Intermittent Interference

[Monks]

PLEASE HELP!!!

Ever since I moved into my house, all of my equipment has been experiencing
some kind of interference. This is usually a "farting" noise that comes
through the speakers (home theater, computer, guitar amplifier, telephone,
etc.). As far as I can tell, this noise only occurs to devices plugged into
the house's electrical outlets and phone jacks. There is no pattern to this
noise. I kept a log for a while, but it didn't tell me anything. The noise
will last from anywhere between 5 seconds to several minutes. It occurs at
all hours of the day/night, regardless of which day it is. It also does not
correspond to any of my appliances (central heating, washer/dryer,
dishwasher, refrigerator compressor, etc). I have all the same equipment I
had at my old house, and I never had a problem. It does seem to happen more
often when there is moisture in the air (during the summer it doesn't happen
nearly as much as it did last winter). Now, since it is getting more foggy
at night, the noise is becoming more frequent again.

Electricians have replaced the entire electrical panel for the house. They
have put in a new ground post (8 feet deep) and hooked up to a different
feed from the utility company. None of these solutions worked.

I have some video I took on my cell phone of this noise and posted it to
youtube. Please take a look:

Thanks for taking the time to read this.ANY suggestions would be greatly
appreciated. If this is not the right group to post this, I'd appreciate
some redirection.

-Mike

 

[gorehound]

PLEASE HELP!!!

Ever since I moved into my house, all of my equipment has been
experiencing some kind of interference. This is usually a "farting" noise
that comes through the speakers (home theater, computer, guitar amplifier,
telephone, etc.). As far as I can tell, this noise only occurs to devices
plugged into the house's electrical outlets and phone jacks. There is no
pattern to this noise. I kept a log for a while, but it didn't tell me
anything. The noise will last from anywhere between 5 seconds to several
minutes. It occurs at all hours of the day/night, regardless of which day
it is. It also does not correspond to any of my appliances (central
heating, washer/dryer, dishwasher, refrigerator compressor, etc). I have
all the same equipment I had at my old house, and I never had a problem.
It does seem to happen more often when there is moisture in the air
(during the summer it doesn't happen nearly as much as it did last
winter). Now, since it is getting more foggy at night, the noise is
becoming more frequent again.

Electricians have replaced the entire electrical panel for the house. They
have put in a new ground post (8 feet deep) and hooked up to a different
feed from the utility company. None of these solutions worked.

I have some video I took on my cell phone of this noise and posted it to
youtube. Please take a look:

Thanks for taking the time to read this.ANY suggestions would be greatly
appreciated. If this is not the right group to post this, I'd appreciate
some redirection.

-Mike

Do you live near an emergency outpost or something like that? I am not an
expert in electronics or electricity, but I live next to a fire department,
and a busy highway where people are getting stopped by the police alot. I
hear the interference from their radios through my speakers, although I
can't make out anything they say. I just here a buzzing much like you
recorded. It also seems strange that you hear it happens during bad weather
because that's when it happens more often here. Just a thought.

 

[ehsjr]

PLEASE HELP!!!

Ever since I moved into my house, all of my equipment has been experiencing
some kind of interference. This is usually a "farting" noise that comes
through the speakers (home theater, computer, guitar amplifier, telephone,
etc.). As far as I can tell, this noise only occurs to devices plugged into
the house's electrical outlets and phone jacks. There is no pattern to this
noise. I kept a log for a while, but it didn't tell me anything. The noise
will last from anywhere between 5 seconds to several minutes. It occurs at
all hours of the day/night, regardless of which day it is. It also does not
correspond to any of my appliances (central heating, washer/dryer,
dishwasher, refrigerator compressor, etc). I have all the same equipment I
had at my old house, and I never had a problem. It does seem to happen more
often when there is moisture in the air (during the summer it doesn't happen
nearly as much as it did last winter). Now, since it is getting more foggy
at night, the noise is becoming more frequent again.

Electricians have replaced the entire electrical panel for the house. They
have put in a new ground post (8 feet deep) and hooked up to a different
feed from the utility company. None of these solutions worked.

I have some video I took on my cell phone of this noise and posted it to
youtube. Please take a look:

Thanks for taking the time to read this.ANY suggestions would be greatly
appreciated. If this is not the right group to post this, I'd appreciate
some redirection.

-Mike

There may be a cracked HV insulator on a power line,
causing intermittent arcing - arcing might cause your
symptoms.

Ed

 

[EpsilonRho]

Is there any way you can surely determine if the noise is transmitted
through air or conducted through the house wiring or both?
Gene

 

[Monks]

Is there any way you can surely determine if the noise is transmitted
through air or conducted through the house wiring or both?
Gene

The only way I have tested this is by using my little 9-volt battery-powered
guitar amp. It does NOT get the interference and it's not using house power.
I don't have a power supply to be able to plug it into a wall outlet to test
for sure.

It doesn't happen on my cell phone either.

I am going to try shutting down circuits one-by-one in hopes that there is
some miswiring at one of the wall outlets. I'm just grasping at straws now.
I really don't want to move but may have to.

-Mike

 

[Monks]

There may be a cracked HV insulator on a power line,
causing intermittent arcing - arcing might cause your
symptoms.

Ed

Do you mean in the house wiring? Is there any way I can do a point-to-point
test to see if this is the case or not?

Thanks for the idea.

-Mike

 

[Monks]

Do you live near an emergency outpost or something like that? I am not an
expert in electronics or electricity, but I live next to a fire
department, and a busy highway where people are getting stopped by the
police alot. I hear the interference from their radios through my
speakers, although I can't make out anything they say. I just here a
buzzing much like you recorded. It also seems strange that you hear it
happens during bad weather because that's when it happens more often here.
Just a thought.

Interesting. You're the first to have heard a similar sound. It's possible
that it's a radar/police radio because I am near a main road people travel
down. I don't hear voices though, it's exclusively that farty sound like in
the vid I posted. Also interesting that you get it when it's bad weather.
I'm POSITIVE this has something to do with it but still don't know what to
do next, other than to move. Thanks for the reply.

-Mike

 

[ehsjr]

Do you mean in the house wiring? Is there any way I can do a point-to-point
test to see if this is the case or not?

Thanks for the idea.

-Mike

No - not in the house - outside on the utility power pole.
Ed