Weirdest computer problem you'll ever hear!!!!!!!

[Black_V!per]

Okay so im picking up this guys transmissions through my keyboard.


Its a redneck on a CB radio, no joke, and i hear his conversations one way through my wireless keyboard. Its not a hacker because I've disconnected my internet for 30 mins and was still able to hear him. Its not my blue tooth dongle, because thats not plugged in right now and i still hear him. PLUS every time this happens, (Later on at night) the functionality of my keyboard is limited to just normal keys. IE the media other uses are disabled.

It may also be my sound card. I have the Xfi platnium, and the interference only plays through my headphones, which are plugged into the media bay headphone jack. The speakers dont have this problem...


I cant decide which is the real problem part.


Virus Scanner/Firewall is up-to-date and on/running.

I have a wired G5, so its not the mouse... I don't know of anyway to fix this, thats why i posted here, hopefully one of you do.


Im connected to the internet via USB, its a wireless firewall modem/router (Pretty neat stuff really)

[freekyE]

Your keyboard has a speaker? NEAT! I always wanted to be able to boost that "tappity tappity" sound.

Maybe, maybe it IS two way and he can hear what you are typing! Spooky!

Seriously though, what kind of keyboard do you have?

[PanzerHans]

Get a recording of it. This is prime digg stuff.....

[Sir_Brass]

Sounds like somehow, the signal he's transmitting on, or some signal repeater that his signal is transmitting through is on the same frequency as your keyboard's Rxcvr frequency.

I can see this happening if a long distance transmitter is transmitting in the higher frequencies, though why they would do that through the AIR is beyond me since with higher frequency, or higher data rate if you're talking digital signals, the more loss you get over transmitted distance (in digital, your Eb/No can more easilly get way crappy over a shorter distance....thus why many wireless networks have such limited range per wireless node).

That's the only thing I can think of. If your keyboard is essentially disconnected from your computer but still on and you're still getting this guy over the keyboard, then it's definitely NOT anything on your computer, but something in how he's trasmitting.

Probably something similar to the now almost-extinct phenomenon when TV remotes trasmitted via radio instead of IR, and sometimes you'd work the remote and end up causing your neighbor's garage door opener to open or close b/c the opening/closing mechanism's remote reciever and your remote control's transmission frequencies were the same.

[Lorian]

Originally Posted by PanzerHans

Get a recording of it. This is prime digg stuff.....

Gotta be a video on Youtube. It's kinda sucks going on digg at school now 'cause there are so many Youtube videos on the front page, which is of course blocked.

[Black_V!per]

I'll have to figure out how to route the cables from the headphone jack to the input to record.

But i found that its not the keyboard, i unplugged it, the internet, and my Bluetooth adapter for 30 mins, and 30 mins later i still had his sound.



P.S. When i do get a copy of what this guy is saying it'll be NSFW material. Which is funny all in itself.

[Acreo Aeneas]

Viper happens often where I am... And my some of the speaker sets will pick up CB chatter more distinctly. It comes down to how well your speakers are shielded from interfering or same frequency signals.

If you don't have shielded speakers and cables, then I suggest you move your system away from other RF gear (lessens your chance of picking up the signal) or setup some frequency block on whatever band that CB is transmitting at / find someway to insulate your machine from CB frequency band signals.

[Sir_Brass]

Originally Posted by Black_V!per

I'll have to figure out how to route the cables from the headphone jack to the input to record.

But i found that its not the keyboard, i unplugged it, the internet, and my Bluetooth adapter for 30 mins, and 30 mins later i still had his sound.



P.S. When i do get a copy of what this guy is saying it'll be NSFW material. Which is funny all in itself.

So you're getting it through your speaker system?

I got the answer: unshielded cables. Or, they're properly shielded, but the signal is coming in so strong that it's overpowering the interference attenuation the shielding provides.

Might be worth it to try and borrow a signal detector of some sort and measure the power levels. If the signal is very weak or right at kTB, then you've got some really crappy shielding, but somehow the speaker system is making for a decent reciever. I somehow think it's a combo of the two: strong signal and weak cable shielding.

If you know what frequency the signal is being transmitted on, then you can do a bit of research to find out what materials would serve as severe attenuators for that frequency range.

[Wimpinator]

Can you verify that the sound is coming through the speakers or is it coming though your PC spear (the one that beeps in the computer case)?

[Black_V!per]

The sound only plats VIA the headphone jack on the expansion bay from the XFi card.


The expansion bay has a RF remote, maybe if i disable it?

[Sir_Brass]

That could very well be it. RF remote....never thought of that before.

It really WOULD be a remote-working-neighbor's-garage-door case then. Try it and and tell us how it goes.

[Wimpinator]

I'm going to hazard a guess that the CB is coupling to the wire that runs between the sound card and the front panel. If the problem does not go away with disabling the RF remote try this:

Find yourself a wire tie or piece of tape
Shut down the computer and open up the case
Locate the cable
Take the extra slack in the cable and make a few loops in it. They should be pretty tight if possible. You want the loops to be nice and round.
Secure the loops with aforementioned tape or wire tie.
Make sure you didn't accidentally unplug something
Close the case and put all of the screws back in
Boot up the machine and test

If this actually works I'll explain why. If not then forget I ever said anything so obviously odd

[Acreo Aeneas]

Hmm your headphone cable may be unshielded and may also be acting as an reception antennae for those CB radio waves.

[Black_V!per]

Originally Posted by Acreo Aeneas

Hmm your headphone cable may be unshielded and may also be acting as an reception antennae for those CB radio waves.

I think you hit it. I used an older pair of headphones that are shielded and havnt had a problem.


But what explains the fact of my keyboard losing functionality?

[Sir_Brass]

I'll hazard a guess, though this is only speculation.

I don't know how wireless keyboards work (that's what i assume you have, since you've talked about blue tooth as well on the comp), but maybe the CB transmition is somehow interfering with the part of the signal band containing the media key commands. Not sure how that'd happen since it's a digital signal, not analog, and thus the entire communication band between comp and keyboard would be for all the info, not just part of the keyboard.