[RFI] RFI turn out to be a New Solar Panel installed on Roof of Garage 700 feet away from my QTH

[Jim Brown]

Hi Randy,

Don't consider me an authority on solar systems -- they are an evolving 
industry, and too much for me to keep up with. That said, there are (at 
least) two fundamental mechanisms that I'm aware of that generate 
noise.  One is the charge regulation system that prevents overcharging 
of the battery, and it's accomplished by pulse-modulating the charging 
current in various ways. That noise is only present which there's light 
hitting the panels.  The other mechanism is the DC to AC inverter, and 
it's present whenever the batteries are supplying 120-240 VAC.  The 
characteristics of both mechanisms are essentially the same -- the noise 
is strongest at the lowest frequenciess, but how quickly it rolls off 
with increasing frequency depends on circuit design, equipment 
construction, wiring layout, and distance.  My neighbor's system wipes 
out 6M during the summer months during the day.

73, Jim K9YC

On 7/2/2017 4:40 AM, WX5L wrote:
> Dear Jim,
>
> In a normal solar panel installation, in your experience, should the RFI
> component change after the sun light is removed? Should the RFI reduce after
> the sun sets?
> Also is the RFI broadband or only affects a certain area of frequencies? The
> solar RFI I am having seems to be extreme only in the lower frequencies 3
> mhz through 10 mhz.  I can point my quad directly at the house 2 doors down
> and not hear it at 14 mhz.
>
> They also have a multi passenger family ATV that I am suspecting the
> charging system.
>
> Before I approach him I wanted to get some facts together.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Randy
> WX5L
>
>> Solar arrays normally make noise only when the sun is on them.  An
>> exception to this would be panels that charge batteries and then have
>> an inverter that runs either all the time or only when the power
>> company is down
>
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