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Message |
    
Hotwire
Senior Member
Username: Hotwire
Post Number: 1129
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, April 06, 2006 - 6:04 pm: | 
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Why traveling I was talking to a drver about radios. He said to use an 8 volt max condenser to get rid of static. Mount the condenser to the radio chassis and connect the pigtail to the radios postive wire. He claims that it works extremely well at remove all static from power lines and engines and such! Anybody have some input on this trick? I have a condenser so I will try it. Condenser from a mower or car should work as long as it is less than 8 volts. |
Chad
Advanced Member
Username: Chad
Post Number: 773
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, April 06, 2006 - 8:04 pm: |
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Hopefully it will be MORE than 8 volts. A condenser is a cap. Caps must be operated at or preferably less than their rated operating voltage.
Chad |
Coyote
Advanced Member
Username: Coyote
Post Number: 722
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, April 06, 2006 - 8:37 pm: |
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A condenser out for automobile use would work. |
Hotwire
Senior Member
Username: Hotwire
Post Number: 1131
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Friday, April 07, 2006 - 12:12 pm: |
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Yeah Coyote thats what he told me also. I have one that was on a radio I picked up from a yard sale but not sure what voltage it is. Gonna go to the auto parts store for some.
Chad, I understand what your saying and I agree but the guy was telling me 8 volts or less for some important reason. Told me like on an old car if the condenser volts are to high then the points get to hot and wear out to fast. I 'm getting that maybe damaged to the radio somehow if the condenser volts are to high. Am I making sense? What do you think Chad? Would it matter? Ya think installing a condenser can harm my radio if the condensers rating is to high? When I go to the parts store I will get various types and try them on my old "experimental" radios. I have an old cobra 19, 23 channel that has boat loads of static! Wish me luck! |
Hollowpoint445
Senior Member
Username: Hollowpoint445
Post Number: 1161
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Friday, April 07, 2006 - 10:04 pm: |
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It wouldn't work to eliminate any static that was received through the antenna like road static or electrical noise generated by other cars.
It could work to get rid of some noise that might enter through the power lead, but there are effective noise filters available to do that already.
It could also be used as a bypass capacitor. If it's installed at the source of the noise it'll shunt the RF to ground before it's radiated. It's very effective. |
Hotwire
Senior Member
Username: Hotwire
Post Number: 1136
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, April 08, 2006 - 11:38 am: |
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Well guys I went to the parts store and all they had was condensors for 12 volt systems for 3 bucks. I bought a couple and put one on my old Cobra 148 nwst. Before I did I turned off the NB and ANL and was hooked up to the Imax. I got the same intense static I get sometimes from nearby powerlines or something. It was impossible to hear any station under S3. OK now I solder the pig tail in line with my positive lead and attached the condensor to the rear of the set with the supplied clamp. Results was amazing!! All static was eliminated 100%!!!! With just an occasional zzttt here or there from distant lightning! The NB and ANL just work that much better now with no and I mean ZERO level of any interference what so ever with the NB on! Today One is going on my dads mobile Uniden! I may put one on my mobile later but I have gotten my noise problems taken care of in that install already. The base setup Connex maybe later too but really not a noise issue with it either.
So this is great for a radio without a noise blanker or poor noise blanker and ANL's. Anyone having trouble with engine noise or whatever from the car or truck needs to do this. Its a cheap solution and easy and neat looking installed on the back of a radio!
Hollowpoint I hear ya about still recieving noise from the antenna. I have yet to drive around to see if any difference. I believe most annoying interference from a mobile install is through the power lead and hey for 3 bucks it way cheaper and just as effective than one of those costly big filters. I was really amazed how it cleaned up while on the Imax running a power supply! Now where do you think all the interference was coming from? I'm gonna try a battery on the base and see what happens. Surely a battery will give clean power and all noise will come from the antenna only. Just gonna play around a little and see. |
Hollowpoint445
Senior Member
Username: Hollowpoint445
Post Number: 1171
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Friday, April 14, 2006 - 9:12 pm: |
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It sounds like the power supply was sending some noise through the power leads. Did you put a multimeter across the output terminals and check for A/C voltage?
I run a fairly large capacitor across the terminals of my power supply for a couple of reasons. One is that I want absolutely no voltage drop when I'm running SSB - which is nearly all of the time. The other is filtering. I won't mention the manufacturer of my power supply, but I will tell you that I have checked for A/C across the output terminals and it always has a little, and the capacitor drops it to zero. |
Hotwire
Senior Member
Username: Hotwire
Post Number: 1167
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, April 15, 2006 - 3:29 pm: |
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I will try that Hollowpoint. So I should check for AC voltage while the PS is on or off? How big of a capacitor should I use on my 45 amp power supply? I love it when I have more things to do now! |
Hollowpoint445
Senior Member
Username: Hollowpoint445
Post Number: 1173
Registered: 6-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, April 15, 2006 - 5:19 pm: |
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You need to do it while the supply is operating to see if there is any A/C in the output. Manufacturers call it ripple, but it's just A/C making it past the output filtering.
Use whatever value capacitor you want to use. Mine is about the size of a 16oz beer can and cost me $1 used at a hamfest nearly a decade ago. It's only .35 farad. Thanks to custom car audio demand, big capacitors are now cheap. Just be careful with them because they discharge FAST and can be dangerous. |
Hotwire
Senior Member
Username: Hotwire
Post Number: 1174
Registered: 1-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, April 16, 2006 - 11:25 am: |
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OK Hollowpoint I will be careful.
"Thanks to custom car audio demand, big capacitors are now cheap".
I say what you paid is cheap. Have you seen what they cost these days? Like 100 bucks for a big one! The cheapest I ever found was .5 farad for around 50 bucks. Maybe cause they have a digital read out on them. I have a friend who can help me with one to try out. |
