# Radio Waves and Your Speakers **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 21, 2001, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-waves-and-your-speakers/62747 "2001-04-21T01:45:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Freedom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Freedom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freedom)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2001, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-waves-and-your-speakers/62747/1 "2001-04-21T01:45:33Z")
Ok, Something really wierd just happened. Several months ago I let my fiance install the software for our MP3 player. Somehow she screwed up the settings and I can’t get ANY sound out of my speakers unless the sound is coming from the MP3 player. So… I’m sitting here surfing away… When my speakers come to life. I got about 3 seconds of clear audio from them. I’m guessing that it was a local radio station because of the words I heard. …garble garble something backed up on RT. 15 garble garble… Rt. 15 is right by my house. This has never happened before. Does anyone have any clue what just happened? ---
**Author:** ![486](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/ecccb3/32.png) [@486](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/486)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2001, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-waves-and-your-speakers/62747/2 "2001-04-21T05:25:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Freedom \* > \*\*Ok, Something really wierd just happened. > > Several months ago I let my fiance install the software for our MP3 player. Somehow she screwed up the settings and I can’t get ANY sound out of my speakers unless the sound is coming from the MP3 player. > > So… > > I’m sitting here surfing away… > > When my speakers come to life. I got about 3 seconds of clear audio from them. I’m guessing that it was a local radio station because of the words I heard. > > This has never happened before. Does anyone have any clue what just happened? > \*\* Basically it sounds like you got a burst of Radio Frequency Interference (RFI). Alot of electronic equipment runs within the Radio Frequency band…Sometimes a device will pick up Interference from another device or Radio Station… In the case when you get a short bit of sound it is usually caused by some external factor such as a weather or power surge. that station’s RFI may always be there, try turning the volume up loud while no sound is playing and see if you can hear it. my computers/stereo (it’s all connected) allways picks up a local radio station…Most of the time it’s very quiet and in the background (i only hear it when no sound is playing and the volume is turned up fairly loud). other times it is slightly louder (but still quiet). …it can be very annoying (espically because i hate that station) At one time I had a radio’s antanna located somewhat near a set of christmas lights, the stations (that I had tuned in and wanted to listen to) would come in better when the lights were plugged in… As far as your sound not working for anything except the MP3 player, try re-installing the driver for the soundcard. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2001, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-waves-and-your-speakers/62747/3 "2001-04-21T13:54:30Z")
There is a specific truck that goes past my house every few days. I always know when it does because I get about 3 seconds of mixed buzzing/radio sounds in my speakers as it passes. You might have experienced something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Scene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bob\_Scene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Scene)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2001, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/radio-waves-and-your-speakers/62747/4 "2001-04-21T14:01:53Z")
The sound you heard coming out of your speakers was from a truck driver driving by on Rt. 15 with his CB broadcasting a signal a lot stronger than he was supposed to.