ebike unrelated - radio problem

[awol]

Completely off ebike topic but I believe there are some electronic 'old timer' geniuses on this forum who may be able to help my dad.
He listens to 'wireless' (radio to us) on LW (or AM I think) and is getting a constant intermittent buzz buzz buzz sound regardless of where in the house I move his hi-fi or twist the circular loop Aerial, so he goes and listens to his favorite broadcast in his car where he say's has no buzzing noise and is nice and clear. There is no other method of getting this station unless he gets the interweb which is no chance at his age.
I don't want him going to his car in winter because of the cold on his chest or maybe slipping in wet or ice, so any experts out there can help how to get rid of constant intermittent buzzing on LW or AM ?
A special aerial or a really old quality radio maybe. He was suggesting getting an aerial guy in but I think it will cost him more than he can afford.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

I noticed that I can't get AM radio clearly in my car anymore. I thought it was because the BBC are shutting down their transmitters. Why not get a DAB radio? They're easier to use than a AM/FM one.

 

[JohnCade]

Completely off ebike topic but I believe there are some electronic 'old timer' geniuses on this forum who may be able to help my dad.
He listens to 'wireless' (radio to us) on LW (or AM I think) and is getting a constant intermittent buzz buzz buzz sound regardless of where in the house I move his hi-fi or twist the circular loop Aerial, so he goes and listens to his favorite broadcast in his car where he say's has no buzzing noise and is nice and clear. There is no other method of getting this station unless he gets the interweb which is no chance at his age.
I don't want him going to his car in winter because of the cold on his chest or maybe slipping in wet or ice, so any experts out there can help how to get rid of constant intermittent buzzing on LW or AM ?
A special aerial or a really old quality radio maybe. He was suggesting getting an aerial guy in but I think it will cost him more than he can afford.

If he has a TV then he can listen to radio on Freeview or Freesat. Just take the RCA out from the TV or PVR or whatever and plug it into the hifi if thats how he listens. The bit rate is higher than DAB which is an old system and frankly crap.

Analogue used to be much better, but the BBC hasn't had a real analogue signal for years since they changed the studio to transmitter link to digital.

 

[neptune]

This interference is almost certainly caused by some electrical appliance within 100 meters of his radio, or less. The first thing is to locate the source. Common causes are fluorescent lights [including some compact fluorescent bulbs AKA low energy light bulbs] television sets and computers.

If you have an old battery powered transistor radio, tune it to the station concerned, and place it near his regular radio. Temporarily turn off the mains power in the house. If the interference disappears, switch on the mains again and switch off the lights and other appliances one at a time. If the source is within his house, you will thus isolate the cause.

If the interference is still present with the mains switched off, the source is from outside the house. How near is the nearest neighbour? In rural areas, overhead power lines will cause interference if there is a cracked insulator. The interference will be stronger on wet days. If this is the case, walk down the road on a wet day, and stand near each pole in turn. Listen for a buzzing, frying noise. If found, report it to the power company

The circular loop aerial will help to pinpoint the source to an extent. Turn the loop to the point where the interference is strongest. A loop antenna is directional. The received signal [or interference ] is strongest when the loop is edge on to the source. This will give you two possible directions of the source.

Take the radio outside in the garden, on an extension lead. If there is no interference out there, Make a copy of the loop aerial, mount it in the garden on a post[ it does not need to be high up] . Run a co ax cable[ TV aerial cable] to the radio, and connect it in place of the existing loop aerial.

I heard that the closing down of the AM bands, medium wave and long wave, has been postponed due to the poor uptake of DAB. Radio stations are not buying DAB licenses because the coverage is so poor.

Need further info/ advice? Just ask. http://radiotoday.co.uk/2013/01/ofcom-secures-the-future-of-am-till-2020/

 

[awol]

Thanks for the replies.
We got him a DAB but his station was not broadcast on there and I've just told him about the radio through his freeview tv box but he says it is not in that list either. Next week I will try the option of taking his hi-fi outside on an extn lead to see if the interference is still there as now you mention it, it does resemble an electrical constant uniform buzz buzz type sound. Also I will try his battery radio with the mains switched off too.

 

[Croxden]

We here have had all the car remotes go dead again for biggest part of the day.
I think it's the military or the Emperor Ming.

