We keep hearing what sounds like a short (two or three second) burst of digital data which seems to occur randomly. It is picked up and amplified by our TVs, car radios, cell phones, and even the sound systems on our computers. It is obviously not local to our house or neighborhood, because we've heard it on our car radios in Austin, Houston, and San Antonio.
I would like to record a sample of it, and attempt to decode the data. Unfortunately, the random nature of the bursts would likely require 24 hour storage and a great deal of effort to catch. If I knew exactly what I was trying to capture, I could probably devise some sort of smart filter to trigger a recording only when the signal is present, but I don't know what the waveform looks like.
I suspect that it's close to a square wave -hence a composite of all harmonics- because it is detected and amplified by tuners operating in bands all over the spectrum. I guess it could also be a low frequency signal which is directly affecting power supplies in the various devices, but if so then it must also be an awfully strong signal.
If anyone reading this post has noticed this interference and knows what might be causing it, please help save me from my own curiosity!
Quick - get to your nearest grocery store and buy some aluminum foil. Make hats for yourself and everyone in your family. It could be the CIA trying to beam secret messages to you!
Does it sound almost like a digital morse code? I pick up something similar on my baby monitor and my VoIP phone. Also I get a repetitive static "blip" sometimes. And no, I don't need any tinfoil. I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation.