Periodic noise


My system picks up noise every eight minutes. There is a kind of scratching mid-register ("ta-ra-ta-ta") sound that last for ten or fifteen seconds. It is similar to descriptions of "GSM buzz" but it happens regularly and regardless of whether our mobile phones are on or off. It happens when the analog source is selected, not other sources (or not obvious, in my system). It is very clear when the volume is mid-high, with no music playing. It is not from the cartridge and the tonearm cable, since it happens even when I disconnect them from the phono stage. When I disconnect the phono stage, however, I don't hear it. So it seems to be picked up from the phono stage itself. It happens across different phono stages. Shielding the cables with ferrite does not help much. It seems like a very strong signal.

Anyone recognizes this problem?
o_holter
Ground your turntable to wall outlet center screw or to preamp this should help also ground your tonearm.
Now it is close to our bedrooms. And I wonder, how healthy is this, with such strong bursts?
As can be seen in some past threads here, it is not uncommon for people to hear interference from radio stations when listening to phono sources.  A factor in that, obviously, is the very high gains the signals at phono stage inputs are subjected to.  In this case the issue arose only when the security device was in the same room as the phono stage, and only when that source was selected.

All of which would seem to suggest that the signal strength involved is very weak.  And I suspect that it has to be, in order to meet FCC Class B certification requirements that are intended to protect against interference with radio and TV reception beyond distances of about 10 meters.  And any potential for effects on health would presumably be further weakened in proportion to the low "duty cycle" (ten or fifteen seconds out of every 8 minutes).  So personally I wouldn't be concerned.

It might be worthwhile, though, to try to find technical specs for the particular device via Google, or in the manual if you were given one.  If an indication is provided of how much power it transmits, and at what frequency, it might be interesting to see how that compares with typical wifi power levels and frequencies.  My understanding is that laptops may transmit a few tens of milliwatts in the 2.4 GHZ band, at a distance that is of course much closer to the user than the security device is likely to be.  Also, I have a 2.4 GHZ wireless access point in my house which I understand to be considerably more powerful than most, and it can transmit up to a little under a watt when necessary. 

Regards,
-- Al
 
P.S:  Cymbop, thank you kindly.  However, I'd much rather listen to my stereo system than have to deal with all the problems the President has to face :-)

P.S: FWIW, I note the following statement in the datasheet for the security system device I linked to earlier, which like your device transmits every 8 minutes. This is in addition to a separate statement in the datasheet indicating compliance with FCC Part 15 requirements for a Class B digital device, which are intended to "provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation."
Radio frequency radiation exposure information according 2.1091 / 2.1093 / OET bulletin 65
This equipment complies with FCC radiation exposure limits set forth for an uncontrolled environment.
This equipment should be installed and operated with minimum distance of 20 cm between the radiator and your body.
This transmitter must not be co-located or operating in conjunction with any other antenna or transmitter.
20 cm is about 8 inches.

Regards,
-- Al

Thanks, Al. The transmitter was close to 8 METERS from the system, and yet the speakers made noise like mad. I am not in the "very worried about exposure" camp, but it was quite special. It is the pulse that matters (15-20 seconds per 8:20 minutes). If the specs only give the average radiation, they won't tell the full story. Thank you for your input, I will investigate some more. 
@almarg @o_holter 

The OP didn't say how long the interfering device had been in place or how long the interference (noise) had been perceptible. 

So my question is: Could this noise be "a canary in a coal mine?"

In other words, if the devices had been in place for awhile but the noise only recently began to be heard, would it be an indication of something failing (a noise shunting capacitor perhaps?) in the signal chain?

Not that I want to turn over too many rocks but I am curious....