I hear HAM operators on my computer speakers

[Chief_919]

I agree but there must be a way for the computer to receive the signal. I may be wrong but the signal just cant be picked up and transmitted through your computer speakers with out a way to receive the signal.

It is actually pretty common. The CB guy is using an illegal high powered amp. the wires for your speaker act like an antenna and carry the sound to the speakers.

 

[Rustygears]

Yup, just what Chief says. Likely a CB person operating illegally through a big amp. Any cable on your PC can pick up the very strong signal and the sound card in the PC will detect & amplify so it can be heard on the speakers. Getting rid of this kind of interference is hit and miss. You might try disconnecting cables from the PC and see if the CB goes away when one particular cable is disconnected and then focus on why that cable causes the problem. There are techniques to add shielding, bypass capacitors, ferrite beads, etc. but first the source of the signal into the PC must be found.

Most hams run FM these days and though it can cause interference, you wouldn't hear the voices, just whooshing noises. Those hams who still transmit on shortwave frequencies use single sideband and again, you wouldn't be able to understand the speech since it sounds like Donald Duck when just detected and amplified. This is why folks are suggesting a CB since most of them run AM and many use illegal amplifiers to boost their power despite the fact that it doesn't do so much to increase their range. That's limited mainly to line of sight.

 

[frodobaggins]

I agree but there must be a way for the computer to receive the signal. I may be wrong but the signal just cant be picked up and transmitted through your computer speakers with out a way to receive the signal.

You'd be amazed what can act as a receiver. I've been picking up CB radios on various pieces of equipment and computer speakers long before wifi.

 

[bugei]

keep in mind, that most computer speakers have crappy little, unfiltered, unprotected amps in them that will "grab" darn near anything from the ether and make it louder

 

[WarrenD]

I once had a "radio" that had no batteries and was a wire with an alligator clip on one end and a speaker on the other. You clipped the gator clip to a metal radiator in your house and usually got a nearby AM radio signal.

 

[bugei]

warren,
i had some of them too, i still have nightmares of that crappy little beige earphone thingy that was never quite loud enough.

hello papa bear, this is mama bear

 

[Gunfreak25]

He is on right now for the 1st time today in about a week. I want your guys help in catching this guy. Here's just a few of the things Ive' been able to write down.

"mother nature aint given me no conditions up here on the west side of the grand canyon".
"Make that scope scream, turn that sideband over for more deviation"
"Turn squelch up another notch".
"More loop"
"Double C"
"DXLAND"

I can also hear numerous switches flipping in the background, along with other little whistles and high pitched screams coming from his equipment.

More to follow.

 

[Chief_919]

He is on right now for the 1st time today in about a week. I want your guys help in catching this guy. Here's just a few of the things Ive' been able to write down.

"mother nature aint given me no conditions up here on the west side of the grand canyon".
"Make that scope scream, turn that sideband over for more deviation"
"Turn squelch up another notch".
"More loop"
"Double C"
"DXLAND"

I can also hear numerous switches flipping in the background, along with other little whistles and high pitched screams coming from his equipment.

More to follow.

Yep, that is 100% CB lingo.

Ham operators actually know what they are talking about and use the proper terms for stuff.

Make some records, contact the FCC and send all the info you have.

Enforcement Bureau

Fines for those guys usually start at $5000

 

[Goose2448]

Yep, that is 100% CB lingo.

Ham operators actually know what they are talking about and use the proper terms for stuff.

Make some records, contact the FCC and send all the info you have.

Enforcement Bureau

Fines for those guys usually start at $5000

Ditto! I pick up guys running 1k watts+ all the time, and it bugs me because guys like me that run the standard 4 watts to be legal, and these guys are screwing it up for the rest of us. One bad shrimp spoils the whole pot

 

[islandguydon]

Anything not shielded by a grounded outer housing can become an antenna for interference. The audio cable coming out of the computer to the speakers is a prime example. You've got to think about it in terms of energy. CB radios, by law, are only supposed to use 4 watts. 4 watts MAX. A lot of truckers have linears that crank them up to 1000 watts or more. Back when my father was young, he had a base station at home with a yagi arrangement he had on a rotater. Let's just say he easily doubled some of the linears other had...

Patracy, I get the CB analogy. I am having problems of a different nature, sending and recieving. I just replyed to marcel with the frequency issues on another thread. What are your thoughts on this dilema...?
Preceeding is the post:

"I set 3 NOAA weather alert Atomic clocks. If I set my Atomic clocks and leave the Atomic switch on in 1 week all 3 clocks end up hours apart in time. If I set the clocks with Atomic time then turn that feature off, all three keep time to the millisecond. There is something in the atmosphere throwing the Atomic signal off.

I also run a Galaxy DX2517 Base Station CB system. I have noticed higher than normal interference. Patracy was talking about a Linear Amp and creating interference over computer speakers. I understand how this works it's pretty basic, But in the last few months the interference has been way up. I am at exit 92 on I-75 , For the past 6 years I go as far south as exit 2. North to the Zilwaukee Bridge, In the last 5-6 months I have cut my distances in half. Something in my area is going on."

I'm just putting it out there from my personal experience.

