The QRPer Board

Good evening, so I bought my first HF radio and unfortunately I didn't look at many reviews. Im getting loads of interference all over the 10m band and I'm not sure if it's the transceiver or a setting I need to turn on. It's a xiegu x6100 using rg8x and I tried it on both xtenna and one of Tim Ortiz dipoles. Any suggestions ?
Every interference is a high pitch spaced out about evenly across the screen. It shows about 10 on the screen. I tried loading a picture but I'm not sure how to make the file smaller
Please excuse my lack of proper terminology I've had my license for over 4 years and just getting around to getting into now.
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thanks Doug

Hi, Doug.

If you're seeing and hearing interference all across the band, a prime culprit could be radio frequency interference (RFI). Resolution can be as simple as eliminating a faulty wall wart power supply or as complex as applying chokes to all cables coming into your shack. If you're not already powering your radio from battery, I'd try that first to eliminate a power supply problem. If the problem still exists, it will require some sleuthing to find the cause.

Make sure you have proper grounds on your equipment. One at a time, try unplugging each device in your shack. Computers and LED lights are prime suspects. If nothing in your shack is the problem, check other rooms in the house. Sometimes the problem isn't even in your home - a neighbor's plasma screen TV or a power pole transformer near your home could be the problem. Do an internet search on solving RFI problems and you'll find a lot of available information. A search on this site could also prove fruitful.

Lots of us have had to deal with this problem and most solutions are relatively simple. As many have found, operating portable in the field is a great way to lower the noise floor.

Good luck and 73,

Jim - K0RGI

Thanks Jim,
So I've tried removing the power supply and taking it completely out of the house to my deck same issue. I was actually looking through the instructions to see about grounding the unit and came up empty handed. Im assuming it should be as easy as running to the hardware store grabbing a piece of copper pipe and pounding it into the ground and running a wire from it to the transceiver? Maybe attach the wire to the leg?
I did try killing all the power in the garage where I was to see if that cleared up the issue with no luck. So hopefully grounding the unit will do the job and if not I'll start looking into a choke.
Thank you very much for taking the time to help me out with some suggestions

Good morning, Doug.

Reading the results of your testing, a couple of things come to mind. Are you able to switch off the mains breaker in your electrical panel without causing issues? With the radio on battery power, that would tell you if the problem is internal or external to your home.

If the RFI disappears, you can switch your mains power back on and then try switching off individual breakers one at a time to isolate the noise maker. That will tell you where to focus additional investigation. Once you find the culprit, Jim Brown K9YC has published a lot of information on how to resolve your problem. Here's a link to the pertinent section of his website. http://www.k9yc.com/publish.htm.

If you still have the noise with your mains breaker off, you'll have to start looking around your neighborhood. There are techniques for doing this and a web search will provide information.

Shack grounding is a rather complex topic, and it's much more than pounding in a ground rod. The ARRL publishes a well regarded book - Grounding and Bonding for the Radio Amateur. I'd recommend you obtain a copy and read it for guidance on your particular needs. Your local library or ham club may have a copy you could borrow. Speaking of ham clubs, I'd recommend you join your local club. The assistance you may find there would be invaluable, especially as a new ham just starting with HF.

73, Jim - K0RGI

Thank you for all of your advice! I will let you know what I come up with. Thankfully no interference on 40m for some reason and I can at least listen to the Morse as I learn