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Re: [RFI] Thumper & not the rabbit

To: "Gary Smith" <Gary@ka1j.com>, rfi@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [RFI] Thumper & not the rabbit
From: "Kenneth G. Gordon" <kgordon2006@frontier.com>
Reply-to: kgordon2006@frontier.com
Date: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 11:06:53 -0700
List-post: <rfi@contesting.com">mailto:rfi@contesting.com>
On 29 Mar 2014 at 12:28, Gary Smith wrote:

> Intermittent anything is hard enough to diagnose but something needs 
> addressed. Any thoughts on what I might look at first before I start 
> digging in? 

My thoughts: 

1) adding the good balun reduced the radiation from your feedline, thereby 
reducing the level of RF getting to the furnace system.

2) SOMETHING in the furnace system is resonant...to some frequency, 
multiple, or submultiple, of a ham band, or even a particular frequency.

Have you investigated trying to find a particular frequency at which this 
thumping is worst? (Might be particularly annoying to your family to do so.) If 
there is such, that might give you a clue (or "clew" for our UK friends).

FYI, when I am on one particular frequency in the 40 meter band, our GFCI 
that feeds the clothes washing maching trips. Also (and I have not yet 
tracked the exact frequency which does this) sometimes (there's that word 
again...) my operations wipe out all the settings in our wireless router and I 
have to reinstall those.

(I have not yet installed the necessary ferrite snap-on chokes on the lines 
going into and out of the router, but will.)

Perhaps (as others have mentioned) installing ferrite snap-on chokes on the 
thermostat wires, and on every other wire going into and out of your furnace 
may help? At least the results of doing that might give you another clue/clew. 
;-)

Have you tried making absolutely certain that the entire furnace is properly 
grounded?

Is this a hot-air furnance, or a hot-water or steam type? Perhaps, if a hot air 
type, a plenum is resonant?

What I find especially intriguing is the MECHANICAL causes of that 
thumping. Most innersting. I wonder what that is? :-?

I would be interested to hear if you can MAKE it thump on each key-down 
while on CW.

Ken W7EKB
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