Haunted TV! what th'...???

woodman · July 13th, 2008, 07:50 PM

a couple of years ago we got a good deal on a "reconditioned" RCA TV at a local appliance store. it's worked great until recently ... now, every once in a while, it just turns itself off!

it's disconcerting when it happens during a show or game, but usually it blinks out when the show is transitioning to commercial or from commercial to show. it may not happen for hours, then happen every 20 minutes or so for the rest of the night.

so .... has the Bermuda Triangle shifted to the northwest? is our house built on an ancient burial mound? has some electronic hoodoo infected the TV to the point it needs a tinfoil hat? or is there a logical explanation?

Southern ILL · July 13th, 2008, 07:53 PM

Call TAPS....Ghost Hunters!!

I was watching the other night with my daughter and they was having a little Celtic Jam session......SOund pretty good too.

Telehackster · July 13th, 2008, 08:14 PM

"They're ba-a-a-a-ck!"

SMPTE · July 13th, 2008, 08:29 PM

The part of the circuit that provides power to the tube has some how gone faulty (probably).

What's probably happening is: The amount of power needed for the gun does down when it goes to black, then when it comes up the pull is more than it can manage and it loses power.

Best guess? The big caps in the power supply have gone south.

It can probably be fixed.

SixStringSlinger · July 13th, 2008, 08:52 PM

I had a CD player go whacky on me once, but then I had Robert Johnson in the CD changer, so I have an excuse.

Daddydex · July 13th, 2008, 09:19 PM

I had an RCA TV a couple of years ago that used to just start changing channels by itself. I watch some pretty crappy shows but...

Dan

Nick JD · July 13th, 2008, 09:19 PM

Reminds me of a funny story, Woodman.

I was living in a beach suburb called Bondi in Sydney a few years back in a small apartment building on the second floor. We looked across and down to the people living on the first floor of the apartment next door.

One night while me and my roomies were bored I was kinda "checking out" the neighbours and I could see their TV. I noticed it was a Sony. I looked at our TV. It too was a Sony - pretty much looked like the same model, if not the same run of models.

So I grabbed the TV remote, pointed it across and down through the two windows (probably twenty or thirty feet) and hit the red "off" button. Their TV flicked off. Me and my roomies watched them get up and check it all out, turn it back on, discuss it a lot and then finally sit back down and watch their program again.

Whereabouts we turned their TV off again

. By this time they were very confused and I had nearly wet my pants with laughing so hard.

When they were out we would change all the settings on their TV. The best one was at 2am we would come home from the pub, turn on their TV, quickly mute the sound and then turn it up really loud and then un-mute it. Watch as all the lights next door went on and they sleepily unplugged their TV.

Man we had a lot of fun until they found out. They were so relieved that their house didn't have a poltergeist that they found it funny.

How close is your neighbour's house? Remote control frequencies often overlap...

Jakedog · July 13th, 2008, 09:22 PM

You may have cross talk going on. It sounds totally implausible, but I have actually seen it happen. If you have a neighbor close enough, with a remote, or even a garage door opener or somehting similar operating on your TV remote's frequency, it may be affecting your set.

I once stayed in a hotel suite while on tour. Three rooms, three TV's, all on the same remote frequency. We drove each other bonkers before we figured out what was going on.

EDIT: Nick types faster than I do!!

sean79 · July 13th, 2008, 09:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jakedog

You may have cross talk going on. It sounds totally implausible, but I have actually seen it happen.

What's funny is that woodman's neighbor is probably complaining to someone right now about how his TV keeps turning itself on every 20 minutes or so after he shut it off.

garytelecastor · July 13th, 2008, 09:35 PM

They're Hhhheeeeeerrrrrrreeee!!!!!!!!!

garytelecastor · July 13th, 2008, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean79

What's funny is that woodman's neighbor is probably complaining to someone right now about how his TV keeps turning itself on every 20 minutes or so after he shut it off.

Now dat's funny right der, I tells ya, dat's funny!!!!!

woodman · July 13th, 2008, 10:12 PM

we're on a big lot, at least 60 yards from a house in any direction, so i don't think it's the crosstalk syndrome (although that would be a hoot!). so far, i'm leaning toward SMPTE's theory about the power supply ... but i still may try the tinfoil hat!

garytelecastor · July 13th, 2008, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by woodman

.... but i still may try the tinfoil hat!

I wear my tinfoil hat everywhere. It keeps the CIA and Home Security from reading my thoughts and transmitting those horrible voices.
It's also quite stylish.

Attachment 13114

SMPTE · July 14th, 2008, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garytelecastor

I wear my tinfoil hat everywhere. It keeps the CIA and Home Security from reading my thoughts and transmitting those horrible voices.
It's also quite stylish.

