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Author Topic: 300 Mhz hi power noise source??  (Read 5676 times)

mike

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300 Mhz hi power noise source??
« on: November 28, 2011, 07:11:40 PM »
so here we are near WPAFB..... 

every few weeks I go thru a period of days when x10 RF sigs are no longer existent....I am in the middle of one now.  been 2 days and NOTHING near 300mhz gets thru! 

-- 3 different garage door openers are DOA - only work with car in garage, right under the opener. 
-- no x10 RF works more than 2 feet 
-- V572rf32 sees no ds10's, cannot see remotes if not within 2-3 feet
-- SC1200 goes from 100% reliable to not seeing ANY sensors

all powerline sigs work as normal.....AHP monitor shows nothing going on......

I scanned 300-399mhz and find nothing.  In a few days all will return to normal if history repeats itself. 

anyone else ever see this phenomenon?  Anyone got ideas how I can troubleshoot this?

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Noam

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Re: 300 Mhz hi power noise source??
« Reply #1 on: November 28, 2011, 07:22:16 PM »
Probably some sort of RF interference from the base.
Moving might be your only option to avoid the noise.

It might also be something a neighbor is doing, too.
Getting the neighbor to move (or stop whatever they are doing) might help.
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Brian H

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Re: 300 Mhz hi power noise source??
« Reply #2 on: November 28, 2011, 07:38:55 PM »
Can't say about anything but the X10 RF devices.
They are not highly designed receiver front ends. So even a strong enough signal not in the 300MHz-399MHz band you scanned. Maybe just overloading them.

I know when I worked for Motorola and was at a local TV stations transmitter. Doing some base station work.
There was a cone of RF silence where NO RF signals from anybody got through.
Oh yes and no trees would grow there either.  ;D
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dhouston

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Re: 300 Mhz hi power noise source??
« Reply #3 on: November 28, 2011, 08:34:04 PM »
About 6-7 years ago (maybe longer) there was a nation-wide epidemic of garage doors opening on their own and/or refusing to open/close. It was always in close proximity to a military base, especially USAF & NAS bases. It was discussed and, IIRC, explained in comp.home.automation and it also made the NYT and Washington Post. I believe it was from testing of emergency communications devices used by military, police, fire, homeland security, etc. Your story reads like there may be ongoing monthly tests.

Hmmm, that might also explain my periodic and intermittent RF issues. I'm about 2-3 miles from CVG. I had not considered that. When my RF fails, my PLC still works. When/if I get time I'll try to investigate this.
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dave w

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Re: 300 Mhz hi power noise source??
« Reply #4 on: November 28, 2011, 08:42:31 PM »
Quote from: mike on November 28, 2011, 07:11:40 PM
I scanned 300-399mhz and find nothing.  In a few days all will return to normal if history repeats itself. 

anyone else ever see this phenomenon? 
If the signal is spread spectrum in the lower UHF region, a scanner probably would not be quick enough to pick up. You would need a RF spectrum analyzer to see. But it sure sounds like some sort of external interference.
 
As a unrelated side note, I have a corner of the house where I have poor RF probagation back to my CM15A antenna in the attic at the center of the house. Coverage is better when weather damp or raining, and almost non existant when it isvery dry. Only thing I can guess is water content of shingles is creating a desired reflection of the RF.
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mike

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Re: 300 Mhz hi power noise source??
« Reply #5 on: December 05, 2011, 09:24:32 AM »
My wife just emailed me at work:

Mercury is in retrograde and messes up electric, alarms etc

Mercury went into retrograde on the 23 of Nov will go out next Tues.

I don't think she's been drinking this early.....  anyone heard anything about this?  Like sunspots or something??  My
SC12 is back to working about 80% and the garage door openers are working 1/2 the distance they normally do again...



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dave w

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Re: 300 Mhz hi power noise source??
« Reply #6 on: December 05, 2011, 10:08:58 AM »
Quote from: mike on December 05, 2011, 09:24:32 AM
My wife just emailed me at work:

Mercury is in retrograde and messes up electric, alarms etc

Mercury went into retrograde on the 23 of Nov will go out next Tues.

I don't think she's been drinking this early.....  anyone heard anything about this?  Like sunspots or something??  My
SC12 is back to working about 80% and the garage door openers are working 1/2 the distance they normally do again...
LOL
FWIW
Actually the sun is entering another solar max cycle. (prepare for the hysteria of "man made global warming" to start again). Some NASA scientist claims it is expected to be severe. Even comparing to a similar solar max in the 1800's that melted telegraph wires. A month or so back the Northern Lights was so large and bright that they were seen in the southern States. But if sun flares are so major to mess up X10 RF transmissions it would also be screwing with cell phone, radio, and TV broadcast, etc. and you would b hearing about all over the news. 

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2006/10mar_stormwarning/
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/06/110608-solar-flare-sun-science-space/

"It's all good" (I heard that somewhere, I think I'll make it my new mantra  rofl  ).
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dhouston

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Re: 300 Mhz hi power noise source??
« Reply #7 on: December 05, 2011, 03:17:36 PM »
Quote from: mike on December 05, 2011, 09:24:32 AM
Mercury is in retrograde and messes up electric, alarms etc
According to http://alignedformercuryretrograde.com/2010/11/21/when-is-mercury-retrograde-in-2011/, our X-10 should work even better...
Quote
The energy for all your efforts will flow more smoothly during these times...
:'
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mike

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Re: 300 Mhz hi power noise source??
« Reply #8 on: December 05, 2011, 03:45:38 PM »
depends on how u look at astrology it seems  :)

http://ezinearticles.com/?Mercury-Retrograde-August-2-26,-2011---Be-Aware&id=6457179   says computers wont work, alarms will quit, wow......

how did I miss all this stuff growing up?
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Dan Lawrence

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Re: 300 Mhz hi power noise source??
« Reply #9 on: December 05, 2011, 07:33:16 PM »
We are into December, that August stuff was 4 months ago.
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dave w

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Re: 300 Mhz hi power noise source??
« Reply #10 on: December 05, 2011, 07:51:47 PM »
Quote from: Dan Lawrence on December 05, 2011, 07:33:16 PM
We are into December, that August stuff was 4 months ago.
Yeah, but still funny.
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mike

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Re: 300 Mhz hi power noise source??
« Reply #11 on: December 05, 2011, 08:20:52 PM »
Quote from: Dan Lawrence on December 05, 2011, 07:33:16 PM
We are into December, that August stuff was 4 months ago.

u gotta get with the 90's.... that was an old one!  ha!

this one is listed as:

Retrograde Begins:       Nov 24 2011    20°Sg06′ R
Mercury Goes Direct:   Dec 13 2011    03°Sg52′ D
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