Echosounder interferes with Test Match Special (and the weather)!

[Mirelle]

This must be a very common problem.

It is impractical to listen to Radio 4 Long Wave with the echosounder on, and I suspect that this may be connected to the fact that both the echosounder and Radio 4 Long Wave use the same frequency.

Is there a simple solution apart from switching the echosounder off?

 

[savageseadog]

Are you talking about a portable ? if so you can obviously turn it and move it round, the directional aerial will help.
The other thing to do is put ferrite rings on all the connections to the sounder. Check the screen on the transducer cable is properly connected.

 

[oldharry]

Lying in the mud down between the keels doing the mid season scrub a couple of weeks ago (joys of boating and all that....), I was mystified by a regular clicking noise. Wind blowing up me long Johns? Gribble getting going on my luvley wooden hull? Digital watch throwing a wobbly after being dunked in Dell Quay mud? Some new form of marine life evolving from the Chichester sewage outfall upstream? Maybe my arthritic joints started clicking? (wave various parts of anatomy to check accompanied by ribald comments from the jetty nearby). No.....

Not till I went back aboard did I see the echo sounder still pathetically trying to find out where the water went! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[Mirelle]

Please tell me more...

Actually the radio is a Brookes and Gatehouse Homer. Splendid for the purpose, though navigationally redundant.

Tend to use the ferrite rod aerial ("Heron") for long wave reception, as per the makers' instructions. Turning it around finds and loses the signal, but has little effect on the clicks.

I need to know about ferrite rings and screen connections. What should the screen be connected to?

 

[Goldie]

In/around UK your problem would be solved with a DAB radio - nothing too expensive - as TMS is broadcast on the 5 Live Xtra channel. You just have to remember that this stays with TMS instead of reverting to the R4 shipping forecast.

 

[savageseadog]

Re: Please tell me more...

The screen must be connected to signal ground often but not always negative or earth. This is usually dealt with in the connector that goes into the instrument but there may be other joins. The other thing to check is that the cabling isn't waterlogged as that could also give rise to these problems.

 

[Pye_End]

I find leaving the radio at the stern of the cockpit gives me no clicking. Problem is when the weather comes up a bit, and they take spray. I am on my third radio, although they are not expensive ones.

 

[Mirelle]

Re: Please tell me more...

Ah! System is Dataline. I suspect shield not grounded - IIRC no ground provided on "databox". Now I know what to do...

 

[awol]

Re: Please tell me more...

Had the same problem with car type radio and Autohelm sounder. Remade all the connections to both and that seemed to sort it.
DAB radio has one idiocy - the time signal is late!