i have a imax 2000.. plz help.

[TonyV225]

Alot of times its something somebody around you is running could be a factory or local business IOve heard stories of ralroad tracks or household touch lamps Ive pesonally had trubles with computers the long shoplights or striplights I had in an Iguana cage.

Theres an endless list of things that can cause this you need to look around the house sometimes carrying an handheld CB around can help you by kind of playing the (hot or cold game) by listening to the noise level or static floor in the handheld.

I know guys that actually walked there neighborhood to pinpoint the source or cause of a interference. I also need to tell you that a few years back I had a static problem that drove me nuts and ironically I had a neighbor that was a head guy at Charter cable the cable TV company in that particular area.

My kids hungout with his kids and he ask me oneday at a school function how I could run my radio equipment with all that static. I looked at him like what??? He said yeah everyday on my way home my meter in my truck that we use for checking for cable leaks goes balistic when I pass your driveway.

I said OHHH HOW I KNOW THIS!!! ITS DRIVING ME INSANE!!! He looked at me and said hey call the power company and tell them about this and tell them you think theres a bad insulator so they came out and sure enough there was a problem and it was actually an lightning arrestor on a pole next to my long driveway.

It was fixed and ohh was I ever in heaven!! Now again you can use a handheld to look for that source of your problem which very well could be a transformer gone bad or a bad lightning arrestor or insulator.

Good luck and with a little investigating on your part I am sure you will find that problem.

 

[SHORT_LEGS]

i just noticed something the other day i was in the car and pulled in my driveway and there was no noise or interference. so i went inside and thought that on the base it would be the same but i was wrong still the 7 plus pounds of static noise. today i was driving around the neighborhood and the mobile radio was quite and even quite in the driveway.so i dont know what to do im thinking about getting a new antenna. im at my wits end don't know what to do.

 

[Robb]

It's your radio.
This has become circular...

 

[SHORT_LEGS]

Thank you robb i will try to get another radio.

 

[Robb]

Thank you robb i will try to get another radio.

Use the radio you had in the car with the IMAX FIRST. If it does the same thing with that radio, get another antenna. Maybe you got a bad one.

 

[loosecannon]

well there arent too many possibilities left, but some very specific details will greatly help me help you.

you say you've tried different radios and different coax, so that eliminates those two possibilities.

first thing is to post a VERY detailed description of your ENTIRE setup, from wall socket to antenna. make sure you include everything about how and where the antenna is mounted.
im talking brand names, everything inline, everything.

second is to try a couple of tests. these tests will tell us whether or not the noise is coming from your house or someone else's house, and whether the noise is coming in from the power source to your radio or from the antenna.

first test is to unhook the antenna from the back of the radio.
did the noise go away? if so, the noise is being picked up from your antenna and you can rule out the power source.

second test is to turn off EVERYTHING in your house except for the CB radio setup. (dont worry too much about major appliances like the fridge, concentrate on "modern" devices)
yes, this is time consuming and tedious, but its the only way to tell.
did the noise go away?
if so, then something in your house is causing the interference.
if it did not go away, then it is something external to your home.

there are so many devices today that cause interference to CB radios that the list would take me all day.
some common ones are wireless computer accessories like mouses and keyboards. also any other wireless devices in your house.

medical devices are notorious for causing interference.
touch lamps (the kind that turn on with a touch) are horrible offenders.

if the noise is still there after you have eliminated your house as the cause, then it is most likely something in one of your neighbors' houses.
finding out what the source is can be very difficult in this situation.

cominatyalive finally found out it was a bug zapper in his elderly neighbor's garage that was causing his problems.
just an example of how weird these things can be.

the only other things i can think of are associated with things that are close to your antenna or coax run.
this is why i need the detailed rundown of your whole setup.

are there any businesses in your immediate area that might have some equipment that could cause this noise?

i had a horrible noise on channel 13 only that turned out to be the outback steak house paging system.

try to answer my questions with as much detail as you can, and take your time making the post.
the more info you give, the better your chances of getting help.

good luck,
LC

 

[SHORT_LEGS]

power source pyramid model 14-kx, radio galaxy 949,cherokee tm-2000 watt meter,para dynamics, tvi filter, imax 2000..the antenna is on 2 10ft poles the coax runs down the pole along my back patio into the house.. the antenna is grounded to a ground rod..the radio,power source, watt meter is grounded to the rod..the power source is pluged into a belkin power surge protector. the first test i unpluged the radio and the noise was still there. second test turned everything off in the house and the noise still there.. i also tried what robb suggested and put hte radio i had in the car and the noise was there..

