225BatonRouge.com - Blogs

Remember our photo slideshow experiment? This week I’m upping the ante. We’re playing with video! Or at least we’re playing with a very short video clip so you can better understand this week’s question.

So first I’m going to have you watch this little video clip. I apologize in advance for my poor filming skills. But hey, I’m not making a blockbuster here. I’m just trying to help ya understand!

Before you watch the video, please take note I’m trying to show you the crazy audio my TV gets. So put on your headphones and adjust the volume accordingly. Click here to watch my video and then we’ll get started.

Question: Why do my TV and various electronics in my house pick up the radio?

Answer: Strength, proximity and plastic.

Yeah, that video⎯that’s what happens all the time at my house. I can’t turn it up. I can’t turn it down. I’m just trying to watch The Fast and the Furious and there it is, smooth jazz in the background. Okay, so I’ve never actually seen The Fast and the Furious. I was just trying to make a point about the disparate nature of the intended soundtrack vs. the smooth jazz. But you got that. Even on my computer’s external speakers it’s 90.3 WBRH mashed up with my indie rock madness. It actually amuses me, but I’ve always wanted to get down to the bottom of the mystery. And now I shall and I’ll tell you in case you ever find yourself in my shoes/boots.

Larry Davis, teacher at Baton Rouge Magnet High School and general manager of the school’s WBRH, says it’s because I’m too close to their transmitter. “Those devices, their purpose in life is to look for a signal and amplify it. The closer you are to a transmitter, the more likely you are to pick something up,” he says. “There’s nothing wrong with the transmitter.” Also, most consumer electronics undergo certification to be compliant to The Federal Communications Commission’s Part 15 rules that cover unintentional radiators (things like computers, TV receivers, etc. that may generate radio signals, but don’t intend to transmit them) and intentional radiators (cordless phones, garage door openers, etc. that depend on deliberate radio signals to work). Davis explains this compliance basically says “I am willing to accept interference.” Since my computer speakers and my TV are Part 15 compliant and I’m really close to the station, I get jazz all the time.

Can I do anything about it? Probably. I can try to turn my objects just so they might be less in range, buy an older TV, get a filter, or move my house. “The real problem,” Davis says, “is everything today is made out of plastic. Radio waves can shoot right through it. In the old days, most containers were sheet metal and that shielded the components.” Of all my above options, the one I’ll have to try is getting a filter to prevent RFI (Radio Frequency Interference). And it appears some surge protectors come with filters for RFI. Whoa. Can anyone find the pieces of my mind? Because it’s been blown to bits. So many things a person can learn in a day! I’m off to go learn some more, but before I go, I offer thanks to Larry Davis and congratulate the station on meeting its $40,000 goal during its spring money-raising marathon. The next marathon should be in October, so keep an ear out. You know I’ll be listening (unless this filter thing works out).