Blitzortung.org Forum

Full Version: PCB 19.3 Coil whine?
You're currently viewing a stripped down version of our content. View the full version with proper formatting.
Hi everybody,

Since a couple of days my System Blue, PCB 19.3, locks up sometimes and it is making a constant chirping/whining noise.
The noise seems to be coming from the three large coils near the power LED.

Is this normal?

update: I swapped the usb power supply. the old one was generating 4.00V, the new one, 4,96V. The sound is less noisy, but still present... I downgraded to fw 8.2, from 8.3b2 too...
(2016-12-02, 17:03)Polyphemus Wrote: [ -> ]Hi everybody,

Since a couple of days my System Blue, PCB 19.3, locks up sometimes and it is making a constant chirping/whining noise.
The noise seems to be coming from the three large coils near the power LED.

Is this normal?

update: I swapped the usb power supply. the old one was generating 4.00V, the new one, 4,96V. The sound is less noisy, but still present... I downgraded to fw 8.2, from 8.3b2 too...

May a stupid answer Blush  but are you sure that the noise does not come from the buzzer and you did configure it in the settings?
(2016-12-04, 10:31)elythomaslumber Wrote: [ -> ]
(2016-12-02, 17:03)Polyphemus Wrote: [ -> ]Hi everybody,

Since a couple of days my System Blue, PCB 19.3, locks up sometimes and it is making a constant chirping/whining noise.
The noise seems to be coming from the three large coils near the power LED.

Is this normal?

update: I swapped the usb power supply. the old one was generating 4.00V, the new one, 4,96V. The sound is less noisy, but still present... I downgraded to fw 8.2, from 8.3b2 too...

May a stupid answer Blush  but are you sure that the noise does not come from the buzzer and you did configure it in the settings?

Hi!

Yes I checked, and it is not coming from the buzzer. It really comes from the side of the three coils (black squares)...
What is the current rating of the USB power supply? Did you populate through-hole LEDs? That will increase the current draw.

Your first USB supply sounds like it was overloaded if it can only provide 4V.

Coils can make noise if the wire is a little loose and is excited at the resonant frequency. A poor power supply might be running in a mode that would result in a lot of noise. This could be audible in the coils. I would look for a cleaner USB supply with higher current capability. If a friend has an oscilloscope you could observe the output and check for electrical noise that could be causing the acoustic noise from the coils.

Greg
(2016-12-07, 21:02)HamelGre Wrote: [ -> ]What is the current rating of the USB power supply? Did you populate through-hole LEDs? That will increase the current draw.

Your first USB supply sounds like it was overloaded if it can only provide 4V.

Coils can make noise if the wire is a little loose and is excited at the resonant frequency. A poor power supply might be running in a mode that would result in a lot of noise. This could be audible in the coils. I would look for a cleaner USB supply with higher current capability. If a friend has an oscilloscope you could observe the output and check for electrical noise that could be causing the acoustic noise from the coils.

Greg

Hi Greg,

Thank you for your reply. I will try some other USB adapters. The ones I was using were Apple 10W power supplies which at first seemed sufficient, but are dipping in voltage as they are powered on after a short period of time. I will report back later.