[UK-CONTEST] Plasma TV(i)

[Callum M0MCX]

Hello Ian, 

Unfortunately it's not that new (!)a year old or more I seem to remember,
however it's only recently that I actually identified it was causing me all
these issues and genuinely thought it was a common mode mains issue, hence
the large quantity of ferrites I bought to cure it. 

Thing is, for the last 12 months, I've been commissioning / building a new
boat and have had little time to play RF. However with the boat now settled
in, and with the winter coming in - I thought I'd buckle down and go and
play with some contests. I have since realised the extent of this
interference is completely blocking my ability to use radio from home though
and need to sort it out. 

I bought it from John Lewis with a 5 year warranty - I may be able to do
something with them (can I get Ofcom involved..?)  I wonder if anyone at
RSGB can assist though. I do hope so. If not, I'll need to weigh up the
£1,200 I paid for it -vs- my hobby. 

If you know me, you'll know that I won't go down without a good quality
fight though!

I'll keep you all posted.

Regards,

Callum McCormick
http://www.m0mcx.co.uk/
If you think education is expensive, try ignorance. 

-----Original Message-----
From: Ian Fugler G4IIY [mailto:zen90387 at zen.co.uk] 
Sent: 28 September 2008 18:59
To: Callum M0MCX; uk-contest at contesting.com
Subject: [UK-CONTEST] Plasma TV(i)

Callum

It is clearly a new TV.  Is it too late to return the TV to the 
supplier/shop?  You have a cooling-off period during which you can return 
goods.  I think I might be tempted to do so and then do some research on 
this reflector about which plasma TVs cause least interference.

I have recently bought a (spare) CRT TV for when ours breaks down.  It is 
now 14 years old and must be due to go bang soon.  I have heard so many 
horror stories about these new-fangled flat screen jobbies, that I 
determined having a spare CRT TV was a sound investment, even if it means 
installing it purely for contest weekends.

Ian

From: "Callum M0MCX" <callum at mccormick.uk.com>
> Thanks, I dropped him a line.
>
> I've done everything I can (including using 25 x RFC-13 clip on ferrites 
> on
> every mains lead I can find) but still the 20dB over S9 persists on 160m.
> Tonight, I even powered the rig from a generator in case is was common 
> mode
> but to no avail.
>
> Removing my antenna does a good job though!
>
> Cheers,
>
> Callum McCormick
> http://www.m0mcx.co.uk/