Battery Operated Televisions

what causes home radio static, both plug-in and portable battery operated, afternoons and evening only?

EVERY afternoon and evening on every radio in the house on every AM station (not FM) static begins that renders it unlistenable. Not the TV, not the car radio. It does not occur in the morning, or until about 4:00 PM. No neighbors have this problem. It disappears on the portable radio when carried away from the house.

Public Comments

1. if the static is intermittent it could be aircraft communications, or a powerful motor running somewhere near bye, it could also be a weakened signal caused by interfearence in your home try the portable outside.
2. Let's see....the portable outside when carried away from the house causes the signal to weaken. So...the signal is in the house.....It's not another transmitter per say...but an appliance inside the house radiating electrical energy. The same way a high voltage power line does when listening on a car radio (am) and passing in close vicinity of it. Oh Yeah....another key to it is that it is on the am band. You rarely see the static you are hearing on fm unless the signal is super strong. I'd look for the following suspects in the house and you can confirm these by using the portable am radio to go from item to item when the noise starts: Refrigerator---the automatic defroster is actually a heating element that will cause this noise--and....it's on a timer too....that is probably the culprit . Water heater if it is electric...same principal as the fridge.... Once you find the suspect.....while you hear the noise on the radio....unplug the device you believe to be at fault....if it goes away....Eureka!!! Try diifferent ways to shield the portable radio by using a metal pie plate or aluminum foil if the signal is so strong that you can't differntiate between different appliances in the house. It may be a motor running in something or something being switched on/off rapidly. If you could count the pulses in the signal for one second....you would likely come up with 60 of them....this is what we refer to as "60 cycle interference" Good luck on your signal hunting. Get good at and you can compete in what us "hams" call a "foxhunt". That's when either for competition or for emergencies, when test our skills at direction finding and locating signals. Sometimes we are called by Police or other Emergency Services to locate a signal being received to determine if it is someone needing help.....or someone that has taken posession of a radio that belongs to polilce,fire,EMS,etc.... If I can be of any assistance, just drop me a line... Mike