Morse code

toofrugalformycat

toofrugalformycat

Full time employment: Posting here.
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I have morse code coming in my computer speakers and stereo intermittently, to the point that I have to leave the stereo, radio and speakers off most of the time, it's so annoying.
It may have something to do with the guy who moved in next door and erected several towers and wires all over, but I can't prove it.
I'll leave out my numerous polite attempts to communicate with him directly.
But in the meantime, I've recorded some of the code to .wav files.
Taking into account my near total ignorance of ham radio, cb radio, morse code, yada yada, does anybody know of free software that I could feed my .wav file into that would translate the dots and dashes?
My motives are not entirely pure. I hope to call the phone number that the next door neighbor gave me (he never answers) and leave a message of what he is transmitting. I think he's in denial. :bat:
There's more to this story but in the interests of brevity I'll stop here.
 
I'm sure there are some other experts here who will know more, but you shouldn't have any trouble getting this to stop. Take the recording to someone else who understands Morse code (or post it here), and have him/her translate it. The sender's call sign is required to be in there, and the FCC absolutely does not allow anyone to interfere with your reception.
 
Have you considered the possibility that the guy is a spy?
 
Here's an answer to a similar question (from google):

Even though its on a very different frequency, because of its proximity, or perhaps because there is an unknown problem you are experiencing Radio Interference. If that is the case, all you need to do is figure out who it is and tell them. They would be required to fix it. See if you have any Ham radio operators in your area, and ask one of them to help you. You can find Ham operators near you with this link License Search - Advanced License Search.

Use this link.

Go down to the Licensee section and enter your town, state and zip, then search. In your results, those in the HA radio service are the people who can help you. -
 
The guy is probably a ham (licensed amateur radio operator) , like me. He's running high power (several hundred to a thousand watts RF) that is poorly tuned and overloads the tuner on your tv. Tell him about it. He'll appreciate knowing his signal is sloppy. All decent hams are decent neighbors. If he is an illegal Citizen's Band nut, which is unlikely since they don't usually use morse code, call the FCC on him.
 
Seems like you could use the 30 day eval of CW morse code decoder

I'm born in 63 as a nerd in high school i had a ham setup and one of those stupid cd nuts with a linear strapped on.
 
Before we got DirecTV we had Time Warner Cable. For YEARS we had interference on a couple of channels. It was bursts of a houndstooth pattern that almost wiped out the entire picture. My husband has a variety of radios and we could pick up the audio, too.

We had cable techs out numerous times and they told me it was a ham radio repeater at a residence two blocks away. I knew what house they were talking about. Large antennas in the yard and on the house. I posted on a local TWC help forum about the interference and a couple other people were having the same problem. It turns out that the guy with the repeater also read that message board. He posted that he was completely within his ham license specifications and that he wasn't doing anything wrong and wouldn't change a thing.

This was really annoying because one of the TV channels that he affected was Nickelodean and my kids were little at the time. Finally TWC changed their channel lineup and moved Nickelodean.
 
toofrugalformycat said:
I have morse code coming in my computer speakers and stereo intermittently, to the point that I have to leave the stereo, radio and speakers off most of the time, it's so annoying.
It may have something to do with the guy who moved in next door and erected several towers and wires all over, but I can't prove it.
I'll leave out my numerous polite attempts to communicate with him directly.
But in the meantime, I've recorded some of the code to .wav files.
Taking into account my near total ignorance of ham radio, cb radio, morse code, yada yada, does anybody know of free software that I could feed my .wav file into that would translate the dots and dashes?
My motives are not entirely pure. I hope to call the phone number that the next door neighbor gave me (he never answers) and leave a message of what he is transmitting. I think he's in denial. :bat:
There's more to this story but in the interests of brevity I'll stop here.
Click to expand...
So THAT'S where my former NDN moved. I had to deal with a 132' triangular metal tower with an 80' YAGI plus auxiliary antennas, all within 150' of my house for 15 years. It was horrible and beyond annoying to be deprived of decent radio and TV reception 24/7.
Picture hearing audio, sounding like a strangled Donald Duck, jumping all over your radio and TV. This guy was really obsessed with his "hobby".
The experience really made me hate inconsiderate HAM radio transmitters.
I called the local FCC, but they did nothing. He would play possum (not transmit at full power) for a while after they called him to inquire. Then it was back to full power crank. :rant:
 
I wonder what would happen if you removed a couple of select structural elements at the base of his triangular tower? Probably wouldn't take more than 3 if chosen carefully.
 
TromboneAl said:
Here's an answer to a similar question (from google):

Even though its on a very different frequency, because of its proximity, or perhaps because there is an unknown problem you are experiencing Radio Interference. If that is the case, all you need to do is figure out who it is and tell them. They would be required to fix it. See if you have any Ham radio operators in your area, and ask one of them to help you. You can find Ham operators near you with this link License Search - Advanced License Search.

Use this link.

