# Radio Haunted



## Colorado Outbacker (Jun 6, 2005)

Quick Question!









Has anybody had thier radio start turning itself on and off when it feels like it? Mine started doing this on our last trip. We were dry camping, batteries were good and charged. The radio would turn itself on and off. We had to finally pull the fuse so we could get some sleep. By the way the fuse also takes out the light over the Queen pull out bed. Any Ideas?

Thanks
Tony


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## kjdj (Sep 14, 2004)

Mine is an AudioVox radio and the remote from my kids DVD player screws with it.
The DVD pause is the radio off.

Maybe another device remote issue?


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## Ghosty (Jan 17, 2005)

Hi.

Same thing happened to me several times so I thought that I would figure it out.

I can tell you the long boring technically drawn out engineering explanation but here is what i figured out with the help of my Ham Radio knowledge, a ICOM 7000, and a scanner ..

Your remote is on a very VERY widely used frequency...

Harmonic freqs from ATC radars near airfields will trigger it, aircraft radios will trigger it, TV remotes from neighboring trailers can cause it to fire up, and the list goes on and on...

Now with me it seem to only occur at night when there is less electronic "noise" to interfere with the harmonics --

I swear once when I hit my Car alarm in the middle of the night to make sure the truck was locked the radio kicked on and unfortunatley my daughter had previously been rocking out (volume up pretty good) -- so when I hit the car alarm and the radio kicked on I got about 5 pounds lighter right there on the spot...


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## Doxie-Doglover-Too (Jan 25, 2007)

do you see dead people?


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## W4DRR (May 17, 2005)

Ghosty said:


> Hi.
> 
> Same thing happened to me several times so I thought that I would figure it out.
> 
> ...


It is an RF remote, as opposed to an IR remote?









Bob


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## Ghosty (Jan 17, 2005)

W4DRR said:


> Hi.
> 
> Same thing happened to me several times so I thought that I would figure it out.
> 
> ...


It is an RF remote, as opposed to an IR remote?










Bob
[/quote]

Mine is -- not sure what make or model other OUTBACKERS have in them .. but mine works on a frequency not Infrared


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## W4DRR (May 17, 2005)

Ghosty said:


> Mine is -- not sure what make or model other OUTBACKERS have in them .. but mine works on a frequency not Infrared


I suppose so they will work through walls and around corners, instead of just line-of-sight.
I have never really taken a close look at my remote. I can't say if it has the tell-tale IR emitter sticking out the end or not.

Bob


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## jetjane (Feb 8, 2007)

I discovered mine does that too this weekend. I had even blamed my DD a few times for leaving it on while we were out fishing because she was wasting battery power.







It was even on when we arrived home from our trip. So what's the fix? Remove the batteries from the remote every time? That would suck!


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## Eagleeyes (Aug 1, 2007)

jetjane said:


> I discovered mine does that too this weekend. I had even blamed my DD a few times for leaving it on while we were out fishing because she was wasting battery power.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Have you tried a better quality scotch?

Bob


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## Colorado Outbacker (Jun 6, 2005)

Thanks for the input. I never thought of the interference from other remote radio traffic. We were camped in a very remote location but now that I think about it the Friends we were camped with did have a security device on thier truck. Not sure if that was the interfenance or not but I will try the radio again now that we are away from his truck. I will let ya know!

Truly appreciate the helpful comments!








Tony


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## pjb2cool (Apr 8, 2004)

Doxie-Doglover-Too said:


> do you see dead people?


You're sick


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## Ghosty (Jan 17, 2005)

jetjane said:


> I discovered mine does that too this weekend. I had even blamed my DD a few times for leaving it on while we were out fishing because she was wasting battery power.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Actually YOUR remote is not the issue -- its other folks triggering your radio ... nothing you can really do

And the interference does NOT have to be close to you -- it can b a passing plane, radar, etc etc...


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## W4DRR (May 17, 2005)

Ghosty said:


> Actually YOUR remote is not the issue -- its other folks triggering your radio ... nothing you can really do


Operate the radio inside an RF Screen Room???


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## jetjane (Feb 8, 2007)

Ghosty said:


> Actually YOUR remote is not the issue -- its other folks triggering your radio ... nothing you can really do
> 
> And the interference does NOT have to be close to you -- it can b a passing plane, radar, etc etc...










That was silly of me!! LOL Anyway, that still sucks. I guess we'll have to flip the breaker then every time we leave or go to sleep.


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## h2oman (Nov 17, 2005)

When mine does come on it only plays Megadeth. No one seems to mind except the DW for some strange reason.


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## BigBadBrain (Aug 26, 2004)

A mechanical engineer friend of mine gave me this solution when I asked him:

Perform a mechanical exorcism. Here's how:

1) Obtain a hammer and a screwdriver (these are like the cross and holy water to electrical problems) and disconnect the radio from the power by removing the fuse (this is rather important to avoid getting infected by the demons yourself!)

2) Place the screwdriver (it can be either flat blade or Phillips or even square drive) blade first towards the face of the radio (so it is pointing towards the face of the radio and the handle is away

3) Hold the screwdriver with one hand, pick up the hammer with the other and say: "By the power granted to me by my mechanical engineer friend (you may have to say friend of a friend since you don't really know him but I do), I hereby release you from electrical demons and gremlins!" You have to speak clearly and loudly so the radio hears you.

4) Then begin pounding on the screwdriver with the hammer until the screwdriver has passed through the radio faceplate, through the CD player (if so equipped), through the circuit boards, and finally, through the power supply and out the back of the radio.

It seems kind of complicated but it's really quite simple. The last step is to cut the wires in the back of the radio that go to the power and wrap them in electrical tape to prevent shorts. Then you can hook up the power again and be free of worry!

I know, you're thinking that this couldn't possibly work but I did it to mine and haven't had a single squeak from it since! It really really works!

Happy I could help!









BBB


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## ntputter17 (Aug 17, 2007)

BigBadBrain said:


> A mechanical engineer friend of mine gave me this solution when I asked him:
> 
> Perform a mechanical exorcism. Here's how:
> 
> ...


I hate that ya'll are having this problem, I thought I was the only one with a possesed radio. We had to have a family class on how to pull the fuse. It is now part of routine maint........


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## Lady Di (Oct 28, 2005)

Ours never worked, so didn't have to perform any surgery except for radio removal. Worked well.

We now use a portable. We don't listen much when camping.


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