 

[peerjay56]

We here have had all the car remotes go dead again for biggest part of the day.
I think it's the military or the Emperor Ming.

Your not near a pelican crossing are you? That was the culprit in Windermere a couple of years ago.

 

[Croxden]

Your not near a pelican crossing are you? That was the culprit in Windermere a couple of years ago.

No, not near anything like that. Last time the remote door bells also stopped working, didn't test them this time.
I wonder if it's to see if they (the military) can disrupt the drones should the enemy get hold of some, or Amazon's deliveries.

 

[Blew it]

I don't want him going to his car in winter because of the cold on his chest or maybe slipping in wet or ice, so any experts out there can help how to get rid of constant intermittent buzzing on LW or AM ?

"Interference is becoming worse as more and more household appliances use microprocessors and switch-mode power supplies. Long wave reception can be wiped out by television sets and computers, rendering BBC Radio 4 useless. If the radio has an internal aerial, like the Bush DAC90A and DAC10, try turning the set round to improve the signal. Alternatively, move the radio to another position in the room, away from the TV and computers."

Scroll down to the bottom of this page.
http://www.radio-workshop.co.uk/tune.shtml

Occasionally, Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) can be eliminated quite cheaply by fitting Ferrite filters to the mains cable on wireless sets. Sometimes more than one will be needed.
Ferrites

You may have noticed many modern bits of equipment already have molded-on ferrites on both signal and AC/DC power supply cables.

It really is surprising how some modern domestic items can cause unwanted interference. I remember several years ago, the remote for the television suddenly stopped working one evening, new batteries failed to resolve the problem. The next morning, the remote worked perfectly when setting up the DVR to record some programs whilst on a late shift. On returning home later, the remote again failed to work. Remembering that three days previously I had fitted new energy saving bulbs to the three side lamps in the room, I switched them off.....and the remote worked perfectly. Yep! the colour frequency of the bulbs masked the infrared signal from the remote. Replacement bulbs of a different brand solved the problem.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

There's a lot of electrical items being imported from China that don't comply with EU standards for RFI.

I bought a wireless rear-view camera for my van. Every time I switched it on, it blocked my wireless internet. I've even heard of the key recognition systems for cars/vans being blocked by unspecified interference, so if your key stops working, push the vehicle up the road and try again before you have your vehicle towed away and spend £1000 plus on a new ECU.

http://www.rav4world.com/forums/96-4-3-general/64821-car-doesnt-recognise-key-interference.html

 

[awol]

I will order one of those ferrite noise filters too, to take with me as that sound promising. Thanks.
I have since found his radio station on freesat so a last resort I will try and sort him out with that as his freeview system is getting on a bit now anyway but given the replies I think we will have it sorted identifying/eliminating interference.

 

[Croxden]

The cars starts OK, a neighbour drove his some miles away but the remote still did not work. It seems to slowly return to normal use, mine later than his.

 

[mike killay]

The cars starts OK, a neighbour drove his some miles away but the remote still did not work. It seems to slowly return to normal use, mine later than his.

Was it a BMW?
some of them recharge the key battery when it is in the ignition.

 

[Croxden]

Was it a BMW?
some of them recharge the key battery when it is in the ignition.

No, a Ford. Last year only a Golf didn't have the problem. I bet it's the Germans.

 

[axolotl]

Does your dad or either of his neighbours have a "Homeplug" type powerline network? This is a computer network that uses the home's mains power wiring to pipe the computer network around the house. These quasi-legal devices are *notorious* for producing huge amounts of interference, especially on AM radio.

 

[Croxden]

Does your dad or either of his neighbours have a "Homeplug" type powerline network? This is a computer network that uses the home's mains power wiring to pipe the computer network around the house. These quasi-legal devices are *notorious* for producing huge amounts of interference, especially on AM radio.

No dad, no homeplug, no powerline.

 

[axolotl]

@OP

 

[awol]

No he has no internet/homeplugs etc,next door might. I am going to try the batteries idea and taking the stereo outside this weekend.
Thanks for the ideas.

 

[axolotl]

Unfortunately if next door have them, the interference can be just as bad because EM signals have no respect for human boundaries. Good luck