Amplifier picking up radio signals

[bruno]

Hi,

I have a pretty weird thing happening to this old Rotel RA-612 amplifier I found in a second hand store: it occasionally picks up the walkie talkies (or whatever they are) that taxi drivers use to talk with each other. Quite disturbing when it happens, I assure you. The housing of the amplifier is partly made out of wood, and I don't know whether this could be the reason it picks up these radio frequencies?
If anybody knows how to fix this, I would be very grateful!

thanks

 

[Rickster71]

With the taxi's transmitter that close, this kind of thing isn't uncommon. I'll bet the taxi has a higher powered transmitter than is legal, as per the FCC. If you know the cab co. you could complain to the FCC. If dealing with a government entity sounds hopeless, other options are:

Any wires, can act as an antenna, it's a matter of finding which one is the culprit. It's really a process of elimination.
Check all your ground connections, and makes sure everything is grounded properly. Use something like DeoxIt spray(Craig Labs) to clean and protect all connections.

Sometimes repositioning wires can help, don't loop wires. Shorten speaker leads, and don't loop them.
Checking and cleaning all connections,

It can help to make sure that every piece of electronics involved is grounded to the same point (i.e. running 3 prong cables and all to the same outlet). So, if the pre amp or the amp has a plug with a ground pin ground them together. XLR connections work nice if possible, or run a ground wire between the two.


A third option is to hunt around for some chokes. Try the other stuff first