Seems doing nothing is doing something…..

RFI Friday night
My last post dealt with my PC monitors causing me some grief in the form of RFI to my K3. On Saturday I spent most of the day spinning my wheels trying to find a way to lesson or better yet cure the RFI problem. Below is what I had tried to in order to fix the problem.
1. I changed out the video cables and wrapped them with chokes as well.....did nothing.
2 Moved the monitors to other locations on the operating desk...that was loads of fun and it too did nothing.
3. Tried running the K3 just off battery power and.... nothing.
4. Ran the monitors from the 12 volt Astron power supply and again nothing.
5 Put snap on chokes on ALL cables coming out of PC and the ALL cables from each monitor.....NOTHING!
6. Even tried tin foil on the back of the monitor and grounding it...only made monitor look sci-fi.
7. Put 1:1 balun on the coax coming out of the K3 and still had problem.
8. Tried my Elecraft K2 (maybe just a K3 problem) found same issue with K2.
Sunday...not to bad

9. Plugged monitors into separate AC outlets on different circuits and did not fix issue.
10. Ran a ground up to each monitor and video card on the PC (PC is already grounded) and nothing.
11.Repositioned screen to see if that made any difference I thought it did but turned out not to.
 So that was how my Saturday was spent and from doing all the above I was able to find out a few things that I hope may ring a bell on how to solved the RFI isssue
1. As I move my hand closer to the monitor the RFI increases.
2. When the rig is on the dummy load the RFI is gone.....but so is everything else regarding signals.
Now it's Sunday and I have come to the understanding that I am going to just have to live with the problem. I know where it is coming from that sometimes that is half the battle! I am going to do some reading and thinking about the issue. I came into the shack to just roll the desk back up against the wall and tidy up the room. I then turned on the K3 along with the PC and for some reason the RFI is still there but not as much at all!!! Seems doing nothing is doing something!!
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

6 Responses to “Seems doing nothing is doing something…..”

  • Don W7DTG:

    lol isnt radio fun. Have the same problem here in the shack on some frequencies, so it will be interesting to see what the final conclusion is. Good luck es 73 to you de Don W7DTG

  • Tom:

    Is the noise from one monitor or both? Are they the same model monitor. Next Dumb question is have you a small cheap AM transistor radio you can move around the monitors.I’m guessing that when they are turned off the noise is gone. Ever run across EM screened monitor filters? Get a field strength meter out.
    73,
    Tom

  • Steve WI2W:

    Hi Mike,

    Couple of suggestions…

    Find out what monitor John K0EBC is now using. (see his comment on your first RFI post)
    Check out the monitors that Neal K3NC recommends for his Flex ready computers. http://www.abrohamnealsoftware.com
    Put a good quality current balun at the feedpoint of your antenna.
    Put a second good quality current balun where the coax enters the shack. (in addition to the the balun at the radio.
    Good luck,
    Steve WI2W

  • Mike VE3WDM:

    Good morning Don, yes there never seems to be a dull moment when it comes to radio. I am not going to give up on this one and when the fix finally arrives I will be posting about it.
    Thanks for commenting and stopping by the blog.
    Mike

  • Mike VE3WDM:

    Good morning Tom, no the monitors are not the same one is an Acer and the other is AOC. I don’t have an AM radio…..well small battery operated one that is and I am going to invest in one as it will help narrow things down. When the monitors are off or go into sleep mode the noise goes away. Also funny thing is as I place my hand close to the scree the RFI increases as well.
    Thanks for the ideas Tom I’m going to keep at this until a solution is found.
    Mike

  • Dean N8DEA:

    Good Day Everyone!!!

    Hello Mike VE3WDM.

    Did you happen try changing the Monitor Video Cable??? I did not see any mention to this and the Type of Cable (i.e. VGA or HDMI)

    God Bless and I look forward to Finding a Solution!!!

    73 & 72

    Dean N8DEA

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