Ham radio Interference

Ian Jackson wrote:

You seem to have a very jaundiced opinion about radio amateurs. I'm
sorry to tell you that very little of what you're posting is actually
factual.

There must be a bit of background about that. This seems to be the one
topic that the Tiscali Idiot has some consistancy about, and there is
some knowledge (though duff) about aerials and stuff. Perhaps he has had
a previous run in with the Radio Investigation Service in the past?

Say, illegal use of CB Radio, Pirate radio broadcasts or playing music
and repeated obscenities over a ham repeater on 2m?

I can imagine that before trolling out on Usenet and adventuring in some
pirate radio newsgroups, the other mentioned places were where "James R"
used to get some of his sick kicks. I somehow don't see him as the type
of fellow who has any social friends - and this nasty spiteful problem
of his must have been brewing for quite somewhile. :-(

--
Adrian C

Peter Crosland wrote:

The RSGB have no jurisdiction at all, and in any case he may not even
be a member, but they may be able to put you in touch with someone
that can help.

http://www.rsgb.org/emc/emchelp.php

--
Andy

"Ian Jackson" wrote in message
...
In message , JN
writes

The hobby
does seem to attract some of the strangest humans I've met (not me
obviously).

Indeed. I recall my wife (before she was my wife) saying that she thought
they were all definitely a bit queer (in the 'strange' sense of the word).

Why should it be any more queer than talking to complete strangers from all
over the world on newsgroups? I'd have thought they were two sides of the
same coin.

Except that reception of newsgroup messages is much more reliable.

Unless you happen to be a Demon subscriber of course

To be honest, often the problem is the wide open nature of the equipment. I
used to know someone who lived near on of the hf coastal transmitters for
marine use, and they had a lot of this kind of problem. Braid breakers and
all sorts of filters were tried, with only partial success. ssb is by its
nature analogue and thus can disrupt a lot easier than fm, for example, as
the later does not vary its output.
I used to have an issue with the local sea scouts onn the Thames as well,
but a new amplifier fixed it.
I think its offcom you need to talk to at the moment. I think they have the
power to restrict his power at least until they can find a solution.The
problem is that these days we make such vulnerable equipment
Brian

--
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email:
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________


"Dave H" wrote in message
...
I have a Ham Radio enthusiast living some 200 yards away with a big set of
aerianalia. When he turns this in my direction and talks to his contact, my
picture on Sky jumps all over the place to the extent it is unwatchable.
Just like having the vertical hold set wrong. The sound on my amplifier
also cuts out when he is talking. Sky box is connected to a video recorder
by scart and then to the TV, in the next room, by RF output (they don't
make scart leads long enough).

(Turned on the electric keyboard the other day and there he was in
glorious SSB blasting out from the speakers)

I am also getting some mild noise-type interference on other occasions but
cannot be sure it is the same source.

Have been round to see him, nice chap, but he doesn't think he is doing
anything wrong and is not obliged to solve my problem. He has mentioned
some bit of equipment I could put in the 'line',even had a root around his
garage to see if he had one.

Does anyone know the legal position on this type of interference?

If I can't resolve it with him, to what body do I complain? Radio Society
of Great Britain? Ofcom?

Any advice would be welcome on the above or how I can minimise the
interference with a gadget.


David

That may well be so, but in reality, nobody would prosecute you for
listening to anything unless you were using the output in some dodgy way.

Nothing to do with this problem however.
Brian

--
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email:
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________


"Brian Gregory [UK]" wrote in message
...
"Steve Terry" wrote in message
...
Don't worry, it's very unlikely you'll be prosecuted for receiving
transmitions you aren't licensed to

Last time I looked amateur radio was explicitly listed as just about the
only thing other than normal broadcast radio that you *are* allowed to
listen to without a license.

--

Brian Gregory. (In the UK)

To email me remove the letter vee.

In message , Norman Wells
writes

"Ian Jackson" wrote in message
...
In message , JN
writes

The hobby
does seem to attract some of the strangest humans I've met (not me
obviously).

Indeed. I recall my wife (before she was my wife) saying that she
thought they were all definitely a bit queer (in the 'strange' sense
of the word).

Why should it be any more queer than talking to complete strangers from
all over the world on newsgroups? I'd have thought they were two sides
of the same coin.

Except that reception of newsgroup messages is much more reliable.

Unless you happen to be a Demon subscriber of course

Indeed. After nearly 50 years of amateur radio, getting used to all the
problems of interference, static, TV timebase whistles, switchmode power
supply hash, unreliability of propagation, problems with TVI to
neighbours etc etc, I'm finding that I now need to get used to
unreliable usenet connections. You can't that say life is boring!
--
Ian

You are wrong, the ham only has to comply with the regulations, anything
else is discretionary really, though a joint approach to offcom might be a
good idea. Also you need to talk to other people in the immediate area to
see if its aa common problem. Often phones get the brunt of this kind of
problem. Also, with his co operation, get him to do test on various bands
and aerials also, to see if its one specific situation which is the problem.
It could well be that a very narrow filter is required somewhere.
Brian

--
Brian Gaff....Note, this account does not accept Bcc: email.
graphics are great, but the blind can't hear them
Email:
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________


"James R" wrote in message
...

"Steve Terry" wrote in message
...
"Dave H" wrote in message
...
I have a Ham Radio enthusiast living some 200 yards away with a big set
of aerianalia. When he turns this in my direction and talks to his
contact, my picture on Sky jumps all over the place to the extent it is
unwatchable. Just like having the vertical hold set wrong. The sound on
my amplifier also cuts out when he is talking. Sky box is connected to a
video recorder by scart and then to the TV, in the next room, by RF
output (they don't make scart leads long enough).

