[RFI] 80 meter RF getting into Ubee fiber 6E gateway causing loss of Internet

[David Eckhardt]

Not aimed at you as you know what you're doing.  Just the average ham.......

Dave

On Mon, Dec 8, 2025 at 6:15 PM Dave <rocketnj at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Dave
>
> Please educate me. If I am doing something wrong to solve this, please let
> me know.
>
> Thank you in advance.
>
> P.S. this has not been an issue for over a year and has just popped up
> within the last two weeks. We did have a lightning hit VERY close here
> about the time it started but my operating on 80 meters was limited over
> the last two weeks. The lightning strike was strong enough to set off the
> high temp sensor in the attic on my alarm system.
>
> Dave De Coons WO2X
> Sent from my waxed string and tin cans.
>
> > On Dec 8, 2025, at 12:52 PM, David Eckhardt <davearea51a at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > Jim, they'll never get it or learn.  I've given up......
> >
> > Dave - WØLEV
> >
> >> On Mon, Dec 8, 2025 at 4:08 AM Jim Brown <jim at audiosystemsgroup.com>
> wrote:
> >>
> >>> On 12/7/2025 4:46 PM, David Decoons wrote:
> >>> Hi All,
> >>>
> >>> This had been working fine for well over a year and just started a week
> >> ago.
> >>
> >> Many years ago, I had a gig driving around Chicago fixing sound and
> >> video problems, often in complex systems. When something stopped working
> >> that had long performed just fine, the first question to ask is "What
> >> has changed?"  Called to fix the sound system at Wrigley Field, the
> >> first question I asked was "what work has been done around the park
> >> recently?" and start looking for problems in wiring there.
> >>
> >> In other situations, think about what might have failed in your station,
> >> both in the shack and your antenna system. One thing that comes to mind
> >> is common mode current in the feedline caused by some form of imbalance
> >> in the antenna, the feedline, and matching on either end.
> >>
> >> That common mode current makes the feedline part of the antenna. That's
> >> why a serious common mode choke is needed at the feedpoint of our
> >> antennas. But antennas like yours cannot be effectively choked.
> >>
> >>> New issue popped up where RF out on 80 meters (about 1000 watts) into
> an
> >> "optimized" G5RV is causing the fiber gateway (Ubee WiFi 6E) to lose
> >> Internet connection and go into a reset condition after the RFis no
> longer
> >> present.
> >>> The antenna is about 60 feet from the fiber gateway. Ladder line goes
> >> into coax (no balun), then 50 feet of LMR400 Times Microwave coax to my
> 2x8
> >> 4O3A Antenna Genius.
> >>>
> >>> Antenna Genius, Tuner Genius, Power Genius and Flex radio all in a
> >> server cabinet in the garage 1 floor below the fiber gateway.
> Everything in
> >> cabinet ground to a copper buss then #2 to ground rod about 12 feet
> away.
> >>
> >> So any common mode current on the feedline is going to light up that
> >> gateway.
> >>>
> >>> Network cable from Ubee fiber gateway to Asus mesh router is wrapped 6
> >> times through a 2.4" mix 75 ring (F240-75) with no turns overlapping.
> Power
> >> cable to Ubee fiber gateway has 4 wraps through mix 75 wall wart ring.
> >>
> >> Wrong ferrite material for HF. The ONLY ferrite material suitable for HF
> >> is Fair-Rite #31. See the very specific designs on my website,
> >> k9yc.com/publish.htm  for transmitting chokes, and use them for chokes
> >> to protect equipment. Chokes should be on every cable connected to the
> >> gateway and the router.
> >>
> >>> I have had the Asus main mesh unit as the roiuter with the fiber
> gateway
> >> in bridge mode but have tried setting the Mesh system into access point
> >> mode and using the Ubee as the router, same results.
> >>>
> >>> I do have a Balun Design 1115d 1:1 isolation choke I could put in the
> >> coax line either where it transitions to 450 Ohm ladder line or at the
> >> antenna switch but my feeling is this may be brute force RF getting into
> >> the Ubee gateway.
> >>
> >> That's the least effective spot to kill common mode current. Further,
> >> with the extreme mismatch in your antenna system, any product that did
> >> anything useful would be frying. I don't consider any of these products
> >> to be doing anything useful.
> >>
> >> While you're on my website, download and study my tutorial on Grounding
> >> and Bonding. And buy a copy of the N0AX ARRL book on the topic, to which
> >> I contributed extensively.  Make sure that you get the Second Edition,
> >> which added material on what to do about grounding and bonding antennas
> >> for electrical safety, and which also makes problems like yours less
> >> likely.
> >>
> >> The earth is not a sump into which RF problems are poured. It's ONLY
> >> functions in a station are 1) Lightning protection; and 2) an essential
> >> part of some directional receiving receiving antennas. The earth is big
> >> resistor. A connection to it does not make our stations work better.
> >>
> >> Finally, I suggest that you try to figure out how to rig one or more
> >> antennas that are close to resonant on the bands where you want to use
> >> them, feed them with coax, and put serious chokes at the feedpoint(s).
> >> If you have room for a G5RV (which is really a 20M antenna), you have
> >> room for an 80/40 fan dipole, which also resonates on 15, and is easy to
> >> build. And it's pretty easy to find a way to work a 20/15/10 fan. Both
> >> antennas are better performers than that G5RV.
> >>
> >> 73, Jim K9YC
> >>
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> RFI mailing list
> >> RFI at contesting.com
> >> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/rfi
> >>
> >
> >
> > --
> >
> > *Dave - WØLEV*
> > _______________________________________________
> > RFI mailing list
> > RFI at contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/rfi
>


-- 

*Dave - WØLEV*