Hey! What the heck??

[JB]

This is something new to me. I know what RFI is, and a lot of related bugs. This doesn't seem to be that.

I am using my wireless mouse. Five feet to my left is my 20" Emerson flat screen HDTV. The TV is on antenna, not satellite.

Now and then the TV sort of goes wierd. . . sound breaks up, pic gets full of squares. Lasts only a couple of seconds and I attributed it to weak signal from Dallas, 79 miles away.

Now I notice something else, which really spooks me.

When the TV stumbles my wireless mouse locks up. When the TV comes back the mouse does, too.

I don't think it is Spinner and his little buddies. They have always been good to me, but I wonder if I am getting blasted by some major electromagnetic source reaching waaaay out here in the boonies.

Any ideas??

 

[itsaboattime]

Re: Hey! What the heck??

The digital t.v. transmissions were supposed to do away with static and interferance. When I watch antenna tv it does that too. I figure its jsut crappy signal or atmospheric interferance. I can't tell ya why your mouse would do it tho.

Spinner may just be messing with you tho.

 

[i386]

Re: Hey! What the heck??

I don't know but indulge me while I speculate.

When I lose satellite signal due to wind or weather, it breaks up into squares like you describe. I assume since there is no white noise in a digital signal this is the closest thing.

Wireless mice use radio too around 2.4Ghz. Bluetooth devices also use 2.4Ghz but can adaptively hop frequencies a bit to avoid interference. (802.11b and 802.11g wireless networking runs at 2.4Ghz) Some devices that can cause interference are cordless phones, microwave ovens, or wireless networking equipment.

AFAIK, television signals are down in the Mhz range, not Ghz. It's puzzling that something would disrupt both ranges at the same time.

 

[DECK SWABBER 58]

Re: Hey! What the heck??

UH OH,

The virus/trojan horse that I exorcised from my computer
exactly one week ago today has made it's way to Texas.


Just a thought, but I bet if Dallas would have won today
you would not be having these problems.

 

[scipper77]

Re: Hey! What the heck??

JB, you have got some serious power conditioning issues at the hideout.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=158375

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=327663

Maybe you need to talk to the power company or an electrician, or at least get some GOOD quality surge suppressors for all of your electronics. Or maybe even your issue is the voktage being too low???

 

[roscoe]

Re: Hey! What the heck??

Sure seems like you have had your share of troubles over the years.
Maybe a UPS is in order. Many of my friends are using them for their computers and big screen tv's. Have had mine for 3 years.

 

[ThumbPkr]

Re: Hey! What the heck??

I don't think that interaction between the tv and mouse is the problem,rather it is outside interference from a third source that happens to be common to them both.Without knowing what frequencies are involved to calculate harmonics etc it could be difficult to pin it down.If it is in any way predictable and you find that you can make it happen you can try a corded mouse perhaps and watch the tv for interference to see if it helped.
You may have already tried that.
I don't know what the IF frequencies are for the new HD tv's but the older ones were 10.7mhz generally,the same as FM radio recievers.These need to be taken into account when troubleshooting.The color carrier is 3.58 mhz.
As I recall the higher UHF signals are in the low ghz range but my mind fails me in my dotage.It will be interesting to find out what it was.
My inclination would be a communication device.Ron G

 

[JB]

Re: Hey! What the heck??

I find myself in the embarrassing position of having not provided all information I had. Here is more:

*I have a wireless phone (2.4GHz) on my workstation.
*The computer and peripherals are on a 300W Sola regulating transformer via a surge suppressor.

I don't know how any of the new info might contribute to this spooky phenomenon.

 

[Tig]

Re: Hey! What the heck??

Get some more distance between your workstation and the TV and TV antenna. Or, remove the bluetooth mouse and use a corded mouse for a while. See if the problem goes away.
Any commercial shipping in your neighborhood? Radar?
Microwave oven's can also cause problems.
Is your antenna cable damaged? eg; shielding not properly grounded?
FWIW I have seen all of the above problems wreak havoc.

 

[aspeck]

Re: Hey! What the heck??

My cell phone effects my TV and my cordless phone. My Cordless phone affects my wifi signal (cancels it). Could have some issues where the phone effects the mouse, which effects the 'puter, which effects the tv ... or something wierd like that???

Now that I think about it, I am leaning towards Spinner and his little buddies ... cause that's about the time it all started

 

[i386]

Re: Hey! What the heck??

My Cordless phone affects my wifi signal (cancels it).

Aspeck, have you tried setting your wireless router to a different channel?

 

[SuzukiChopper]

Re: Hey! What the heck??

I'm going to go with the TV causing the interference. Have your cordless phone handy so the next time it happens you can turn it on and listen for a change, you'll probably hear some static. The other thing you can do is temporarily move your TV 10' or more away and watch for the breakup and see if your mouse is still affected. Some TV tuners (especially cheaper ones) do some really weird things when the signal they were locked on to goes wonky.

 

[skargo]

Re: Hey! What the heck??

My cell phone effects my TV and my cordless phone. My Cordless phone affects my wifi signal (cancels it). Could have some issues where the phone effects the mouse, which effects the 'puter, which effects the tv ... or something wierd like that???

Now that I think about it, I am leaning towards Spinner and his little buddies ... cause that's about the time it all started

When I am on the wireless network on one of my laptops, and my wife turns on the microwave the signal degrades, sometime to the point of no connection!

 

[aspeck]

Re: Hey! What the heck??

Aspeck, have you tried setting your wireless router to a different channel?

No I have not, because I don't like that cordless phone and therefore do not use it much.

 

[JB]

Re: Hey! What the heck??

Well, I haven't changed a thing.

The TV is breaking up from weak signal (I think?) and the mouse is working fine.

What can I say??