Welding Machine Interference
This is the unstable arc formed during arc welding radiating broadband electromagnetic noise and interrupting the response of a radio remote control on the same site. The complaint typically appears for the duration of the welding and disappears completely once welding stops.
An arc is a plasma that keeps going out and re-igniting; these sudden changes in current produce noise that is both radiated through the air and conducted through the earthing and the mains. TIG welding machines using high-frequency arc starting in particular are strong disturbers.
- Diagnosis: if the problem goes away when welding stops, welding is the cause. Repeat the same test for the inverter and for crane movement as well, to separate welding from the other causes.
- Prevention: keep the welding machine and its earth cable away from the receiver and the antenna; connect the earth clamp as close as possible to the workpiece, so that the loop area of the welding current is reduced.
- Panel side: do not supply the welding machine from the same line as the receiver supply; use a separate circuit and a line filter if needed.
- Operation: do not leave the crane holding a critical load during welding.
This item is the most easily verified scenario when identifying the interference source in an intermittent response fault.
The context in which this term is used: 433 MHz or 2.4 GHz?