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Unexplained noise on several bands

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2023 10:58 am
by KC4LZN
Sometimes when shifting modes and/or bands, I'm seeing this noise. There is no rhyme or reason to it and seems to affect 30 meters the worst. I have not seen it above 15 meters. When noted, I simply turn Thetis off and then back on, problem goes away.

Is this a corrupt database and need to rebuild or is there a hardware concern? I don't power cycle the hardware but have in the past. It has cleared without power cycling the hardware.

Pictures attached of before with noise and then after, this particular shot on FT8 30 meters. They were taken at different times hence the difference in the amount of traffic noted on the spectrum.

Screenshot_20230206-045228_4.png
Screenshot_20230206-045228_4.png (869.72 KiB) Viewed 1152 times


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Screenshot_20230206-081808_2.png (632.51 KiB) Viewed 1152 times


73 John

Re: Unexplained noise on several bands

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2023 1:58 pm
by w-u-2-o
KC4LZN wrote:Sometimes when shifting modes and/or bands, I'm seeing this noise. There is no rhyme or reason to it and seems to affect 30 meters the worst. I have not seen it above 15 meters. When noted, I simply turn Thetis off and then back on, problem goes away.

You are showing your WSJT-X spectral display. Does the noise also appear in the Thetis spectral display? If not, then focus should shift to the VAC setup.

Re: Unexplained noise on several bands

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2023 2:07 pm
by KC4LZN
w-u-2-o wrote:You are showing your WSJT-X spectral display. Does the noise also appear in the Thetis spectral display? If not, then focus should shift to the VAC setup.


Scott,

I believe it does.

If and when it occurs again, I'll get a snap of the Thetis spectrum.

73
John

Re: Unexplained noise on several bands

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2023 2:37 pm
by w9mdb
It's at 50Hz intervals so I suspect some 50Hz power supply noise -- couldn't be too far away...you'd have to hunt it down with
https://electronics.stackexchange.com/q ... oises-from

You can do some inside-the-house hunting with an AM radio.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXPJvSU8MwI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NibgLgYiQtU

LED lights are known to cause such problems.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUgCM6cCUj0

ARRL links...
https://www.arrl.org/radio-frequency-interference-rfi

Mike W9MDB

Re: Unexplained noise on several bands

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2023 2:56 pm
by w9ac
See the post below from 2017. I once had a similar issue when using an early version of Thetis. It could be completely unrelated, but I think it's worth investigating Ethernet port grounding and quality of Ethernet cabling, especially if you're using a multiport Ethernet switch:

https://community.apache-labs.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=2401&p=2669&hilit=w9ac+ethernet#p2669

Paul, W9AC