Tzt3 causing static on vhf

[Akisland]

Having issues with static interference on vhf icom m506 when tzt3 is powered on. There’s little to no interference when tzt3 is powered off. How can I correct this?

 

[FishTech]

Check out your grounding systems. Make sure that they are clean and correctly done.

If you do not have the chassis ground attached to an RF performance ground you could do so.
If you already have the chassis ground attached, remove them and see if there is a difference.

 

[Akisland]

I’ve been trying to narrow down where interference is coming from. I narrowed it down to my Drs2d-nxt in standby mode. My tzt3 and radar are on the same switch. No interference when I removed fuse from radar. All cables from roof have to go through same wire run. I have my excess radar cable coiled on the roof prior to the wire run. Any suggestions. Thanks in advance.

 

[Johnny Electron]

Ensure the radar antenna and the VHF antenna are not close together. NMEA.ORG recommends at LEAST 3 feet distance between them. Ensure the radar cable and VHF whip antenna cable are not running up along side each other as you might be getting some high communications bleed over. Sometimes adding conductive tape over the pigtail joint before wrapping is helpful along with adding EMI core filters on both sides of the pigtail joint of the radar connection.

 

[Akisland]

Johnny,

Late update. So you were correct with the radar cable being too close to the vhf cable. I was able to isolate as best as I could and that made a huge difference. I also put the radar on its own switch since I don’t have to use it all the time. Thanks again for problem solving help.

 

[Johnny Electron]

Thanks for the follow up. Glad to hear it improved.