[Elecraft] Weird Ticking QRM

[Jim Sheldon]

Shortly after loading the latest version (4.51) I was occasionally getting a continuous tick-tick-tick signal on the higher bands that was very annoying.  It also showed on the P3 as a very low amplitude, approximately 2 per second swept line (on the waterfall).   It disappeared with the antenna disconnected.  Thinking it was my new laptop, I shut that off to no avail.  This had been going on for several days now, and I was almost ready to tear what's left of my hair out.  The power company had installed one of those new "smart" radio controlled meters on a neighbor's house (I refuse to let them change mine out) and I suspected that too, but this morning I FINALLY found it!  Turns out that 4.51 firmware was not the problem at all!

I have a Black & Decker 18 volt battery drill that I use almost every day for some sort of project and I have been working on installing a new Yaesu 7900 2/440 rig in the wife's car.  I had the spare battery sitting on the rapid charger and it appears the charger is one of those "pulse" types.  Just a few minutes ago, it all of a sudden dawned on me to remove the battery from the charge slot and instantly the ticking noise disappeared!  

Just goes to show you that sometimes it's the simplest things that create the most complex problems - ;)  Boy, I won't ever forget THAT noise source!

Jim - W0EB