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Filters?

Cheech

Cheech

Active Member
Apr 6, 2005
716
6
28
35
Medina county Ohio
I was wondeing whats the deal with the filter you can buy to put in line with a radio. I have som interference problem and probly soon to be more(new neighbors) :( I see paradynamics makes one but how well do they work and how much would it help to put one inline before the amp? I seen in a amateur radio book thats how you set it up. I have heard if the signal is clean in it will be the same out. Also my neighbor who beleive it or not has been nice about it has problem with her answering machine. She can hear me talking on it clear as day. I have heard it myself and dont want to couse no more problems so is there anything that can be done to help? Right now my antenna is 15' off the ground and yes I do no thats why I am having most of the problems but would it help to get it 10' above the house like antennas are actualy ment to be? Need some answers here so any help is great! I cant stand hearing about it no more, It gets anoying! Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Hi Cheech,

Only SOME interference problems can be helped with a filter in YOUR coax line. Trouble is, to tell what difference it will make BEFORE you spend the money on it.

The traditional method is to spend the money, put it in line and see what difference, IF ANY, that it makes to the problem.

Raising your antenna is the likeliest, best route to problems with a phone or answering machine. The higher the better, up to around 50 or 60 feet. Just remember that the higher it gets, the better a target it becomes for lightning, and a good ground/lightning arrestor becomes worth more than when it's near ground level.

Filters only help when unwanted 'extra' frequencies are leaking into the neighbor's gadget in the first place. With your antenna so close to the ground, the cleanest signal in the world will probably leak into nearby baby monitors, phones, stereos and such. An inline low-pass TVI filter in your coax MIGHT make no difference at all.

Raising the antenna puts it farther away from the neighbors' devices, making your (clean) signal weaker at ground level. Running the coax straight down the support pole/tower all the way to ground level tends to help. Saving money on coax by running it through the air, from where it connects to the antenna can add to this kind of trouble. The power you feed to the antenna travels on the INSIDE of the coax shield braid layer. But if you string the coax in the air below the antenna, the OUTSIDE of the coax shield becomes an antenna, and picks up your signal, out of the air. Brings it back down to ground level, where it will radiate BACK off of the coax and into nearby devices.

There are two paths that your signal can take, leaking into the A.M., through its power cord, and through the phone line plugged into it. Odds are that a "phone-line" filter installed at the rear of the answering machine itself will help more than a filter placed in your coax line.

But like I said, you never know until you try. Trying the cheapest filter first will risk less of your money, finding out what helps and what doesn't.

73
 
Yeah Im thinking of going to 30 foot and about 12 foot away from where the base of the antenna mast is right now. Then the next option would be filters on the phone line and possibly TVs coax. Any idea who sells good filters for phone and TV coax lines for cheap? Thanks!!!!!
 
Hey Cheechster !! ......Antron 99 homeboy !! bad bad bad bleed sticks dude !! especially only 15 feet off the ground )-:
1. How are your radios tuned ?
2. What kind of coax are you using ?
3. How close are you to there cribs ?
4. Does your antenna have any kind of grounding on it ?

First off your up against the wall with a A-99 to begin with on the 11 meter band , swing kits / cut diodes in radios will cause you bleed as well (if that were to be the case?) not to mention using power on top of that !! First off I would get rid of the 99 if at all posible ? maybe a 5/8s someday down the line , in the mean time ,getting the stick up higher and making sure you are using a good coax MIGHT help a lot !! ....I've seen guys go to 9913 coax and totally loss there bleed problems !! remember Cheech .....if your radios have swing kits or clipped diodes it will cause you these problems as well and you can always times that by how much your power box is putting out after the fact )-: sometimes bleed can be helped a lot just by turning down those power mic's !! ......IM on your side here Chech !! a properly tuned radio for your amp will help a lot !! getting the antenna higher MIGHT but not always )-: ......I believe it always and truly starts with the radio in many cases .....having a A-99 won't help matters much if everything else is screwed up. Anything I can do to help you out Cheech feel free to ask......Oh ...that's kind of why it's illegal to tune radios and run amps on the 11 meter band .....then guys like you and me have to figure out how to keep are neighbors happy (-: .....
 
