Topic: I'm going crazy with my boltek antenna

[i_fiorentino]

Hi guys,
i've bought boltek stormtracker three years ago but i've always had some and some noises.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/zqqxxdy0gpuo22q/Cattura.PNG
I've mounted boltek antenna in a pvc pipe on my balcony.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/is9p353hc4quzn6/20131005_093355.jpg
I've used a cat-5 cable.

My problem is the cable!
I've pc in a below stairs and i've installed boltek antenna at the first floor (about 20 mt).
Any advice?
Regards,


Alessandro

[Maumelle Weather]

Hi Alessandro,

Is your Cat 5 cable shielded? I think it needs to be shielded. The cable should have something like "STP Cat 5" printed on it. A regular Cat 5 cable is probably producing too much noise.

John

[dalecoy]

i've bought boltek stormtracker three years ago but i've always had some and some noises.

My problem is the cable!

I am not sure that I understand.  Why do you believe that your problem is the cable?  Rather than, for instance, some noise that is present at your location?

What happens if you shield the antenna?  For instance, put a metal can over it, or wrap aluminum foil over the pipe?  Does the noise go down?  What happens if you experiment by moving the antenna to under the stairs?

More details might help us help you.

[i_fiorentino]

i've bought boltek stormtracker three years ago but i've always had some and some noises.

My problem is the cable!

I am not sure that I understand.  Why do you believe that your problem is the cable?  Rather than, for instance, some noise that is present at your location?

What happens if you shield the antenna?  For instance, put a metal can over it, or wrap aluminum foil over the pipe?  Does the noise go down?  What happens if you experiment by moving the antenna to under the stairs?

More details might help us help you.

Thanks for replies.
Cable is a cat5 shielded, because when i plugged the rj45 there is foil in it.

I believe that the cable is the problem because when a ts is in the vicinity i've a lot of noise, while when there isn't any ts i haven't any noise.
Maybe this conduct could be a wrong rj45 plugged.
I'm not an electrician, so the plug could be plugged badly.

Unfortunately, i can't buy a cat5 cable with two rj45 already plugged because it doesn't go through the conduit to arrive at my balcon.
That's it

I can install it on the down stairs, but how about interferences?
Regards,

Alessandro

[dalecoy]

What happens if you experiment by moving the antenna to under the stairs?

More details might help us help you.

I can install it on the down stairs, but how about interferences?

That suggestion was intended to diagnose the problem which you had not clearly described. 

I am not sure that I understand.  Why do you believe that your problem is the cable?  Rather than, for instance, some noise that is present at your location?

More details might help us help you.

I believe that the cable is the problem because when a ts is in the vicinity i've a lot of noise, while when there isn't any ts i haven't any noise.

Oh, so there is not much noise when there is not a thunderstorm.  Thanks for telling us that. 

What is your noise sensitivity filter setting?  Have you tried adjusting that (in particular during a thunderstorm)?  What were those results? 

What happens if you do the "spark test" but do the spark somewhere not near the antenna, but near the cable?  Or near the PC?  If your system detects a spark only if it's done near the antenna, but not near the cable, then the cable is OK.

During a thunderstorm, try doing what I suggested:  "What happens if you shield the antenna?  For instance, put a metal can over it, or wrap aluminum foil over the pipe? "  If the strikes go down, but the noise does not go down, then the problem is probably the cable.

What sort of building are you in?  It's possible for buildings to reflect the lightning impulse, and sometimes that shows up as noise.

[dalecoy]

Unfortunately, i can't buy a cat5 cable with two rj45 already plugged because it doesn't go through the conduit to arrive at my balcon.

Is this metal conduit?  Or plastic conduit?

[miraculon]

Alessandro,

It sounds like you wired the STP Cat5 yourself, correct?

What kind of ends does it have, the "plug" end?



Or did you wire it to a "jack" like this?



If both ends are a "plug" did you use the shielded type plug and terminate the "drain" wire (inside the foil)? This is very important, or the shield will not help much.

If it is the "jack", it is equally important to properly connect the foil/drain wire to the housing. If you are using the keystone jack in a wall outlet, is the short cable between the Boltek card also STP (shielded)? The shield has to be connected from end-to-end to be effective.

If you did use a "pre-made" STP cable, you should test the shields with a meter or cable tester. Something that can show electrical continuity from the antenna end to the PC card end.

Greg H.

[i_fiorentino]

What is your noise sensitivity filter setting?  Have you tried adjusting that (in particular during a thunderstorm)?  What were those results?  

When ts is in the vicinity i set it to High, otherwise i switch to Normal.
If i leave Normal when i have a ts near to me Nexstorm goes in crash! Too strikes and noises!

Is this metal conduit?  Or plastic conduit?

Plastic conduit.
Nexstorm cable, telephonic cable and tv cable.
All in the same plastic conduit.

