From: randall@informix.com (Randall Rhea)
Subject: Re: Power, signal surges in home...
Organization: Informix Software, Inc.
Lines: 39

gstovall@crchh67.NoSubdomain.NoDomain (Greg Stovall) writes:
>Anyway, over the weekend, I was resting on the sofa (in between chores),
>and noticed that I briefly picked up what sounded like ham radio traffic
>over my stereo and television, even though both were off.  Also, all the
>touch sensitive lights in my house start going wacko, cycling through 
>their four brightness states.

>I presume that some ham operator with an illegal amplifier drove past
>my house (I live on a busy thoroughfare); would this be a correct presumption?
>What kind of power must he be putting out to cause the effects?  
>The affected equipment is about 100 feet from the road...

Hams can legally run up to 1500 watts.  It is very unlikely, however,
that a ham would be running that kind of power from a car.  Ham rigs
for cars put out around 100 watts.  It is possible that a 100 watt
radio would cause interference to consumer electronic 100 feet 
away.  Most TVs, stereos, and VCRs have very poor RF shielding.
If you experience the problem frequently, it may be 
caused by a ham, CBer, or other radio operator in a base station
nearby.    The interference may have been caused by a radio 
transmitter used for other purposes, such as police, fire,
etc.  If you heard voices over your stereo, I think you are
correct in assuming that the source is an RF transmitter.

If you have frequent trouble, you may want to try the RF ferrite
chokes available at Radio Shack.  The interference is probably
being picked up by your speaker wires, and those chokes can
be installed on the wires very easily (without cutting them).
Good instructions are included with the chokes.
If that does not solve the problem, you may want to search your
neighborhood for a radio operator.  Look for antennas on the roof
or car.  Talk to him/her about your problem.  There are things
a radio operator can do to reduce interference.

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Randall Rhea                                        Informix Software, Inc. 
Project Manager, MIS Sales/Marketing Systems    uunet!pyramid!infmx!randall