 

[Sonwatcher]

the antenna is grounded to a ground rod

That antenna does not require a ground. I would try disconnecting the ground at the antenna. That ground may be acting as part of the antenna.

 

[loosecannon]

you said you "unplugged the radio and the noise was still there".
does that mean you unplugged the coaxial connector that was going into the back of your radio and the noise was still there?


im going to assume thats what you meant.

just out of curiosity, did you put the coax connectors on yourself on any of the coax in your system? if these are done wrong it can cause lots of noise.


just for kicks; go disconnect the ground wire from the base of the antenna, or the mast, wherever you have it connected to, and also disconnect the ground wires going to your radio equipment.

now, is the noise still there?

there are lots of myths floating around the internet about grounding, and i recommend anyone do LOTS of reading here and on other ham sites before they do any grounding of their station.

if station grounding is not done 100% the right way, you can actually end up making a perfect path for lightning to get into your house and burn things.

also, one ground rod is not going to do any good against a lightning strike.

get rid of those ground wires and i bet your noise goes away.

if the removal of the "ground system" does not cure the problem, then its either your power supply or your surge protector that is causing the noise.



LC

 

[packrat]

Get a cheap portable am radio and walk around the house, inside and out, it will pick up the noise and help you to pinpoint it. If not inside, walk the neighborhood doing the same thing til you find the problem. Do you have a plasma tv?

 

[SHORT_LEGS]

you said you "unplugged the radio and the noise was still there".
does that mean you unplugged the coaxial connector that was going into the back of your radio and the noise was still there?


im going to assume thats what you meant.

just out of curiosity, did you put the coax connectors on yourself on any of the coax in your system? if these are done wrong it can cause lots of noise.


just for kicks; go disconnect the ground wire from the base of the antenna, or the mast, wherever you have it connected to, and also disconnect the ground wires going to your radio equipment.

now, is the noise still there?

there are lots of myths floating around the internet about grounding, and i recommend anyone do LOTS of reading here and on other ham sites before they do any grounding of their station.

if station grounding is not done 100% the right way, you can actually end up making a perfect path for lightning to get into your house and burn things.

also, one ground rod is not going to do any good against a lightning strike.

get rid of those ground wires and i bet your noise goes away.

if the removal of the "ground system" does not cure the problem, then its either your power supply or your surge protector that is causing the noise.



LC

sorry i meant to put that when i unplugged the radio that the noise was gone..no i didn't put the connectors on thats the way i got the coax.i will unhook the ground wires tomorrow and see if that takes care of the noise..no i do not have a plasma tv.. i appreciate all the help guys!!

 

[SHORT_LEGS]

I have disconnected the ground wires from my equipment and the noise is still there. I'm going to try to get a new power supply and surge protector this weekend hopefully..

 

[Sonwatcher]

Did you disconnect the ground at the antenna itself ? Not just at the ground rod.

 

[SHORT_LEGS]

Did you disconnect the ground at the antenna itself ? Not just at the ground rod.

yes i unhooked the ground at the antenna.

 

[W5LZ]

From what you say, I think it's a fairly safe bet that the radio has something to do with that noise. There are too many possibilities with that to make any guesses about it. That noise could be from something in the same room, house, or neighborhood. It's also a fairly good idea to check things in the same room before starting on the whole house/neighborhood. That power supply is certainly one possibility. Depending on what kind of power supply it is (transformer/switching) it can be a very good possibility, unfortunately. Any chance of swapping it with another just to do that check? (Switching power supplies are notorious for that.)
Feed lines.
If a noise is strong enough to get into a feed line, then it's also strong enough to get in through the antenna. So swapping out the feed line wouldn't exactly be my first priority. It may be a problem, but not a very probable one.
Good luck!
- 'Doc