What happens if you do the "spark test" but do the spark somewhere not near the antenna, but near the cable?  Or near the PC?  If your system detects a spark only if it's done near the antenna, but not near the cable, then the cable is OK.

During a thunderstorm, try doing what I suggested:  "What happens if you shield the antenna?  For instance, put a metal can over it, or wrap aluminum foil over the pipe? "  If the strikes go down, but the noise does not go down, then the problem is probably the cable.

I'll do it the next time i'll have a ts

What sort of building are you in?  It's possible for buildings to reflect the lightning impulse, and sometimes that shows up as noise.

Good question.
I don't know.
My home is made with the cement, no wood.

It sounds like you wired the STP Cat5 yourself, correct?

What kind of ends does it have, the "plug" end?

yes, correct!
Like the first image, no jack.

did you use the shielded type plug and terminate the "drain" wire (inside the foil)?

Yes, at the end of cable there are a lot of drain wire inside the foil.
The actual cable has been tested with a cable tester.
All pins works correctly and it shows electrical continuity from the antenna end to the PC card.

[dalecoy]

What is your noise sensitivity filter setting?  Have you tried adjusting that (in particular during a thunderstorm)?  What were those results?  

When ts is in the vicinity i set it to High, otherwise i switch to Normal.
If i leave Normal when i have a ts near to me Nexstorm goes in crash! Too strikes and noises!

You really should pick a setting and leave it that way.  However....

Plastic conduit.
Nexstorm cable, telephonic cable and tv cable.
All in the same plastic conduit.

Oh!  What kind of TV cable?  What's it connected to?  What kind of telephone cable?

There is a high chance that one or both of those other cables are picking up noise from lightning strikes, and inducing it in the Boltek cable.  Particularly if the grounds are in common, which is usually the case. 

[i_fiorentino]

What is your noise sensitivity filter setting?  Have you tried adjusting that (in particular during a thunderstorm)?  What were those results?  

When ts is in the vicinity i set it to High, otherwise i switch to Normal.
If i leave Normal when i have a ts near to me Nexstorm goes in crash! Too strikes and noises!

You really should pick a setting and leave it that way.  However....

Plastic conduit.
Nexstorm cable, telephonic cable and tv cable.
All in the same plastic conduit.

Oh!  What kind of TV cable?  What's it connected to?  What kind of telephone cable?

There is a high chance that one or both of those other cables are picking up noise from lightning strikes, and inducing it in the Boltek cable.  Particularly if the grounds are in common, which is usually the case. 

HMmhmh, a classic coaxial tv cable, the same for the telephone cable (a little two red and white cables).
I've bought a cat5 cable really for that, to avoid noise or interference when the cable go through conduit together other cables!

Othewise how could i do to bear out the cable from the downstairs to my balcon?
Thanks!

[dalecoy]

Othewise how could i do to bear out the cable from the downstairs to my balcon?
Thanks!

Of course, I do not know. 

But first, you need to determine whether this is causing the problem, or if it's something else. 

I suggest that you start by doing the "spark test" and the "shield the antenna during the next thunderstorm" test. 

It would also be useful to make sure that there is a good grounding of the shield of the TV coaxial cable.  Is that from an antenna?  Or a cable TV service?  Or ?????

[miraculon]

I had a thought about this. Is it possible that there really are a lot of strokes during a thunderstorm and the system is really just picking them up normally?
I see that you live near a mountain. Does the mountain get hit a lot during storms? Maybe it attracts strikes.

When you have the storms, do the maps like Blitzortung or BLIDS show a lot of strikes near you?

The "can shield" test is probably the best way to determine this. I think that the instructions for Boltek mention this test also.

Greg

[i_fiorentino]

Othewise how could i do to bear out the cable from the downstairs to my balcon?
Thanks!

It would also be useful to make sure that there is a good grounding of the shield of the TV coaxial cable.  Is that from an antenna?  Or a cable TV service?  Or ?????

Principally from the cable tv service, not from antenna.
But how can i do to see if the cable has a good grounding?

I see that you live near a mountain. Does the mountain get hit a lot during storms? Maybe it attracts strikes.
When you have the storms, do the maps like Blitzortung or BLIDS show a lot of strikes near you?

Maybe, because on the peak there are a lot of tv or gsm antennas but it is not really a mountain it is a Hill (600meters high).

The "can shield" test is probably the best way to determine this. I think that the instructions for Boltek mention this test also.

So, i should cover my antenna during a ts....and fter that i shouldn' t see any strikes on nexstorm map, right?

[miraculon]

So, i should cover my antenna during a ts....and after that i shouldn't see any strikes on nexstorm map, right?

When I covered my Blitzortung ferrite antenna with an iron pipe, the signal dropped 30dB. I suspect that you will see something similar with the Boltek. It should be greatly attenuated, with very few strikes or noises getting through.

[dalecoy]

You could get a knowledgeable friend (or kid) to check that your TV cable shield is grounded.