Go down to the Licensee section and enter your town, state and zip, then search. In your results, those in the HA radio service are the people who can help you. -
Click to expand...

Thanks, Trombone Al.
I have told the neighbor. Repeatedly. That's why he gave me the phone number, he was tired of me politely tapping on his front door. And he's a guy, and I don't want to piss him off too much. He scowls, I cower.
There are ten pages of licenses in my zip code that I found using your link, TA. I'm in the process of looking at each one and seeing if there's one on my street.
I have contacted a friend who's a ham, and he has arranged for the local club president to broadcast from her car in front of my house, within legal parameters, to see if I still get interference. But she was thinking I was hearing garbled voices (I did for a while but not lately), she has not acknowledged the (newer) morse code problem either. We'll see how that goes. My house is not exactly Martha Stewart property so I'm not wild about letting a bunch of strangers crawl about on the floor looking at wires and clucking at my dust bunnies. I'm feeling invaded already!
My friend asked if this guy is a ham or a cb person. How the heck should I know?
I could post one of my many wav files here. If I did, is there anyone here who can read them? Is the operator id only at the beginning? I have a hard time getting the sound recorder going right at the very beginning, because I can't just leave it on all the time (it makes a huge file on my weensy computer) and I never know when he's going to start.
 
While it is true that the Ham operator could be at fault, it is at least as likely that your computer is poorly shielded, and it isn't his fault. Had some prior experiece with this, even to having the fcc out. Turns out in my case, that my neighbor had a good signal in the freq range he was supposed to be in. While, my stereo wasn't as good a piece of gear as I thought. Most hams, as I found out, monitor their signal pretty well.....(I am not a radio operator).

I am including a quote from Wikipedia, because the consumer elec mfg wrote their own rules on how susceptible their gear should be.
"Complex electronic circuitry is found in all sorts of devices used in the home. This results in a vast interference potential that didn't exist in earlier, simpler decades. In the US, Public Law 97-259, enacted in 1982, gave the FCC the authority to regulate the susceptibility of consumer electronic equipment sold in the United States. The FCC, working with equipment manufacturers, decided to allow them to develop standards for EMI immunity and implement their own voluntary compliance programs."

The result is that comsumer gear isn't very resistant.....
 
SteveL said:
While it is true that the Ham operator could be at fault, it is at least as likely that your computer is poorly shielded, and it isn't his fault. Had some prior experiece with this, even to having the fcc out. Turns out in my case, that my neighbor had a good signal in the freq range he was supposed to be in. While, my stereo wasn't as good a piece of gear as I thought. Most hams, as I found out, monitor their signal pretty well.....(I am not a radio operator).

I am including a quote from Wikipedia, because the consumer elec mfg wrote their own rules on how susceptible their gear should be.
"Complex electronic circuitry is found in all sorts of devices used in the home. This results in a vast interference potential that didn't exist in earlier, simpler decades. In the US, Public Law 97-259, enacted in 1982, gave the FCC the authority to regulate the susceptibility of consumer electronic equipment sold in the United States. The FCC, working with equipment manufacturers, decided to allow them to develop standards for EMI immunity and implement their own voluntary compliance programs."

The result is that comsumer gear isn't very resistant.....
Click to expand...

Well, I'm probably going to replace my stereo and television in the coming year. Is there anything I should look for that would make it ham resistant or is that hopeless at the lower end price range?
I guess I'll report back after the local ham lady is finished testing me. I'll try to not worry about what she thinks of my dust bunnies.
I've looked at the first 111 licenses of the 400+ in my area and haven't found my neighbor yet, but even if I did, I don't know what I'd do about it. I guess I'd know he was a ham rather than a cb?
I don't want to shut him down, I just want my audio toys back.
 
Buy the new gear from a place like costco which has a no question return policy. If you get RFI from the new stuff return it. Also, ask other neighbors what kind of gear they are using? It is pretty much the luck of the draw if you get one that is better/worse at the low end.....
 
TFFMC.... send me the .wav file and I'll be glad to translate it for you including identifying the licensee if the call letters are included in the transmission.

Since the interference is Morse code, you can be confident it's a licensed amateur radio operator (ham). CB'ers or bootleggers (unlicensed operators) don't bother to learn the code. In fact, you can assume this is an experienced amateur radio operator since the FCC no longer includes knowledge of code as a requirement for a license.

It's unlikely the proposed test with your ham friend transmitting from her car will determine anything. However, she should be able to look at your neighbors antennas and visually determine what frequency band they are designed for and that might be useful. Although, your neighbor could provide that information himself.

SteveL's info is spot on. It's completely (and likely) possible that the radio signals causing the interference you are experiencing are in compliance with FCC rules and specifications. Because home electronics are seldom designed with adequate shielding, bypassing and other preventative measures, solutions can be somewhat complicated. Your neighbor should be interested in reaching a resolution. Often ham radio clubs have teams that work on these sort of problems. A number of good books are available as well.


