I thought I'd post a recent event that could have gone either direction...good or bad. I had been getting allot of noise (way worse than normal / 10-20 over s-9) wiping out the entire HF spectrum and virtually making playing radio next to impossible. I have a portable SWL radio with an s-meter on it that usually I'm able to locate noise generating items (i.e. TV's, power supplies, dimmer switches, etc.) fairly quickly. And after a couple of weeks (intermittently) trying to locate the noise source, finally found it. As it turned out my new neighbor next door had the noise the loudest at his electrical meter (compared to all the other neighbors)...but nothing showing on the s-meter (usually it shows some signal strength but not this time). So I knocked on the door to talk to them. I explained my situation and that I think the noise is being generated from their home. And if they'd be so kind as to help figure out what specifically is causing it so we could fix it. I also explained in that, things like power strips failing can even be fire hazards...and a sign of them failing is generating noise. Usually folks are open to hearing that sort of info' (which is true) and cooperate. They are a very nice young family with 3 little ones running around...so no doubt their safety is important.
He was kind enough to invite me in and we started trying to find the noise source. It's a 2-story home, and although a few things were generating some noise (not badly) on the main floor, it was obvious were striking out. He asked me to come up stairs and check their TV, which was fine up there too. And their oldest boy (8 or 9 I think?) said, "Hey, what about this?" He was pointing at a Kindle reader that was charging. I put my SWL radio next to it and BOOM...we had it! Pegged the s-meter. We unplugged it and all of the noise was gone. Turned out they had bought a Chinese "Universal USB Charger" that by itself was fine. Plugged into a USB and device and it turned the USB cable into an antenna splattering RFI of the likes even a plasma TV wouldn't have done. We laughed, talked, and I shared my sincere appreciation for their cooperation. He handed me the charger and said, "I will let you dispose of this."
So the moral of the story is, it pays to get along with your neighbors. If you are bleeding on them, work with them to fix the problem because you never know when you'll need them to do the same.
Just a positive story that has made my playing radio fun again and I thought I'd share it.
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