Yeah its a bleed stick thats a fact lol As for coax Im running belden mini 8. Probly not the best coax but it beats the crap out of RG58 :roll: The antenna is gounded as well with an 8' ground rod directly at the bottom of the mast. Im thinking about trying to get an Imax to replace the antron. As for radios its only my texas star that afects my neighbors. The amp has benn tuned to my uniden washington by a good tech so I think its probly about as clean as its going to get. Im thinking geting the thing higher will make a difrence maybe? My neighbors house is as close to the antanna as they can get. I can lay the antenna down on the mast in my yard and not hit their house by about 10' so probly about 40' from the base of the antenna is their house. Its a two story house as well so the RF is probly hammering their house :shock: Thanks for the help and any more help SK!!!
 
I've got a tuneable TVI filter. I don't know if you can get them anymore. It is a row of six tuneable caps. It has always worked for me. Maybe you have RF traveling back down the Coax. Try belden 9913 cable with some Rf chokes. One other thing, and it sounds bogus, but cutting your coax to exactly 14ft 4inch lengths this will match the impedance. It won't effect the SWR but it will correct the feed point at the antenna and help with surface RF on the coax.

Good luck.
 
The coax came from a shop that was hear awhile ago. He did good work on radios! All the people who run bases here liked his work. He said the coax was cut to some certain length so I think its good. If I raise the antenna and it dont help Im going to go crazy :x Naw J/K :roll: I would like to put some filters on my neighbors TV or phone line to help out. I was told that would help. Just dont know where to get the filters. I have seen them before just dont remember where. Ow by the way welcome to the forum!! :)
 
if your thinking IMAX you can afford a Alpha V-5/8s ...I'd have to believe that it's got to be a cleaner antenna then the IMAX .....your using small coax Cheech !! .....9913 is roughly 1.00 a foot and with a little more hight on your antenna I think this will help you a lot ,not only for bleed but for all around better transmit and receive .....the 9913 is some bad a$$ coax !! Radio Shack used to carry so phone line and TV filters Cheech ? a few different ones .....I don't know how close you are to your neighbors as far as friendliness ? but sometimes just making a coil very close to there telephones with the telephone cord itself will knock you out of there receive ....I'll tell you this much Cheech ....I surely do not miss bleed over problems and Lord knows I have had my share of TVI over the years )-: ......I have a freind now that runs a IMAX in a populated area neighbors all around him .......He's real good with his neighbors until he hits the switch on his Texas Star ....He just uses the thing late at night to keep the peace. Mans got to do what mans got to do. Good luck to you Cheech.
 
cheech, putting rf chockes on your nieghbors phones and such can end up being costly and it is a band aid for the real problem of YOU having TVI issues. if possible try making a choke in your coax at the feed point. use a coffee can for a form and wind approximately 4-5 ft. (6-8 turns) taping it with electrical tape so that it keeps it form, the coax stays next to each coil. try that 1rst since it won't cost you any thing. but the best advice was already given by Switch Kit and Nomad. remember higher is better. the choke worked for me my home brewed 1/2 wave vert. is 12ft. off my deck 32ft. phone my nieghbors house and we have a tv with rabbit ears 6 ft under it without the coaxial choke everybody knows when i'm on at stock power levels, with the choke i have been able to put out 500++ watts out with out any one the wiser. Besides it's a real goood reason to get a new antenna and upgrade your coax. good luck 73
 
I just cant win I tell ya! My new neighbor just put up a dish and the thing is close to my antenna and pointed its general direction :x I turned on my radio and amp when the guy was inside seting it up to their TV to give them a hint of what was to come :twisted: Im hoping the guy figured out he needed to add a filter or something to their coax!
 

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