see if the sound would be concentrated in a specific area and not others and that was not the case.

Not only that, it didn't matter which direction the radio faced, unlike typical electronic interference.

It was only at the lower end of the AM band and it went on for more than a half hour.

The sound is a combination of high pitch squeals and low pitch buzzing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1R5OdZ8hW8
Click to expand...

Cell phones pinging the tower also generate interesting artifacts on AM as well. Don't think this is your case but with 4G who knows? It's a dirty spectrum world these days. Also might consider the possibility of CAT5 over A/C outlets.

A source of interference here at my QTH is the Motorola Canopy system mounted at 35ft on my tower. Since I am in deep suburban Collin County Texas the only way I get broadband (7mb symmetrical) other than ISDN is wireless internet from the Canopy system on 5ghz(?). The CAT5 re-radiates/leaks data crap on 10 meters with birdies from 28mhz and up... I need to investigate better shielded CAT5...

The joys of country living...
Jay Walker
 
Main interference sources here include

My Sylvania SDTV. 550, 630, 660, 770, etc. have high-pitched squeals.
The Panasonic Plasma TV upstairs. Huge interference from 550-560, and 920-930. Also fair interference across most of the band.
My computer will send off some interesting interference sounds as well in the lower part of the MW dial.

-crainbebo
 
Thanks for all the insights on what that could be.

Like I said, the even stranger part was that it never got any weaker or stronger at any point throughout my apartment, whereas other types of interference I've heard always were stronger in one location as opposed to others.

This sure seems to be from an external location.

Call me conspiracy minded but I've heard how they are experimenting with all kinds of things that we are not aware of which could show up on the AM band.
 
Well, you could always pinpoint the source by shutting off power to various parts of your residence until the noise goes away, but since you can't do the same with your neighbours the chances of ever finding what this is are slim.
 
Another thing that occurred to me that makes some serious interference on AM in my shop is the welder. Particularly the TIG unit. They have a high frequency start to get the arc going that sends out all sorts of spurious stuff.

Any chance there is a construction site nearby? Pipeline work?
 
Interesting sound. Drag a portable radio around the neighborhood and see if that provides any clues as to the source. With the radio in the video scanning, it was hard to listen to the noise to look for a pattern.
 
Could also be a Plasma TV set.

Any pattern as to the times it starts and stops?
If it's 24/7, it could be a battery charger or switch-mode power supply.

Your electric utility should have somebody in charge of tracking radio/TV interference. They do have the right to turn off breakers, etc. And, they have proper ID, so they can knock on your neighbors' doors.
 
Though I haven't been listening every night, I haven't heard that weird sound since that one time.

I still think there are experiments going on that we are not aware of and maybe that was what showed up on AM.
 
I get airport tower interference quite often on My radio. Sort of interesting hearing the Pilot and Tower talking
 
nocomradio said:
Another thing that occurred to me that makes some serious interference on AM in my shop is the welder. Particularly the TIG unit. They have a high frequency start to get the arc going that sends out all sorts of spurious stuff.

Any chance there is a construction site nearby? Pipeline work?
Click to expand...

There's a big body shop about two blocks from my house with one of the super noise making TIG welders.
It's real easy to tell when they've left it on overnight. Blasted thing makes the noise even in "idle" mode.
 
gar fla said:
Thanks for all the insights on what that could be.

Like I said, the even stranger part was that it never got any weaker or stronger at any point throughout my apartment, whereas other types of interference I've heard always were stronger in one location as opposed to others.

This sure seems to be from an external location.

Call me conspiracy minded but I've heard how they are experimenting with all kinds of things that we are not aware of which could show up on the AM band.
Click to expand...

lol I am conspiracy minded myself, but I can almost guarantee you that noise is domestic in nature and most likely a lighting system that is NOT GROUNDED. Does it go away when you unplug your unit and run off batteries?
your post reminds me I need to upload a response to yours, with MY noise which is almost identical. For what it's worth, if its govt experimentals you're looking for you'd need to move a bit further down the band.. say down into LF range! The only "new" freqs the gov is using other than that are actually part 15s, believe it or not- as in 2.5Ghz et al, as part of the "smart metering" machines. I had them remove mine, as I told them AS part of Part 15, they cannot install anything that interferes with my licensed equipment. I told them that it "made noise and interference" they had it out in less than 48 hrs- but that's another topic on the metering issue. I'm just giving you examples of what new type of transmissions are being used here.

If you are in an apartment, most likely your panel is being shared with others who happen to run noisy equipment. Now, if you contact your local power company, they WILL send an RF guy out (for free, as they want to check to see if it's' on their lines if so they must fix it on their dime)

why not give your electric company a call, and tell them you can't get AM on account of terrible interference? Won't' cost you anything.
 
Please report back after you have the power company come out. Our local power engineer says it is always caused by cable tv leakage.
-Bill
 
Reviving this thread, because now that I've moved to Monroe, WA, I have heard probably the weirdest interference I have ever heard on the AM dial. On many frequencies, about every 25 khz, (1110, 1140, 1170, 1200, 1230, 1280, 1650, etc) I hear a noise sometimes that destroys AM DX.

It seems to sound like a NASCAR or other race car engine driving fast and ending up in a wreck with the noise going nuts, then lowering in pitch. For a few seconds, it then goes silent. Is this some type of kids' Power Wheels, or what the heck could it be? I'm in an apartment, and next door is a family with three little girls...

-crainbebo
 
Could be a plasma or LCD TV set. That 25 KHz spacing may be due to the sweep/refresh rate of the screen, or a switched-mode power supply.
I cried when I looked at the dumpsters around my apartment in the days after Christmas. Big Screen, Big Scream, Big Screen.

I need a remote antenna, and twelve miles of cable.
 
I can't do much of any AM DXing in my apartment now.

For the last few months, there is this buzzing sound that sounds like what you hear from a fluorescent light which starts up every 45 seconds and lasts for about 15 seconds.

It's non stop day and night.

It's so annoying and I can't imagine what it could be.
 
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