leakage in a shielded room......and using Zoom

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leakage in a shielded room......and using Zoom

Fizzy
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Re: leakage in a shielded room......and using Zoom

Marc Martin
Administrator
Yes, Zoom meetings are bad for me as well, even though I can usually use my computer without issue for many hours per day.

It could be a number of things, or a combination of them.

- increased network activity to send/receive the audio/video information
- increased PC CPU / video card usage to encode / decode the video/audio streams
- reaction to the video camera itself
- reaction to the video signal being sent from the camera to your computer

I will note that I do far better with audio conferencing, when I only have to deal with my microphone and whatever network traffic is involved with that.  Although even with this, I had to go through several microphones until I found one that was benign enough to use for long periods of time.
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Re: leakage in a shielded room......and using Zoom

Fizzy
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Re: leakage in a shielded room......and using Zoom

emf_sensitive
In reply to this post by Fizzy
hi behappy,
I also have an ethernet connection with no wifi and was still feeling ill from using my laptop. Not as bad as before, but switching to an ethernet connection wasn't the miracle cure I thought it'd be until I read this article:
https://www.emfanalysis.com/low-emf-internet-connection/

In the article, Jeromy Johnson walks you through how to set up a low EMF internet connection. For me, using the proper shielded cables and a ground adapter was key to achieving a healthy ethernet set up. Electra Health is an amazing company that sells the adapters, cables, etc and the article provides links to the products.

Hope this is helpful.
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Re: leakage in a shielded room......and using Zoom

Fog Top
In reply to this post by Fizzy
I'm assuming that your room is shielded with metal which is causing the RF to bounce if because of a leakage point.  I've found the Gigahertz solutions HF35C to be very directional and good at finding leakage spots.  It also has an audible so that one can hear the sound patterns that different wireless devices make so that after becoming familiar with it you will automatically know if it's CDMA, GSM, Wifi, cordless phone, radar, etc.  Their website has a chart to click on listed devices to hear their sound.

Safe & Sound Pro II is another one that is very sensitive, has an audible and a broader measuring range that the HF35C.  It's also smaller and more discrete, so that you can use it in public without attracting attention.

I was asked to measure the RF around a church building using the HF35C which has a long antenna, and while checking outside the building a gentleman living across the way came running over in a panic yelling, "there's a gas leak, isn't there?"!  
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Re: leakage in a shielded room......and using Zoom

Fog Top
Meant to add that I don't think a radio will help you with finding this problem.

In regards to Zoom meetings, I only participate by typing comments and have never used a camera or microphone and have felt OK that way.
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Re: leakage in a shielded room......and using Zoom

Fizzy
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Re: leakage in a shielded room......and using Zoom

Marc Martin
Administrator
> I'll check out Electra Health and the shield cable and ground adaptor.

Unfortunately, I once tried those products from Electra Health, and felt they made my situation worse, not better.  In terms of symptoms while using the computer, that is.  So I reverted back to my unshielded / ungrounded setup. Less symptoms that way.  

But it's worth a try... but just like every suggestion here, it may or may not work out.

The biggest reduction of symptoms I had from the internet connection included doing the following totally different things:
 
   -- switching from DSL to cable internet
   -- comparing various cable internet modems until I found one that bothered me the least
   -- comparing various routers until I found one that bothered me the least
   -- install a ground loop isolator on the incoming coax cable to the modem
      (for some reason that coax cable was causing a ground loop)
   -- install a coax cable signal attenuator on the outside of the house (to knock down the excess signal
       levels that I didn't need to make the modem and cable box work)

Marc
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Re: leakage in a shielded room......and using Zoom

Marc Martin
Administrator
... and I will say, that even though I have trouble with using Zoom, that I do NOT have trouble with my local file backups, in which a hundred gigabytes of data is moved around on my internal ethernet network to a local file server.  Which far exceeds the amount of ethernet traffic that Zoom would require.  So I don't think that local Ethernet traffic is an issue for me with regards to Zoom.

So for me, I'd think that the video camera itself is probably the most likely culprit.

Marc
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Re: leakage in a shielded room......and using Zoom

chupa38
In reply to this post by Marc Martin
Sorry for my ignorance but what is ground loop for coaxial? I attempted to Google it but only found audio ground loop. Thanks!
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Re: leakage in a shielded room......and using Zoom

Marc Martin
Administrator
A ground loop occurs when you've got two different paths to ground connected together (usually indirectly), which can cause interference on audio/video equipment.  It also seems to amplify the fields surrounding everything, which makes EMF symptoms worse.

A ground loop isolator for coax cable eliminates the grounding from the incoming coax cable from interfering (causing a ground loop) with electronics that are already grounded to your electrical system (e.g. router, amplifier, TV, etc. with a 3-prong grounded AC cord)

They look like this:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FRGH4X2/

I have one of these on my incoming coax cable, before it reaches the splitter to my cable TV DVR and my cable internet modem. As I've got a couple of electronics that have 3-prong AC cords (audio amplifier, and internet router).  So having those electronics grounded and the cable coax grounded causes a ground loop, which can be heard on my loudspeakers as an audible 60hz hum.  That hum goes away with the coax ground loop isolator.  Also my tolerance for my cable internet improves with that in place.

Marc