When i key up and our blow dryer is plugged into the GFI outlet it loudly buzzes??

[jtrouter]

So like the title says when i key up my CB radio that is only running 4 watts the GFI outlet buzzes very loud.
It only seems to do that when the blow dryer is plugged in? Anyone able to tell me why? I only talk at night
normally when the wife is asleep and it freaks her out. So i tried it out of a few other outlets and on some of them
that are not GFI it still happens? BTW its only from the blow dryer????? Any thoughts on why a blow dryer buzzes?
I also tried it without it plugged in and keyed and nothing? only when its plugged in to some outlets the plug on the
blow dryer buzzes, you can feel it when it happens if you hold the plug on the blow dryer when its plugged it and keyed.
Let me know what kind of thoughts about it you have. Thank you.

 

[loosecannon]

can you tell us about all the grounding done at your station?
shack and antenna stuff.
please be detailed.
LC

 

[jtrouter]

Sure i can but its pretty embarrassing. As of now i have a real Avanti Astroplane mounted on a 20 foot mast that is lashed with rope to the second floor outside wooden deck. The antenna is not grounded in any way, and i only bring the cable inside when using the radio. I have had this happen when using many of my radios but the last two that i have used when this has happened was a Cobra 2000gtl and a Cobra 139xlr. When i have used them they are pluged into a 12 foot multi outlet extension cord. And it happens with stock output radios. Also niether of the radios have any removed or clipped audio limiters. I also have a Radio Shack triple meter set inline and that about covers my setup.

 

[loosecannon]

first a warning about running that antenna that way.

with no ground rod attached to your antenna mast, any charges that build up on your antenna (can happen from an approaching lightning storm, or even high winds) are going to dissipate through your radio chassis, and on to your house AC system, which is probably sub-par when it comes to the radio hobby.

aside from that, you might have some areas of your house wiring that are connected incorrectly, but this is too much to guess about over the interwebs.

your best bet with this is to get a qualified electrician to come to the house and see if everything is wired correctly with no shared neutral wiring (very common mistake found these days) and nothing wired backwards.
LC

 

[H1driver]

There is a good bit of info about this floating around. Seems to be a grounding issue but is normally resolved by installing a new name brand gfci, apparently the older ones were more susceptible to this. I saw several short video clips of HTs causing wired GFCIs and the kind attached to hairdryers buzz.

 

[Handy Andy]

​

GFCI's sense (use one to find another) two types of current - from the outlet thru hot and neutral - then the other which is ground to neutral - if the GFCI is old, it should be replaced and have someone inspect the Neutral to Ground - make sure it's bonded - at the breaker box.

Each room (for example - per breaker) would have a 3-wire running back to the breaker - thru the house wiring. IF Neutral and Ground were "lost" the GFCI can't sense the rise in potentials between Neutral and Ground - with ground being the hair dryer finding a better return to ground thru the sink - if it were ever dropped.

So, if the ground at the outlet is faulty or the Neutral to Ground "bond" at the breaker box is bad. GFCI's can "sense" something and buzz, but not trigger because the ground itself at the GFCI has damaged the GFCI's ability to work - it's not working correctly.

Replace it ASAP - this noise may be what saves your life.

There is a "TEST" and "RESET" on the GFCI - press the TEST button, if you hear a loud click and the outlet goes dead - that trigger works, You can firmly press RESET to restore the GFCI outlet. But if it does not trigger or the noise is still there even after clearing the test condition - just replace the GFCI - it may cost $15-18 bucks but it's cheap insurance to protect from an accident next time.

 

[Allen B]

Not a solution to your problem but...

I put a mag mount on a chest freezer one time to do some tests. I kept hearing something my kitchen making noise. Turns out, the Keurig pot's pump was running every time I keyed up.

 

[Rwb]

suprized you havnt burnt finals out of radios with that antenna set up,let alone the other problem

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

When I first installed my base station, the lights in the dining room china cabinet would turn on or off when I keyed the mic. The fix was to eliminate the common mode current on the coax shield by winding a coax choke at the antenna feed point. Four turns of coax coiled around a 4 inch piece of PVC or soda bottle should help.

 

[Tom Line]

Heating elements in the dryer tuned to 27 mhz? Does the buzzing sound different at different channels? Or is it a 60 hz buzz ?

 

[Handy Andy]

suprized you havnt burnt finals out of radios with that antenna set up,let alone the other problem

It's when my toaster used to beep like the answering machine - only to find that the answering machine "answered" when I keyed up a radio the toaster was right next to it.

Pulled the plug on the toaster and put it to a different outlet - the answering machine then worked like it supposed to.

My house was haunted - my cats also had issues around the outlets. One time I heard a "SNAP" and one cat jumped right up where it was sleeping by an outlet - would never go near them, ever, again.

 

[Rwb]

It's when my toaster used to beep like the answering machine - only to find that the answering machine "answered" when I keyed up a radio the toaster was right next to it.

Pulled the plug on the toaster and put it to a different outlet - the answering machine then worked like it supposed to.

My house was haunted - my cats also had issues around the outlets. One time I heard a "SNAP" and one cat jumped right up where it was sleeping by an outlet - would never go near them, ever, again.

kitty musta got "JUICED UP"

 

[Handy Andy]

Furry got all Phoofy!

Jumped from floor to above davenports backside - 4 foot jump for something she didn't like...

​

 

[guitar_199]

I'm going to tell you a story...... if it is useful.... great. If not.... sorry.

Several months ago I decided to set up one of my TRC-458's that I got last year. I wanted to put it on the desk with my ham radios.

So, since the TRC-458 had the biggest footprint... I set it straight on the desk and set my Icom IC-7300 right on top of it. Messed around with the 458 for a while.

Some days later... I went in and turned on the Icom.... got on 20 meters.... and keyed up to send a CQ call. The instant I keyed up.... the clothes washer.... two rooms away..... broke out into a loud buzz. It was the off balance buzzer.....stuck on full. When I walked in... the red "LOCK" light was lit...and the machine completely failed to respond to anything on the control panel. I reached down and unplugged it, let it reset, then plugged it in again.... silence...and the machine was ready to go.

I went back to the radio.... resumed trying CQ calls. The instant I keyed up... the clothes washer lit off again. Same thing.... off balance buzzer stuck on.... "LOCK" light lit. I reset it AGAIN.

I sat down in front of the radios...and assessed the situation. I had used the Icom MANY times with no problem. THIS however.... was the FIRST time I tried it since setting it on top of the TRC-458.

I removed the TRC-458 (removed the coax, unplugged it from the wall, removed it from the desk and put it on a shelf across the room). I then keyed up the Icom.... nothing. Silence. I mean.... the ICOM worked......but no "chiming in" from the clothes washer.

The only "wild guess" that I could come up with was....... when I keyed the Icom.... RF was coupling from the Icom to the 458...and SOMEHOW getting back into the AC wall plug and on into the house wiring....back to the breaker box (the two items were on separate circuits!)....and apparently the washer was sensing it and behaving badly. But as soon as I removed the 458 from the desk ... that was the end of it. I can now work on the Icom...full power ... with no problem...and no objections from the clothes washer.

[edited to add] and by the way... the TRC-458 was powered OFF during this exercise. It was NOT on.

 

[groundwire]

Station ground and common mode current issues