RF interference problems

Pyrrho

Pyrrho

Audioholic Ninja
I recently moved into a house that I really like, but it is about a block away from a strong AM radio station. It seems that I am picking up the station via speaker wires, though the behavior of the sound is bizarre. Most of the noise seems to come from the longer speaker wires, for the surround channels. When I disconnect the surround wires from my receiver, the sound of the local radio station is greatly reduced. When they are connected, if I then connect the DVD player, or even just touch the outer metal part of the HDMI connector, the sound is louder and more distorted, though if the surround speakers are not connected, then connecting the DVD player does not add any noise whatsoever. Some other input devices seem to amplify the noise, whereas others do not. But none of them add any noise when the surround speakers are not connected. I still get some noise anyway (that I am guessing is from the front channel speaker wires), but it is very, very low. I would like to get rid of that, too, but I could live with it.

I am thinking about shielded speaker wire, but do not know what to buy, or where to buy it. But I am also open to other suggestions (other than moving, as the move here was such that I never, ever, want to move again). Other than this problem, it is a great location.

So, what should I do to get rid of picking up the radio station?

In all cases, the volume control has no effect on this unwanted noise, and I have a similar problem with a 2 channel setup (with the volume being very low, like with my surround system when the surround speakers are disconnected).

Is shielded speaker wire the solution? If so, what, exactly, should I buy, and where can I buy it? If it is not the solution, what is?
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
You might try a twisted wire design, not a thing for shielded speaker wire. Bombing the radio station would be another consideration....obnoxious AM deserves it :)
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
You could call the radio station and describe your problem. They have a commercial license and are subject to the rules & regulations of the FCC. In the past, radio stations took the FCC seriously, and they usually helped local people with interference problems. If they ignore you, call the FCC. I don't know how good the present-day FCC is about enforcing this, but in the past they were aggressive about such problems.

To suppress RFI, I think you need 2-conductor wire with a braided or wrapped foil shield. Twisted pair cable without a shield is better at minimizing EMI, such as from a nearby cable carrying 120V AC power. Try any inexpensive shielded 2-conductor cable, like this, just to see if it works.

Lowes or Home Depot might also be a good place to look.
 
BoredSysAdmin

BoredSysAdmin

Audioholic Slumlord
To suppress RFI, I think you need 2-conductor wire with a braided or wrapped foil shield. Twisted pair cable without a shield is better at minimizing EMI, such as from a nearby cable carrying 120V AC power. Try any inexpensive shielded 2-conductor cable, like this, just to see if it works.
Mostly Agreed, shielded cables do wonders to reject RFI. @Swerd, maybe worth changing to 18/4 shielded cable, you know - we are audiophiles after all. If my maths is right, a pair of twisted 18 cables is about equal to AWG 12 wire - which is exactly what we recommend for surround speakers cable runs
https://www.amazon.com/Shielded-Stranded-Conductor-Security-Burglar/dp/B077MKD6XB/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1522899912&sr=1-2&keywords=shielded+18/4+conductor+wire
Or you could just get the 18/2 cable and run two each for each speaker, bonded within for same result, but probably cheaper
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Shielded cables have too much capacitance for speaker leads, and can make amps go unstable and fry.

Yours is a common problem.

You make RF chokes.

Obtain same heavy gauge enamel wire, and rap 5 to 10 turns round a one and a half inch piece of ferrite rod.

Scrape off the enamel insulation from both ends and insert in series with the +ve speaker wires at the positive terminal of the amp or receiver.

I would make one for the +ve terminal of all your speaker leads. It must be inserted on the amp end and not the speaker end.

I have never known this fail.
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
Yes, 4-conductor would be better than 2-conductor. How silly of me to overlook that.

Better yet, use RF chokes as TLS Guy describes. If the radio station is responsible, they should provide them for you.
 
hemiram

hemiram

Full Audioholic
The RF chokes are about your best bet.

I had this problem years ago when the local AM station, which was about 2 miles north of me, but right next to the same high tension wires that pass near my house. I could hear country music twanging from my toaster, phone, and occasionally, my audio systems, both of them. One was on my PC, with a pair of Yamaha bookshelves and a 12" Sony powered sub. Most of the time, it was barely audible at the volume I normally played it at, but when a trucker running excess power on his CB got close and keyed up, there would erupt REALLY LOUDLY, a mix of the trucker and the AM station. It was always startling when it happened. It sounded a lot like a friend's Macaw talking.

On my main system, I had a full primitive matrix type 5.1 surround set up, with fairly long speaker wires to the rears and it was much worse. Not only was the AM station audible almost all the time, when the truckers got close and keyed up, it would make a loud whine, almost like a siren, and it popped a couple of tweeters. It made my dogs "sing" sometimes. I called up the station and complained about it. They were getting ready to do antenna work, which they claimed, correctly, that it would fix it. In the meantime, for the next 4 months until winter broke, they suggested if I had any extra length on the cables, to coil up the extra length and secure them with zip ties. That did nothing as far as I could tell. I finally bought a large bunch of the "Snap On Chokes" and started putting bunches on them snapped together with as many turns of the cable I was using (10 Gauge car speaker wire) at the speaker and amp ends. It took about 6 on the amp end, and another 4 at the speaker to get it to the point it stayed out of my Yamaha (A Sony, NEC, and Kenwood receivers all did the same thing, just a little differently) R-900 receiver to the point it didn't bother me too much. The only time I noticed it was when a trucker would key up. They could be clearly understood, but they weren't loud anymore.

One problem I could not solve and didn't go away was that the AM signal would be on the outputs of my two identical CD players. One was up on the PC system, and the other on the main one. If I listened to, or recorded to one of my cassette decks, the country station could be heard in the background. No matter what I did, you could still hear it, even with headphones plugged into the player. I found out if I turned off my Audio Pulse delay system, the problem went away. Unless the truckers were close. One day I went past the station and they were working on the antenna. About an hour later, the problems and voices were gone!
 
hemiram

hemiram

Full Audioholic
These are what saved me. They were a lot cheaper at hamfests than at RS. The seller wants $18.75 including shipping for these:

 

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