Don, Ed,
Thanks for the advice. I'm going to remove the ground wire I connected to the
computer. It isn't helping to reduce the RFI anyway. What I did was connect a
wire to the computer chassis and run it to main ground wire in the basement. The
computer was designed to be grounded, but there is no ground wire in AC wiring
in this house. There is only a ground wire in the basement where the main lines
come in, and that is connected to the water main.
As an update...
I was supposed to install a high-pass filter on the neighbor's TV today at noon.
We had agreed on this day and time. He was home, but he wouldn't answer his door
or his phone at noon or a little later either. The same thing happened on
Friday. So, I left him a polite note tonight asking him to contact me within the
next couple days if he still wants help in getting rid of the RFI. I also
printed out a copy of this -
http://204.245.190.45/tech_ed_and_training/resources/67-12005.cfm which has
general information about RFI, and describes what his responsibilities are in
resolving the problem. If I don't hear from him, I'll start operating again
while he is home. If he complains, I think the first thing the FCC will tell him
is to cooperate with me and the landlord to get the proper filters installed on
his equipment. I'll continue to be polite and offer to help, but if he won't
cooperate, he has no basis for complaining.
Thanks again for all the replies. I don't think I've ever had such a good
response to a question asked on an email list.
73, Gerry Maira KA2MGE
Ed - K0iL wrote:
>
> On Monday, 25 December, 2000 2:11 PM, W6YN Don Milbury [SMTP:w6yn@juno.com]
> wrote:
> > A word of caution:
> > NEVER ever touch another persons equipment.
>
> Don makes a good point here as does the ARRL in all of their RFI books. As
> Hams we are only licensed to operate in the Amateur Radio Service and carry
> on any experiments there on our own equipment. A ham license is not a
> license to be an electronics technician although you may know more about
> RFI than most electronic techs. There are other ways to obtain that
> classification and be legal.
>
> > You are not qualified to repair home electronic equipment. Many states
> > license people to do that work.
>
> This means know what your state's laws are before getting too involved in
> helping out a neighbor. I may've eluded to some sneaky work that I had
> done to a neighbor's lamp myself. I was taking a chance, but a calculated
> one on my part. I have a BS degree in engineering and have worked as a EE
> in Nuclear Plants and now in the Comm field so my experience level gives me
> a level of comfort that others probably do not have when working on stuff.
> Also, Nebraska is a "right-to-work" state so we have fewer of the labor
> regulations that usually restrict people from performing various tasks.
> Being aware of these facts I calculated the risks involved and what I
> could gain.
>
> Working on my neighbor's lamp was a judgement call based on how willing she
> was to resolve what was essentially "my problem" with her noisey lamps. I
> actually took the lamps into the shop where she bought them and purchased a
> replacement controller for each one ($6 each). The installation was
> something much less than I do on a daily basis at work, but there was still
> some risk involved since we live in a litigous society (not as much though
> in Nebraska!).
>
> So be safe and know your own limits. Be a good neighbor and use education
> as the best means of accomplishing your goal.
>
> 73,
> de ed -K0iL
>
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