Hey all, just curious, I don't know much about radios, but I'm wondering what, if anything, I can do about the constant static coming out of my low band radio. I just installed a kenwood tk-6110 to replace a maratrac. The maratrac had constant static when not tx or rx. The kenwood has a little less, but still will jump into static at any moment. Any ideas?
low band static issue
- Thread starter emt322636
- Start date
MPD 818
Member
emt322636 said:
Sounds like you need to adjust your squelch settings. Think of squelch as a filter. You can leave the squelch all the way open and the radio will hear everything in the airwaves including static. You can close or tighten the squelch up and it will probably help alleviate some of what you are hearing.
I understand about the squelch, the squelch dial on the maratrac didn't seem to do a thing. I don't see where to adjust squelch on this new Kenwood either.
paff2
Member
Haha, yes 911, it is programmed correctly. There is no PL tone, just a transmit tone for the main dispatch channel. Sends/receives beautifully just random static storms.
And it is installed in a 2009 dodge ram.
And it is installed in a 2009 dodge ram.
Can you take it to a local radio shop? If so, have them check to see that the antenna is properly grounded. If the problem followed you with a different radio, the culprit is least likely to be the radio itself. Also make sure that the ground wire used to power the radio is a good solid ground wire, preferably into the frame or negative terminal to the battery itself. Squelch settings are also a likely an issue and last but not least, ensure everything has the proper PL tone on the receive side.
I've got a TK-780 I'm getting ready to go out and tune -- it's been doing the same thing. What has to be done should be done by a radio tech as technical adjustments to the radio are necessary. The radio must be put into test mode and then the adjustments need to be made.
I've got a TK-780 I'm getting ready to go out and tune -- it's been doing the same thing. What has to be done should be done by a radio tech as technical adjustments to the radio are necessary. The radio must be put into test mode and then the adjustments need to be made.
paff2
Member
I don't have experience with the dodge trucks, but I am seeing more problems lately with the newer vehicles having interference from the onboard computer. Seeing it mostly in foreign vehicles, but I also have it on my chevy truck. One major downside of low band. Hopefully thats not the case for you because it really sucks.
You may need to program one of the feature buttons to be the "Squelch" button. I know this is the case on the TK-690. You may want to see if the radio is equipped with a noise blanker, and if it is, turn it on.
With regard to the TK-690, the Squelch button allows one to push said button and use the channel select knob to dial the squelch from 0 to 16 (or something on that order). Knowing how Kenwood likes to make everything similar to everything else, I'd wager the 6110 can have a Squelch button as well.
With regard to the TK-690, the Squelch button allows one to push said button and use the channel select knob to dial the squelch from 0 to 16 (or something on that order). Knowing how Kenwood likes to make everything similar to everything else, I'd wager the 6110 can have a Squelch button as well.
This kind of problem is difficult to track down, and the fact that you are using the receiver open squelch, rather than with PL (CTCSS) tones means that the you could be getting static from adjacent channels too.
First try adjusting the squelch. If that doesn't eliminate the static, try isolating the source. Also check your antenna coaxial cable to be sure that there isn't extra antenna wire that could be picking up the static or that you may have nicks or something to cause a "leaky" coax. What kind of antenna are you using, sometimes changing from a full 1/4 whip to a loaded base coil antenna might help.
When we had low band radios on Dodge vehicles in the 1990's, we had to filter the power supply to eliminate static, which was definitely attributable to the engine and transmission and occurred at certain RPM shift points. Our 100 watt high band transmitters also blew the transmission computer chip when transmitting, the result of very poor grounding in the unichassis vehicles. We also installed extra ground links between K plates to help eliminate those issues.
I would suggest that if the ground wire is not already run directly to the negative battery pole, you may want to try that, too, so it may eliminate any static that could originate in the ground.
First try adjusting the squelch. If that doesn't eliminate the static, try isolating the source. Also check your antenna coaxial cable to be sure that there isn't extra antenna wire that could be picking up the static or that you may have nicks or something to cause a "leaky" coax. What kind of antenna are you using, sometimes changing from a full 1/4 whip to a loaded base coil antenna might help.
When we had low band radios on Dodge vehicles in the 1990's, we had to filter the power supply to eliminate static, which was definitely attributable to the engine and transmission and occurred at certain RPM shift points. Our 100 watt high band transmitters also blew the transmission computer chip when transmitting, the result of very poor grounding in the unichassis vehicles. We also installed extra ground links between K plates to help eliminate those issues.
I would suggest that if the ground wire is not already run directly to the negative battery pole, you may want to try that, too, so it may eliminate any static that could originate in the ground.