Constant radio static driving me up the wall!!

[Rohan]

This is a problem I have had for about 3 years now.

When I'm sailing or just anchored out here in the Potomac/Chesapeake I try to be a good boy and keep a radio on channel 16 on all the time.

But the constant static, almost 100% of the time drives me crazy. I don't know if it's other people's radios causing it or what. Messing with the squelch usually doesn't do anything. Keying the mic stops it for a couple seconds.

I can keep the volume super low, but then what's the point if it's so low I can't hear someone trying to reach me. Sometimes I have to turn it off for awhile just for my own sanity.

I have two radios, my built in VHF and a small handheld one. Both of them have the exact same problem so I don't think its the radio problem. They also both transmit and receive fine.

If I hold the handheld radio or put it in my lap, then it usually stops for awhile. Making me think it's interference from something on the boat. But - the evidence against that is this is ONLY happening on channel 16. If I switch to another channel it immediately stops every time.

Installed radio is a Icom IC-M402. Handheld is a Uniden MHS75.

Any suggestions? And do newer radios have any kind of filters to help with this

[CaptTom]

I've had things interfere just on 16 before. LED lights (or more specifically, their power supplies) are common culprits. I have a WiFi extender which sometimes does this. Not sure why, maybe it depends on which WiFi channel it chooses on boot-up.

Try turning everything off, one at a time. Even cordless devices. It's worth a shot.

[JPA Cate]

Yes, sometimes autopilots generate radio frequency noise, also. There are fixes.

Ann

[John_Trusty]

Either interference or you are picking up distant comms so the radios are amplifying static. In either case, the squelch should eliminate. Can you make the static silent by maxing the squelch on either radio? If so, start from silent and turn squelch down until the static reappears, then up slightly. Results?

[The Boat Galley]

Have you tried turning the squelch up? It's designed to filter out the static.

[senormechanico]

My BlueSky MPPT solar controller messes up 16. No other channel gets affected.

[Gudgeon]

Originally Posted by The Boat Galley

Have you tried turning the squelch up? It's designed to filter out the static.

Did you read his post? He said messing with the squelch did nothing.

[thomm225]

Turn it off or go to channel 13.

Down this way if you leave your radio on during a holiday weekend when it seems every boat around is out there and wanting to talk on the radio, you would never sleep.

There is a rather simple fix though.

Turn off the radio.

[s/v Jedi]

Well I don’t know about most of the answers but it clearly is your boat.

You have been plagued by this for three years but you never thought of taking the handheld into your dinghy and move away from the boat a bit to test this? I mean come on man, step it up a notch

[Rohan]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

You have been plagued by this for three years but you never thought of taking the handheld into your dinghy and move away from the boat a bit to test this? I mean come on man, step it up a notch

It usually stops with the handheld when I move away from the boat. I did some methodical checking yesterday, my handheld keeps crackling and popping when I'm near one of my portable batteries (I keep a few on the boat) and usually stops when I pull away. OK, so there's one culprit.



But again, why does this only happen on channel 16?? (which just happens to be the one channel I need to keep on). No other channels, not even 13, which is a similar one. That just makes no sense to me at all.




And everyone - of course I tried the squelch!

[thomm225]

Remove the portable batteries. If static still a problem, start disconnecting or turning off all other electrically powered devices until static stops.

This means everything. Test with hand held if necessary after disconnecting solar controller if you have one.

Remove or replace anything that causes the static.

[john.foreman]

I purchased an Ecoflow portable battery to run my 120v refrigerator underway and at anchor. (I don't have an inverter). I planned to simply plug the portable battery into my shore power connection to supply 120v to my boat. The plan worked perfectly; the refrigerator ran for seven hours, could charge laptop, etc. However, the Ecoflow portable battery causes static on all my radios; including my handhelds. (Strangely only on even-numbered channels) Ecoflow tech support said they have heard of these problems and suggested moving the batteries further away from the radios...tough to do on a boat. Bottom line. I keep the Ecoflow battery in the engine room (turned off) and use it only when I get to the anchorage and turn off the VHF radios.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Rohan

Any suggestions?

Take your portable battery off the boat and move it a good distance away and see if there are other problems also. If not, great, you've found the source.


If you're going to keep the portable battery on your boat then you will have to make sure that your antenna is electrically isolated from it. This can be achieved through a combination of distance (put your antenna at the top of the mast) and isolation to be sure that your whole mast doesn't become, electrically, part of the antenna.


Unfortunately, the way you decouple the mast from the boat is to add ferrite beads or cores to the feedline just before the connection to the antenna. They will not work if installed lower because of the capacitive coupling between the feedline and the mast. Use some sort of cable clamp to secure them inside the mast so they don't bang around.


Get ones that will fit your coax. You want mix 43, by the numbers 18 inch-long beads should do it; you want enough to get the series resistance up to around 5000 ohms. These are around 275 ohms each at 156.8 MHz, see https://fair-rite.com/product/round-...its-446164251/

Here are some that will fit most RG 213. They're cheap:



https://www.digikey.com/en/products/...CMyFgKypAXQF8g


There are other options if you have smaller coax or if you can install the beads before the connector is installed on the coax.


Another choice is to take your portable battery apart and put similar beads on the battery leads and output power leads to reduce the amount of RF it radiates.

[Shrew]

Originally Posted by Rohan

But again, why does this only happen on channel 16?? (which just happens to be the one channel I need to keep on). No other channels, not even 13, which is a similar one. That just makes no sense to me at all.

https://akwg.cap.gov/media/cms/US_VH...6E75413CF3.pdf

Because each VHF channel is a different frequency

VHF CH 16 = 156.800 MHz
VHF CH 72 = 156.625 MHz

My guess is whatever is causing the interference happens to be closest in wavelength to 156.800 Mhz which is, coincidentally, the frequency you monitor most of the time.

I would shut down everything in the boat and start by isolating those portable batteries.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Rohan

T
If I hold the handheld radio or put it in my lap, then it usually stops for awhile. Making me think it's interference from something on the boat. But - the evidence against that is this is ONLY happening on channel 16. If I switch to another channel it immediately stops every time.

Sometimes interference is at a particular frequency. I would imagine that the power conversion circuitry in your portable battery operates at close to 156.8 MHz or at a frequency for which 156.8 is an odd-numbered harmonic multiple, 52.3 MHz, 31.4, etc.