Anybody else have this problem?

[myteaquinn]

Does somebody in your house just start the microwave without asking if that is going to be a problem? I just posted a comment about Cupid Radio today and as soon as I hit enter my wife must have hit the start button. If we were buried under fifty feet of dirt in rural Kansas there would be a nuclear missile on its way to Moscow right now. Another question what can you cook in a microwave for twenty-five minutes anyway?

[Will Snyder]

Sounds to me like you've got 2.4GHz problems in your house and a leaky microwave.  We used to have a 2.4GHz cordless telephone, and whenever we turned on our microwave, it would render the telephone useless. I bought a set of 1.9GHz DECT phones, and that problem disappeared.  If your household WiFi network is on one of the 2.4GHZ channels, upgrading to 5GHz 802.11a equipment is likely to correct that problem.  Otherwise, depending on the microwave oven's age, you could complain to the mfr and demand that the mfr replace it.

Will Snyder

[refmo]

Heh, our microwave doesn't cause much of a problem.  Currently, my wife just started the washer (laundry), which has a very noisy servo system.
I can't really complain though --  We have agreed that laundry should be done during mid-day, when there is usually very little on the radio.  But sometimes there are things on mid-day.

[skeezix]

Try moving the WiFi to channel 11. But if the microwave is spraying everywhere like a cheap 11m linear... go to 5 GHz. Or, even better, ethernet.

[jFarley]

Microwave: no problem.  Light dimmers: big problem.

As might wife gets ready for work after 9 PM, she seems to go from room to room where we have the dimmers.  I don't want them, of course, but I have long ago lost that argument.  They cause tons of QRM, particularly on LF.

In the past, it has been suggested that I could do better with respect to turning lights off when I am not using them, and I have tried to comply by sneaking around behind her and turning off dimmers in rooms which nobody currently occupies.  Of course, this behavior was corrected when discovered.

The solution is patience and using the QRM time as snack time; everything will eventually be turned off.  It's a good time to pop a family size frozen lasagna into the micro; some of these take 20 minutes or so to cook.

[ChrisSmolinski]

This is a problem with Panasonic microwaves that use "inverter technology" to vary the power level. Ask me how I know!

It is not a problem with microwaves leaking out the door vs RFI being produced in the power circuitry, and presumably being conducted/radiated via the power cord. Moving the WiFi channel can help to some degree. The next thing I want to try is lots of ferrite on the power cord where it exists the enclosure.

[Pigmeat]

It's the deadly blow dryer and faulty alternators here. It seems every third car that goes down the street has a crappy alternator.

If everyone had the courtesy to lose their hair at young age, like me, blow dryers wouldn't be the menace they are today.

[myteaquinn]

Thanks for the ideas but the microwave is about five years old so I'll just have to suffer. Now the router is another thing, I've been planning on upgrading sometime, now might be a good time. I think that I'll take refmo's position, with the kids gone we usually use the microwave no later than dinner time. The only problem is during the weekend, something that I'll have to deal with. Thanks again all.

[hsmith77]

The problem here is the mixer my wife uses to make mashed potatoes . The results make the problem worth the noise .

[Chanter]

I wondered why the heck passing cars would cause QRM!  That explains the intermittent issues I have when going portable with the PL-660.  I was afraid it had something to do with electric cars gaining popularity; I was really hoping not, as I quite like the idea.  Aha, buggy alternators.  Bleh, but a fixable bleh. 

As for hairdryers, usually I'm the one using the thing!  Comes of having a mane (hey Mark, you can verify that one, hm?)    Unless we're all at my parents' place (I'm not the only long-haired gal in my family) I don't have to worry about that problem!