[Bobcrane]

Brought the 5040 over to the in-laws. We were all happy for oh.. 5 minutes or so.


With the Replay plugged in (just AC, no antenna or anything else) static pixels dance on the screen on 5 and 7 on every TV in the house. Unplug the unit and the problem goes away.


They said they had this same problem with their original computer. When they upgraded the PC, the problem went away.


They have a SMALL Radio Shack here, but all he had was filters for CB/Ham (which apparently, is a big problem out in the sticks).


Any idea what and where I should be filtering?


Incidentally, tried different EFI filters, no go. (Longshot at best).

 

[Bobcrane]

Update:

Father in-law had a surge protector that had the phone line side smoked (they get hit by lightning ALOT). We plugged the TV with the worst interference into the surge protector, then turned it on. This totally eliminated the problem on Channel 7 and reduced it by a whole lot on ch 5 (5 is now watchable but it is noticeable).


The problem does not effect the Replay tuner at all, but does effect the tuner on the TV the Replay is on. I explained to them that in about a week they will no longer use that tuner anyhow.

 

[Bobcrane]

Oops, forgot:


Does anyone know of a good EMI solution? Ferrite Ring? RF choke? Eee-Iii-Eii-Iii-Oh

 

[TimSH]

Let me guess... century home... knob and turn wiring... ancient fuse box instead of circuit breakers? Are the plugs even proparly polarized? Are any of the outlets grounded?


I'd be putting anything worth over about $100 on a UPS in a place like that. I'll bet that would eliminate the problem entirely. I'm guessing a qualified electrician could take care of it too, though if it's as described above, they would probably have to completely re-wire to bring things up to current code.

 

[Bobcrane]

Quote:

Originally posted by TimSH Let me guess... century home... knob and turn wiring... ancient fuse box instead of circuit breakers? Are the plugs even proparly polarized? Are any of the outlets grounded?

Not many of the outlets are grounded, and it is 100amp circuit breaker service, though it has been hit by lightening so many times the main breaker is fused.

Quote:

I'd be putting anything worth over about $100 on a UPS in a place like that. I'll bet that would eliminate the problem entirely. I'm guessing a qualified electrician could take care of it too, though if it's as described above, they would probably have to completely re-wire to bring things up to current code.

Right on all counts. At first, I could never talk them into buying more than a $9 Wal-Mart special power strip (that claimed surge protection). Then one day when a P/S plugged into the strip shot across the room and the PC smoked, they've started 'upgrades.' And what they've got has stood the test of time, though they keep getting nailed through the phone line.


Having said all that this still speaks to the quality of components/construction regarding the shielding of the Replay. An old PC with a cruddy fan caused the same problem. Disconnecting the fan (for experimentation) would make it go away. I'm not going to crack the case while it is under warranty to see what is causing the problem. I also understand that they do need to make certain sacrifices to hit a competitive price-point. I'm surprised I'm the first to see this though.


At this point I am probably going to suggest he buys a quality protector that includes good EMI blocking. I would imagine doing it to all the TV's would fix it, or finding an RF choke for the Replay to plug into.


On a positive note they called me to say fixing the tuning problem in the living room would not be necessary. After one day of use they doubt they'll ever watch live TV again.