Edit:

Skim this FCC info..... http://www.arrl.org/fcc/tvibook.html

Also, if you contact the Amercian Radio Relay League at www.arrl.org, they might be able to help you get in touch with some local, free expertise.
 
the problem may be on your end, lots of electronics today are very poorly filtered... as a ham radio amatuer for 20 years most of the time if not 90% of the time the transmitters are clean and have no spurious harmonics.once the transmitters have low pass filters on them and almost every one does then its your problem .. alot of clubs will help you improve filtering... you can blame the unselective tuners and cheap unfiltered power supplies used on most tv's and stereo's today....

first thing you need to determine to fix it is if its coming in with your electricity or if its the tv signal

you should try both a power line filter and if you are using an antenna for your tv you can get a line trap at radio shack

N2UTA
 
SteveL said:
While it is true that the Ham operator could be at fault, it is at least as likely that your computer is poorly shielded, and it isn't his fault. Had some prior experiece with this, even to having the fcc out. Turns out in my case, that my neighbor had a good signal in the freq range he was supposed to be in. While, my stereo wasn't as good a piece of gear as I thought. Most hams, as I found out, monitor their signal pretty well.....(I am not a radio operator).
Click to expand...

youbet said:
SteveL's info is spot on. It's completely (and likely) possible that the radio signals causing the interference you are experiencing are in compliance with FCC rules and specifications. Because home electronics are seldom designed with adequate shielding, bypassing and other preventative measures, solutions can be somewhat complicated. Your neighbor should be interested in reaching a resolution.
Click to expand...

mathjak107 said:
the problem may be on your end, lots of electronics today are very poorly filtered... as a ham radio amatuer for 20 years most of the time if not 90% of the time the transmitters are clean and have no spurious harmonics.once the transmitters have low pass filters on them and almost every one does then its your problem .. alot of clubs will help you improve filtering... you can blame the unselective tuners and cheap unfiltered power supplies used on most tv's and stereo's today....

first thing you need to determine to fix it is if its coming in with your electricity or if its the tv signal

you should try both a power line filter and if you are using an antenna for your tv you can get a line trap at radio shack

N2UTA
Click to expand...
We used to get a few knocks on our door years ago, with neighbors complaining about interference supposed caused by radio signals emanating from my folk's HAM shack.....both were hams from back in the late 40's or very early 50's...Mom still holds her license, but has since sold most if not all of the ham gear.

Anyway, my Dad would always bring them in and show them what he had, and what he did, and help them overcome their interference problem. He'd even turn on our TV set, and then broadcast so they could see that he wasn't causing the interference. They'd call their house and check, and find that there was no interference there either. The neighbor right next door came over one morning throwing a hissy-fit 'cause she couldn't watch TV because of the interference Dad was causing. He said there was a slight problem....he hadn't been on the air for a couple of days because we were installing a new tower & antennae....Oops!

Turned out that the problem was being caused by a neighborhood kid who'd acquired some ham radio gear somewhere, and was 'playing' with it using an 'antenna' that he'd rigged up from parts & pieces of CB & TV antennas. It was brought to the kid's parents attention, and they 'took him off the air'. ;)

I had a problem of interference on my old computer's speakers. I finally determined that it was be caused by 'bleed over' from the cable company's wiring/components running past our property. I went to Radio Shack and bought a noise filter to hook up in-line in the speaker system.....and 'Presto!'...no more noise problem.
 
youbet said:
CB'ers or bootleggers (unlicensed operators) don't bother to learn the code.
Click to expand...
Yeah, after the FCC removed the code requirement, my Dad always said that was the down-fall of 'hamming'. He said all they (FCC) did was "dumb-down" the testing procedures, and now all the 'g*dd*mned CB'ers' will be over running the ham bands with mindless chatter. And that's what happened around here on 2-meters....a bunch of 'good buddies' got their ham licenses and brought their CB drivel over 2-meters. :p

I still have a couple of frequencies programmed into my scanner in the workshop, to listen to a few of the our friends chat occasionally. Of course, I usually end up 'blocking' that freq , because it starts sounding like the truckers' channel on the CB. :mad:
 
Way back in the dark ages of college, I lived in a dorm with a 1000 watt AM radio station tower in the front yard. We could pick up that station by wrapping a headphone cable around the bedsprings. It came in on top of any audio device you tried to use including the telephone. With careful use of line filters, and going to shield speaker wires and making sure everything was grounded well you could get a pretty clean sound back out of your audio system.

JebNY
 
Two thoughts on ham radio:

1. I always found it amusing that the main thing that hams seemed to talk about was their equipment ("rig"). That is, they put together this stuff just to talk about the stuff they put together.

2. Doesn't the Internet now fulfill many of the needs that ham radio was used for (that is, converse with strangers around the world)?
 
Yeah, but how are you going to find the King of Jordan on the Internet? :D

ta,
mew

(the late king, actually)
 
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