Might sound familiar to some of you and poses no easy question. GSM buzz and similar, obnoxious phone signals, this is what I've always dealt with since I have my Sony WM-2011. For long I tolerated it as it was no big deal, but things changed. For those of you who don't know what I mean: a buzzing noise whenever you get closer to an antenna (or a building with an antenna) and the quick glitchy-sounding toc-sounds with seemingly repeating patterns as a phone sends and receives data. Some may know this from things like guitar and bass amplifiers which can sometimes be prevented like this. Yet this doesn't quite help in my case. Still don't know what I mean? Please check the video in the spoiler below. Spoiler Skip to 17 seconds to hear it. Now since a while I encounter extremely loud signals on my train track, akin to turning my cellphone on next to my walkman. So loud it had me forcefully pull my earbuds out as that was quicker than hitting stop. At first I thought it was a one-time experience, but the next time the same happened. This railway is being repaired at this time so I can't confirm if it's still there, but ever since last month there is one spot at the track giving this strong signal which even demotivated me to keep my analogue music on as soon as I enter the train as it's pretty unpleasant and (probably ear-damaging) loud. Unfortunately I can only speculate, but they've started establishing 5G in my area around that time and a rough map shows that they set up an antenna somewhere in that area, so I do have the fear and suspicion this could be the culprit. Considering they want to expand the network and do in fact do so, I'm worried about still being able to enjoy my analogue music on the go in the future... So here are my questions: Did anyone make any experiences with 5G and signals on walkmans? Furthermore, any idea how to seal off your walkman against those phone signals?
Very informative links , especially about the nature of GSM interference. Not much to add other than that if the interference is unaffected by the volume adjustment then it is entering through the output stage ( via headphones cable ?) of the walkman and not the source of the signal thus eliminating what part of the circuitry needs to be shielded and/or filtered .
I was going to suggest Ferrites and note that the Guitar Amp article already does. For those that don't know the cylinders on Playstation controllers etc are the same thing although on something like that the intention is to stop the Playstation from interfering with Radios etc https://superuser.com/questions/217772/what-is-that-cylinder-on-cables Something else I was thinking. Has the Walkman ever been repaired? If so was every internal metal shield etc put back correctly? Are all ground connections present and correct? If something is wrong in that area, then the chances are the Walkman will still work but will be more prone to external interference.
I'm not sure the WM-2011 was ever properly shielded against all the interferences bombarding it these days. I believe it should have been sometime around 89 to 91 when it was built? Cellphones weren't all too common yet. Unfortunately I have no info on whether it was serviced before regarding the circuits. All I know is that the belts were definitely replaced before it was sold. It's also hard to tell whether it changes with volume, overall it's pretty loud to begin with. I might have to do some investigations there. @Machaneus I don't think it's the headphone cable itself as the main cause as I use it with other devices like my MZ-R500 MD walkman, which doesn't receive anything. Though perhaps it's the combination of the architecture at the headphone jack and the cable working as an antenna for it that does it. On another note, I experience nearly the same level of interferences with an WM-EX190 I own (a version with the up to date logo, not the old one), generally only on analogue cassette portable devices, mind you. MD and DAT are all fine. Both tape walkman models are of similar shape and architecture at first glance, though the inside is vastly different. I would gladly try whether this happens to the same extent on one of my Wm-2091, but both are unfortunately (still) defect. Didn't have the time to get to them yet. Maybe I'll try attaching a ferrite to my headphone cable soon and see how that works to sort things out one by one. Overall I'm highly interested in what the impact of 5G could be on these devices as well, whether those very fast and deafening versions of this noise are related to its signal.
Filtering works in both directions, in a similar way to sound or heat insulation. A digital product like a MiniDisc player is effectively a small computer using high frequency clocks, so they probably had to put filtering on things like the headphone output to stop radio frequency signals getting out. The same filtering will be equally effective in the other direction. People in Europe will be familiar with the CE mark which started in 1993. That requires EMC (Electromagnetic Compatibility) testing for both emissions and susceptibility to be carried out on a product before it is put on the European market. Before then it was just what the manufacturers thought they could get away with. The introduction of CB radio was the first real test for many items like TVs and some performed badly. In the USA FCC compliance testing is similar, but I don't know how the standards compare. Back to the original problem there are ways of reducing interference, clip on ferrites being the first thing to try. Most personal stereos incorporating radios use the headphone lead as an antenna so it is obviously quite effective at picking up signals, whether you want them or not.
I used to get this buzzing when my Walkman is near my mobile phone, but I have no experience with 5G yet. Now I don’t have issues with the buzzing anymore since I started to use a headphone amp, just a nice side effect of adding the amp. Not sure why the amp makes a difference, but it does.
You can make a small pouch for your Walkman, lined with metal mesh fabric. Maybe a pencil case is the correct size, and cutting/fitting foil inside a fabric sleeve will prevent the unwanted signals hitting the device. Or, a small size pelicase with metal foil lining would be ok. You can cut a small hole for the headphone cable.
Thanks for all the feedback on this! Got plenty of options to give a try now. @TooCooL4 I take it you use the line out jack then as opposed to the phones jack then? Maybe this plays a role in it, or the amp is simply working like ferrite there.
I would guess that your headphone amp is much newer than the Walkman. The difference between a design with good immunity and one that picks up everything can literally be a few pennies worth of components. Of course the designers of the Walkman couldn't anticipate everyone walking around with a high power transmitter combined with a supercomputer in their pocket or base stations on every other street corner. Going slightly off topic a former colleague worked for Siemens when they were developing one of the first ever GSM phones. He said that the "phone" used to go around in a Transit Van and that it needed more processing power than any standard desk top PC back then. Of course Moore's law mean't it could be shrunk down to a sensible size by the launch of GSM in 1991.
