marine radio interference

[Poindexter]

My VHF Marine transceiver(Icom)stops scanning and freezes when I turn on my Humminbird LCR 4000 fish finder/depth recorder. It also creates a lot of noise in the radio. The radio speaker is on the dash beside depth recorder. What could be causing this?

 

[amirm]

Re: marine radio interference

The fish finder may be generating RF noise that is leaking through the power supply leads into your radio. RF may also be leaking through the wires going to the transducer. For the latter, make sure you put on the "chokes" that block RF on your lines if it came with one. If the noise is leaking through the DC (battery) line, then putting a capacitor across the leads there should help (I would put a .01 microfarad ceramic cap -- radio shack should have them for a few cents each).<br /><br />You may also have placed them too close to each other. Is the speaker a remote one? If so, disconnect and see if it is causing the problem. If so, you may want to use a shielded capable as it may be picking up noise (acting as an antenna).<br /><br />Good luck,<br />Amir

 

[Boatist]

Re: marine radio interference

Is it doing it only on one channel or does it stop on all channels. My old Lowrance depth finder interfeers with VHF channel 72 but all other channels ok so I just do not use channel 72. <br /><br />I did lots of things to try and cure the problem but only thing that worked was the wrapp the depth finder unit is foil and grond it. I called Lowrance and they said that they were also trying to find a cure and would notify me when they did. They also said the interference coming from the LCD itself. <br />Well they never did notify me of a way to fix so I just do not use channel 72.

 

[cuzner]

Re: marine radio interference

This may be a little extereme for your situation,but I was getting interference on my fishfinder + vhf with engine on.I ran a new set of wires, direct to my house battery, and instaled a new fuse panel, dedicated to electronics only (ff,gps, vhf, stereo).Not only did it solve interference problem, also put it in a spot where I can get to it without bending my body like a circus act.<br /><br /> Jim

 

[Poindexter]

Re: marine radio interference

Thanks for all the help. This is a great site.