TORCHIERE TORTURE!

[w7fe]

I use balanced antennas and a rather extensive ground system in the 
second-floor shack per the K9STH design guide, but I had the same symptoms 
here with a nice new touch-control table lamp the XYL brought home.  I took 
it apart and tried ferrites on the leads, then bigger ferrites with a couple 
of turns on each lead..... no effect.  I gave up, and we sold the lamp at 
the next garage sale.

Then there was my old "tablet" computer with the little pen.  The pen is 
powered, and probably is a tiny transmitter, although I'm not sure of that. 
I do know that the thing sure went bonkers when I tried to use it in the 
shack as a PSK controller.  I sold the computer at the next hamfest and got 
an old ThinkPad for PSK31.

When I remodeled our walk-in closet a few years ago, I got the bright idea 
to use a motion sensor to control the ceiling fixture in there.  Very 
slick...walk into the closet and the light comes on, goes out after about 15 
seconds of no further motion.  XYL loves it... I'm a hero, right?  Well, the 
motion detector circuitry turns out to be a great 40M receiver as well, so 
when I transmit at virtually any power level on 40M, the closet light comes 
on and the "Off" timing extends to about 5 minutes.  "How quaint", says the 
XYL, or sometimes something more colorful, especially late in the evening 
when she's trying to get to sleep. Then she just grumbles, gets up, and 
closes the closet door.  So I haven't tried to fix it...or sell it...or her.

Anyway, good luck, Bry. I think your torchiere lamp is destined for an new 
home at least a block away from any source of RF.... or, maybe the "torch 
(acetylene or similar) the torchiere" treatment is in order...a sure-fire 
fix.

Merry Christmas and Happy SK Night.

73 de Stu, W7FE

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bry Carling" <bcarling at CFL.RR.COM>
To: <BOATANCHORS at LISTSERV.TEMPE.GOV>
Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2007 7:25 PM
Subject: RFI: TORCHIERE TORTURE!


>I have an RFI issue in the house here... I was wondering if
> anyone else has seen this...
>
> I have a tall torchiere in another part of the house, and it
> is the type that you can turn on by TOUCHING the vertical
> bar. If you touch it repeatedly the britghtness changes too.
>
> The only problem is that my rig turns it on too! In fact, with
> every DIT oir DAH of CW it either changes the brightness
> or turns it on/off.
>
> I am getting this on 40m, 30m and 20m CW. The antenna is an
> end fed random wire with an L-network tuner, upstairs on
> the second floor. My "ground" is a wire to the screw on the
> wall plate. Not great I know.
>
> I haven't tried other bands yet!
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> Thanks & 73 - Bry, AF4K
>
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