(Turned on the electric keyboard the other day and there he was in
glorious SSB blasting out from the speakers)

I am also getting some mild noise-type interference on other occasions
but cannot be sure it is the same source.

Have been round to see him, nice chap, but he doesn't think he is doing
anything wrong and is not obliged to solve my problem.
snip

As long as he has checked the output of this TX to be clean, he hasn't.

You will have to contact Ofcom, who will help you fit filters to your
equipment that isn't supposed to receive radio signals.

Don't worry, it's very unlikely you'll be prosecuted for receiving
transmitions you aren't licensed to

Steve Terry


You don't NEED to be licenced to listen to amateur radio transmissions.
This is not a legal requirement in the UK. The equipment is not designed
to pick up mateur radio transmissions, so it isn't even a receiver meant
for
that purpose! The interference is being caused by the radio amateur and
he must attempt to sort it out.
The original poster could always buy a number of Devolo Homeplug devices
which will ruin his HF reception instantly. I bet he would soon complain.

Ian Jackson wrote:

In message , James R

It would be in his own interest to solve the interference as OFCOM will be
on your side on this one. They will come out and investigate and pay him a
visit uninvited. They will monitor for a bit, then go and check his
equipment
AND licence to make sure he is using what he should in terms of power
and frequencies. Next they will ask him to demonstrate the equipment he is
required to have in order to check for interference. If he can't do that
he's
stuffed. OFCOM can shut him down and take his stuff. If it is found he is
operating where he shouldn't or with too much power for his licence, they
will
take the lot and prosecute him.

Complain to OFCOM next, tell him that as he doesn't think it is up to him to
sort, you will get it sorted.

Good luck!

Have you personal experience of these happenings?

The Tiscali Idiot is wrong to state that OFCOM would necessarily be on
the side of the OP in this one, because the Ham's response in giving
advice about line filtering suggests that he knows that his kit is legal
and that the fault is with the television.

That doesn't mean that *everything* that the TI says is wrong, and in the
past the licencing authorities would respond in much the way that he
describes (although seizures and prosecution would only occur if the guy
was bad enough to be getting into pirate radio territory) which is fair
enough because if the Ham's kit *is* illegal then it should be shut down.
But these days, OFCOM doesn't really have the manpower to take such a
hands-on approach in domestic disputes, and mostly encourages people to
resolve their own disputes.

Of the hams that I knew in my student days, 1980ish, most would work
entirely legally but I knew more than one that surreptitiously added a
high-power booster to their kit.

--
Dave Farrance

"Dave H" wrote in message
...
I have a Ham Radio enthusiast living some 200 yards away with a big set of
aerianalia. When he turns this in my direction and talks to his contact, my
picture on Sky jumps all over the place to the extent it is unwatchable.
Just like having the vertical hold set wrong. The sound on my amplifier
also cuts out when he is talking. Sky box is connected to a video recorder
by scart and then to the TV, in the next room, by RF output (they don't
make scart leads long enough).

(Turned on the electric keyboard the other day and there he was in
glorious SSB blasting out from the speakers)

I am also getting some mild noise-type interference on other occasions but
cannot be sure it is the same source.

Have been round to see him, nice chap, but he doesn't think he is doing
anything wrong and is not obliged to solve my problem. He has mentioned
some bit of equipment I could put in the 'line',even had a root around his
garage to see if he had one.

Does anyone know the legal position on this type of interference?

If I can't resolve it with him, to what body do I complain? Radio Society
of Great Britain? Ofcom?

Any advice would be welcome on the above or how I can minimise the
interference with a gadget.


David


http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/i.../interference/

If your TV or radio is affected by interference, Ofcom may be able to help.

Read the info on the link above and then decide if you want to proceed.

Also do any of your neighbours have the same problem.

Rickey

Bill Wright wrote:
"Dave H" wrote in message
...
Any advice would be welcome on the above or how I can minimise the
interference with a gadget.

In theory, if he isn't radiating out of band it comes down to your equipment
lacking sufficient 'electromagnetic compatibility. In reality, if he is
running hundreds of watts into a high gain beam and pointing it at your
house there's no way your equipment can be expected to tolerate it. The
field strength will be absolutely enormous. You might be able to minimise
the problems, but I doubt if you'll eliminate them.

Depending on the topography, it can help if he tilts his beam upwards a bit.

If the matter can't be resolved by technical means you could ask him to
avoid pointing his aerial in your direction and to avoid transmitting at
times when you are likely to be watching TV. He could also reduce the power.
These are reasonable requests, and a refusal would be very un-neighbourly.
If he won't co-operate, you will have to complain immediately on every
occasion when the interference occurs. Either knock on his door or ring him
up. If you complain and the interference continues, ring or knock again,
repeatedly, until it stops.

These people should remember that in the real world their neighbours are
going to buy equipment which will not withstand the massive field strengths
they like to generate. To keep doing it when all possible supression
measures have failed is no better than having a smoky bonfire on washing
day, or a car with no silencer. It's beside the point that the problem is
technically the responsibility of the TV viewer. The hams should remember
that their hobby was founded by a fraternity that boasted of good manners
and consideration for others.

Bill


Thank you Bill. I feel some of the other posts above were a bit
sarcastic. I am not out to do any harm to my neighbour. I just want to
watch the footy without the problems I mentioned. Indeed, I was an
enthusiastic SWL of amateur radio in my teens (a few years back, now!)

David