As it was suggested I brang the antenna in and hooked it up to a short piece of cat 5 cable and tried a hair dryer, a fan and switches and could not detect any noises or strikes.
Perhaps the best way to test is with one of those gadgets that you use to start a fire in the fireplace, barbecue grill, etc. The ones where you pull the trigger and a flame lights several inches away (not just a regular pocket cigarette lighter). Pulling the trigger causes an electrical spark. That should be registered by your system, if everything is OK.
It does detect a noise if you plug and unplug the cable from the back of the card
That suggests that the card is OK. Of course, if I understand correctly, it's a new card - and works the same as the previous card.
There are really only 4 things involved: software, computer card, cable, antenna. Your software is working OK if it detects anything, ever (unless you have wildly mis-adjusted something). You have tried two cards. You "replaced" the cable. Guess what's left?