Ham Radio Noise

This guy has some awesome ham info. Here is his RFI write up. A lot of it is way way over my head but those could be a good resource.
Edit: I just reread your initial post. Sounds like there is no noise with key off. RFI with ACC or engine on. Did it ever work correctly or is this a new install? What does your install look like? What antenna? Antenna mount?
 
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Colorado4x4 said:
Dang it. Ok, so when you have the Jeep turned off and the radio powered on, does it work normally?
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HF/VHF Transceiver RFI/Noise Kits - Common Mode Noise Filter - Coax - Palomar Engineers®

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I have these on my Kenwood TM-V71A. There are a bunch of filters out there.
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It does. As soon as the Maestro box is powered up it goes to crap. I can even start the jeep with the meastro box unplugged and it is nice and clean.
 
Colorado4x4 said:
This guy has some awesome ham info. Here is his RFI write up. A lot of it is way way over my head but those could be a good resource.
Edit: I just reread your initial post. Sounds like there is no noise with key off. RFI with ACC or engine on. Did it ever work correctly or is this a new install? What does your install look like? What antenna? Antenna mount?
Click to expand...
It wasn't bad when I first installed the ham radio in December. Since then it has gotten progressively worse. It makes me think something in that maestro box is going out.

I have this coax: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LPELALI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This antenna: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NWYVM94/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This mount: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0881Z2LNG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This radio: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QOR05EY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Antenna is installed on the tailgate. Radio is installed under the drivers seat. I have tried all different pathways for the coax with no change. I also tried the antenna on the front fender. No change.

I did install this over the coax and cut over half the noise. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MF90LYC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
Another thing to note... I get the same noise in the same situations with a handheld unit in the Jeep.
 
It’s that Maestro box. I am not a ham radio expert, not anywhere close. I just reread your posts and you have to figure out something with that Maestro box. I didn’t even know what it was until I looked it up. Some device for the head unit and steering wheel controls. It sounds like you need that Maestro box for your rig to work correctly. The fact that you get RFI with a HT in your Jeep tells me it has nothing to do with your install, coax, antenna, etc. I would go to work straight on that Maestro box and then go from there. I know the situation you are in and it’s a pain in the ass and once you get in it you get tunnel vision (or at least I do). Go back to the basics. Everything works great with key off. HT has RFI when key is on. HT has no RFI when key is off. You have some RFI source that is too great.
 
Last weekend I pulled out the entire Alpine restyle and put back in the stock unit. No more noise!

I have been having issues with the fan on the Alpine unit making noise and it randomly rebooting. It is getting sent back to Alpine to get fixed. Hopefully they will replace the maestro unit as well. I included a note about issues I was having.
 
wayoflife said:
Definitely need to have the radio's positive and negative lead go right to the battery. If you attach it to any other power source of ground, you can get noise. Also, it's critical to make sure that the coax cable is NOT following any other electrical harness as that can transmit noise as well. Even something as dumb as a brake light can cause noise.
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This is excellent advice. Thank you! Glad I came across this thread! (y)
 
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