KX Video picks up Radio Trans

icywarm · 09-10-2011, 08:31 PM

So out at the mall today I was shooting some video of my son at a baby crawl... I was standing 6 inches away from the broadcast array of the local radio station. Didn't think anything of it... got home tonight... NO audio... nothing but noise! Video I took 5 mins before... clean and after clean... if you listen to the noise on the clip you can almost make out the radio station... kinda like when you used the older radios that needed to be tuned with a wheel... that sound just before you tuned into the station... I am vaguely aware of the broadcast laws in Canada and the rules around "this device cannot give off interferance and has to accept any interferance... ect"

Just out it strange! So when you are taking video... watch out for radio arrays!

(also... it was very localized... the second half the video where I stepped closer to the stage... the KX mic kicks back in with only a little radio interference... maybe moved 2 feet!)

RioRico · 09-10-2011, 08:52 PM

Yeah, high-level signal generators will do that! My aunt lived near a 50kw AM transmitter and claimed she picked up KFI-640 (Los Angeles) on her fillings. That was before they went all-talk, so at least she had music to listen to: Polka Party, Hit Parade, that sort of stuff. But the Night Owls' midnight chatter kept her awake.

Options:

1) Stay away from transmitters.
2) Wrap the camera in a Faraday cage or lotsa tinfoil.
3) Electrical ground -- run a cable from the tripod socket to a metal stake or plumbing.

Hypocorism · 09-11-2011, 08:17 AM

Originally posted by icywarm

... ... if you listen to the noise on the clip you can almost make out the radio station... kinda like when you used the older radios that needed to be tuned with a wheel...

Just out it strange! So when you are taking video... watch out for radio arrays!

Nice. So slap your innocent clip up on somewhere popular like Youtube and you might get stung for reproduction of copyright material.

.R.

markdesmarais · 09-12-2011, 08:13 AM

Yep, I grew up across the street from an AM station. We used to joke that you could get it on the toaster.
Being that close to a transmitter is above and beyond what most consumer devices are tested to.

GibbyTheMole · 09-12-2011, 08:45 AM

Originally posted by markdesmarais

We used to joke that you could get it on the toaster.

Back in the 50s, they had these AM stations just across the Mexican border with monstrous levels of power nicknamed "border-blasters". They were too powerful to legally broadcast in America, so they stuck 'em just the other side of the border & cranked out anywhere up to a million watts. Wolfman Jack started on one of these. They had call letters starting in "X", and ZZ Top's song "I Heard It On The X" was inspired by them.

Anyway, there were lots of wild stories about people close to some of the stations actually picking them up on toasters, bedsprings, their fillings, you-name-it. Not only that, but it was said that birds flying in close proximity to the towers would actually burst into flames. The fields around the towers were allegedly littered with charred dead birds.

So picking up a radio station on a toaster... not as crazy as you might think.

(I work in radio, btw.)

Cheers,
Bobbo :-)

09-10-2011, 08:31 PM	#1
icywarm Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Saskatchewan Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,278	KX Video picks up Radio Trans So out at the mall today I was shooting some video of my son at a baby crawl... I was standing 6 inches away from the broadcast array of the local radio station. Didn't think anything of it... got home tonight... NO audio... nothing but noise! Video I took 5 mins before... clean and after clean... if you listen to the noise on the clip you can almost make out the radio station... kinda like when you used the older radios that needed to be tuned with a wheel... that sound just before you tuned into the station... I am vaguely aware of the broadcast laws in Canada and the rules around "this device cannot give off interferance and has to accept any interferance... ect" Just out it strange! So when you are taking video... watch out for radio arrays! (also... it was very localized... the second half the video where I stepped closer to the stage... the KX mic kicks back in with only a little radio interference... maybe moved 2 feet!)

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09-10-2011, 08:52 PM	#2
RioRico Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Limbo, California Posts: 11,263	Yeah, high-level signal generators will do that! My aunt lived near a 50kw AM transmitter and claimed she picked up KFI-640 (Los Angeles) on her fillings. That was before they went all-talk, so at least she had music to listen to: Polka Party, Hit Parade, that sort of stuff. But the Night Owls' midnight chatter kept her awake. Options: 1) Stay away from transmitters. 2) Wrap the camera in a Faraday cage or lotsa tinfoil. 3) Electrical ground -- run a cable from the tripod socket to a metal stake or plumbing.

09-11-2011, 08:17 AM	#3
Hypocorism Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Melbourne .au Posts: 623	Originally posted by icywarm ... ... if you listen to the noise on the clip you can almost make out the radio station... kinda like when you used the older radios that needed to be tuned with a wheel... Just out it strange! So when you are taking video... watch out for radio arrays! Nice. So slap your innocent clip up on somewhere popular like Youtube and you might get stung for reproduction of copyright material. .R.

09-12-2011, 08:13 AM	#4
markdesmarais Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Massachusetts Photos: Gallery Posts: 186	Yep, I grew up across the street from an AM station. We used to joke that you could get it on the toaster. Being that close to a transmitter is above and beyond what most consumer devices are tested to.

09-12-2011, 08:45 AM	#5
GibbyTheMole Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Iowa Photos: Albums Posts: 2,275	Originally posted by markdesmarais We used to joke that you could get it on the toaster. Back in the 50s, they had these AM stations just across the Mexican border with monstrous levels of power nicknamed "border-blasters". They were too powerful to legally broadcast in America, so they stuck 'em just the other side of the border & cranked out anywhere up to a million watts. Wolfman Jack started on one of these. They had call letters starting in "X", and ZZ Top's song "I Heard It On The X" was inspired by them. Anyway, there were lots of wild stories about people close to some of the stations actually picking them up on toasters, bedsprings, their fillings, you-name-it. Not only that, but it was said that birds flying in close proximity to the towers would actually burst into flames. The fields around the towers were allegedly littered with charred dead birds. So picking up a radio station on a toaster... not as crazy as you might think. (I work in radio, btw.) Cheers, Bobbo :-)