VERY strange problem, Antec P180 fans cause TV interference

[snoopy3525]

I have an Antec P180 which comes with a top fan and a rear fan, both which have LOW/MEDIUM/HIGH speed settings. These are Antec 120mm 3-speed TriCool fans.

My mothers room being right next to mine is the only room in the house which uses Antenna TV, and I just found out when I turn one or the other fan speeds to HIGH, there is pretty bad TV interference (seems like the frequency is being messed with or something)

If these fans can cause TV interference an average room away... Could they also possibly cripple my wireless connection or any other devices that emit electrical frequencys to communicate?

And why would these 120mm fans do this?

 

[blue68f100]

Good question, They are suppose to be brushless. Contact Antec and see what they have to see. It possiable something is rubbing in the armature.

 

[nukemaster]

they should not...i mean 2.4 is far off of what the fan will emit....
but a microwave will mess with wireless

i would try all fans...and see....almost sounds like defective fan.....

 

[overlandpark4me]

Another thought?

It takes very little to interfere with a TV signal when it is coming in from an antenna. When I was a kid, I remember my picture going nuts when my mom used pretty much anything downstairs in the kitchen. Products are shielded to the point where it wont mess up your neighbors picture (apartments excluded), but not your own. You're probably on the same breaker also. Find the breaker for the TV room and see if yours goes too (computer off before you do this of course). Maybe another outlet in your room or the TV room is on another breaker, so you can see if that fixes the problem.

 

[snoopy3525]

Hmm... I didn't realize that about antenna TV's that it would take very little to mess with the frequencys.

I played with both the back and the top fan. Interchanged one high and turned the other off, and did the same for the other, still got the interference.

Guess i'll just tell her to deal with it for now until I figure something out. I emailed Antec and I guess i'll see what they have to say

 

[bberson]

Try the fans without the controller. Those cheap crap controllers can cause tons of problems.

Fans that emit interference can interfere with TVs can also interfere with cordless phones, cellphones, WiFi, etc. As the frequencies rise the likelihood lessons but harmonics can go a long way in such close proximities.

What you need to do is find some ferrite cores and use them on the fan wires and in fact, use them on all the DC and low-frequency AC wires (NOT I/O cables like IDE, SATA, USB, etc.) going to your motherboard. Place the cores as close as possible to the source of RFI.

You might also want to get wire mesh filters to go over your fans and think twice about the wisdom of that Lucite side panel, if you have one. If your fans mount onto plastic, run a ground wire from the wire mesh filter.

-Brad