After reading lots of wierdo problems here, now I have one that doesn't make sense.
Last night at 2, I was getting static, or the FM version of it (bad reception) on one FM station. A KLH digital clock radio (maybe 150 dollars 24 years ago, with good FM tuning and a rotten AM tuner.)
When I turned on the ceiling light in my bedroom, the rough edges of the sound went away and the sound was clear. When I turned off the light the sound got bad again. Tried it twice. That fixture had one 60 watt incandescent and one 60 watt equivalent cf bulb.
When I turned a lamp with one incancescent bulb, nothing changed.
So I turned that off and turned on -- I don't know the name -- In the
60's they called them high-tension lamps, iirc, that used auto bulbs and had a transformer in the base, that also was heavy enough to keep the lamp from falling over. Now the bulb is a special base and costs about 5 dollars, and has a flat plastic cover over it. When I turned that on, the rough edges went away and the sound was good. Tried it twice.Then I watched a movie on tv, and tried again at 4AM. That time, the radio workded fine no matter what light was on or off.
I have been having problems with this station for 2 or 3 months, although maybe it is always in the day when the lights are not on.
It's 88.1, a station only 5 to 20 miles from here. OTOH, the other three FM stations have worked well consistently, and they are in DC,
35 to 50 miles from here. 88.1 was fine for years and years and is still fine on all my other radios. Including the 15 dollar clock radio that sits on top of the radio in question, with one 2 inch speaker. Despite how much I paid, KLH doesn't seem to be a very good brand.Coincidentally?, the incandescent bulb in the ceiling was not working (burnt out? Haven't checked yet) at 4AM, though it never gave a flash of white. But what difference could that make since it when the light is ON that the radio worked well.
The ceiling fixture is on a separate circuit from the radio, along with another ceiling fixture, the attic light, the roof fan, and the outlets at the work bench in the basement.
The other two lamps are plugged into the same outlet as the radio in question. Along with 2 vcr's whose clock was lit but nothing else was running, another clock radio whose time was showing but nothing else was on, and a cradle for a cordless phone charger (that uses a wall wart). A lot of other things are plugged in there, but none were running.
Why doesn't my radio work right when the lights are off?