 

[A/C Cages]

Gunfreak25
Here is a tip to find which direction he is instead of going around the block several times blindly..
Grab a cookie sheet from the kitchen. Place it to the sides of the computer till the signal fades out. When it fades, hes that direction. Then it will shorten your search pattern.

 

[73m819]

At one time, I was into CB in a BIG way, the noise, everybody talking over each other, high power boost, ect. was REAL annoying, one day I had a MAJOR brain FART on how to fix the annoyance, I UNplugged/Disconnected everything, opened the back door and proceed to throw the WHOLE shebang out the door, WOW, no more noise, ect. and I found that I could LIVE without CB being in my life, and being that I am now ROCK category, I guess that is still true.

 

[swbradley1]

I also run a Galaxy DX2517 Base Station CB system. I have noticed higher than normal interference. Patracy was talking about a Linear Amp and creating interference over computer speakers. I understand how this works it's pretty basic, But in the last few months the interference has been way up. I am at exit 92 on I-75 , For the past 6 years I go as far south as exit 2. North to the Zilwaukee Bridge, In the last 5-6 months I have cut my distances in half. Something in my area is going on."

Higher than normal activity from the sun changing atmospheric conditions. When you see the aurora down this far and a lot farther south you know something is going on........

 

[islandguydon]

That's my point. The levels are way out of wack. The system I use is for wtshtf scenario anyway. I go on 2 times a month to check distances.

Thanks Swbradley1



Oh Merry Christmas anyway..!

 

[deuceaid]

I would ask a ham club in Yuma to help You. You can try to just get rid of the harmful interference , or go after the problem. Some elmers (oldtimers) out there would probably love to go on a t hunt (transmitter hunt) and the FCC would too.The only problem is if it is only intermittent in nature.

 

[BadMastard]

Hey Gunfreak!

Well, you live in the right town for guns. I spent a year or two there with my uncle sam.

Simple things. Try different speakers. Try headphones.

He is a CB'r "shooting skip" which is slang for attempting long range communication with other CB'rs. Atmospheric conditions must be just right for it to work, and he's probably pushing too much power. That's why you can't hear the replies, they are not close enough to affect your gear.

The fact you can hear him at all means he's either close, or just perfectly attuned to your computer/speaker setup. Look around your neighborhood. If you see a big antenna, it's probably him. If not, it's probably a ham radio operator who would be glad to help you. Either way, you'll get to know a neighbor! But, try out other speakers or headphones when it's happening. if it goes away, it's the speakers. If it keeps going, it's the computer. Speakers are cheap compared to replacing your computer!

Good luck!

 

[Flyingvan911]

He could also be a CBer who is transmitting on the ham bands. We had a pirate who was on 2 meters here in KC. I think he got caught eventually. I never heard. I know we made a major effort to catch him. We recorded audio from radios, DF'd him, etc.

Yes, local ham clubs and the FCC can help. The FCC will be very interested in a person operating illegally. They can direction find him pretty well.

David KC0ERE

 

[deuceaid]

He could also be a CBer who is transmitting on the ham bands.

Ya, a ham can hear a non ham just by the language alone,,,, it would be like saying the ctis on my stock 10 wheel a2 isnt working.....(havent heard of them hear yet, cross my fingers). I tuned into a guy doing just the same a few years ago,after I asked a few questions, he split.

The best one I have heard of was a couple kids in a relatives camper truck,,,,, well after geting it down to the street and finding the camper the kids were in, ham finally said " I`m coming after you kids", to which they replied "how are You gonna find us?". The ham said its easy when Your sitting in a camper parked on such ans such street".......He never saw any kids run out of a vehicle so fast..

I have also heard of toasters and fences picking up pirate stations nextdoor....

 

[SCSG-G4]

40 years ago, while testing one of our radios at higher frequencies, we heard someone talking on a CB frequency, so we shifted the antenna to better pick up the signal. I'm pretty sure some skip was involved, but we called out to him just as a test, since he was close to our upper limit.
He wanted to know how far he was getting out and told us he was in a town in Rhode Island. We replied we were in western Maryland. He them proceeded to tell us about his rig and asked about ours.
"We have a 10kw Collins rig into a yagi antenna on a rotatable tower, and you're about 58.5 degrees east of north from out location"
"Wow, you guys better look out for the Feds"
"We are the Feds"
SILENCE
Then some weak signals saying "Catch that guy", "Get him off the air", "Finally he gets his"
We moved on to testing other frequencies.

 

[Stalin]

Some time ago I was hearing something like a numbers station while sitting on the toilet.
I just peeked around and it appeared to come out of the toilet tank.
When I lefted the tank top cover I saw something like tiny blue-yellowish bubbles coming out of the water.
I could not sleep the whole night , and the next morning after talking with my wife about, we decided to call a plumber to check it out.
When the plumber came I told him what the problem was and he went inside and I heard him banging around and cursing for a while then he came out with a strange smile on his face.
He never said anything to us then he jumped on his truck and left.
He never answered any of my calls after that and I did not received any bill for the job.
Except that for a short time when I flushed, the water was kind of reddish, everything went slowly back to normal, and me and my wife went out for dinner at Denny's. What a funny week-end we had.