Attachment 13114

You get picked for jury duty alot don'tcha?

1293 · July 14th, 2008, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garytelecastor

I wear my tinfoil hat everywhere. It keeps the CIA and Home Security from reading my thoughts and transmitting those horrible voices.
It's also quite stylish.

Attachment 13114

I wear mine everywhere too, but the voices are still getting through. I think I need to step up to some Reynolds Heavy Duty. That's what I wanted to use in the first place but the voices talked me into the cheap store brand. I should have known better.

SixStringSlinger · July 14th, 2008, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1293

I wear mine everywhere too, but the voices are still getting through. I think I need to step up to some Reynolds Heavy Duty. That's what I wanted to use in the first place but the voices talked me into the cheap store brand. I should have known better.

Yo gotta make sure the shiny side is on the outside.

Tele Fan · July 14th, 2008, 11:12 AM

Just remember if you have metal fillings in your teeth no amount of tinfoil hat can protect you. You have to rap the foil around your teeth.

neocaster · July 14th, 2008, 11:26 AM

My grandparents lived in a neighborhood very close to the Philadelphia International Airport. About 20 years ago, everybody's garage doors started randomly opening themselves. It turned out that some navigational radio frequencies from aircraft and towers were bleeding into the openers' range. There's a lot of this, like wireless land-line based phones sharing spectrum space with wireless network interfaces. Sometimes I wonder if there's anybody paying attention at the FCC.

Edit - Added: There's a nice toy at www.thinkgeek.com called the ninja remote. It's a small remote that scans through multiple code sets until it finds one that works on a device. Then you have a remote on your keychain for the tv/stereo/cable box... Lots of fun. (Mrs Neo dropped one in my stocking a few years back)

July 13th, 2008, 07:50 PM	#1 (permalink)
woodman Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Mint Hill, NC Age: 62 Posts: 5,671	Haunted TV! what th'...??? a couple of years ago we got a good deal on a "reconditioned" RCA TV at a local appliance store. it's worked great until recently ... now, every once in a while, it just turns itself off! it's disconcerting when it happens during a show or game, but usually it blinks out when the show is transitioning to commercial or from commercial to show. it may not happen for hours, then happen every 20 minutes or so for the rest of the night. so .... has the Bermuda Triangle shifted to the northwest? is our house built on an ancient burial mound? has some electronic hoodoo infected the TV to the point it needs a tinfoil hat? or is there a logical explanation? __________________ Truth is stranger than fact ... www.myspace.com/woodymitchellmusic BAND PAGES: www.myspace.com/stragglerswing (Stragglers - Western Swing) www.myspace.com/loafersgloryband (Loafers Glory - '70s country-rock)

July 13th, 2008, 08:29 PM	#4 (permalink)
SMPTE Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Minneeeesoooottta Posts: 1,120	The part of the circuit that provides power to the tube has some how gone faulty (probably). What's probably happening is: The amount of power needed for the gun does down when it goes to black, then when it comes up the pull is more than it can manage and it loses power. Best guess? The big caps in the power supply have gone south. It can probably be fixed. __________________ HW1 Texas Tele, EJ Strat, MIJ JM, Epi Casino (AlnicoV), Gibson '61 RI SG, Steinberger, Squier PBass (heavily modded)

July 13th, 2008, 08:52 PM	#5 (permalink)
SixStringSlinger Tele-Afflicted Join Date: May 2006 Location: Miami, FL Age: 20 Posts: 1,204	I had a CD player go whacky on me once, but then I had Robert Johnson in the CD changer, so I have an excuse. __________________ "Is a hippopotamus a hippopotamus, or just a really cool opotamus?" -Mitch Hedberg

July 13th, 2008, 09:19 PM	#6 (permalink)
Daddydex Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 1,492	I had an RCA TV a couple of years ago that used to just start changing channels by itself. I watch some pretty crappy shows but... Dan __________________ Teles are like Mr. Potato head

July 13th, 2008, 09:19 PM	#7 (permalink)
Nick JD Friend of Leo's Join Date: May 2007 Location: North NSW, Australia Age: 36 Posts: 2,187	Reminds me of a funny story, Woodman. I was living in a beach suburb called Bondi in Sydney a few years back in a small apartment building on the second floor. We looked across and down to the people living on the first floor of the apartment next door. One night while me and my roomies were bored I was kinda "checking out" the neighbours and I could see their TV. I noticed it was a Sony. I looked at our TV. It too was a Sony - pretty much looked like the same model, if not the same run of models. So I grabbed the TV remote, pointed it across and down through the two windows (probably twenty or thirty feet) and hit the red "off" button. Their TV flicked off. Me and my roomies watched them get up and check it all out, turn it back on, discuss it a lot and then finally sit back down and watch their program again. Whereabouts we turned their TV off again . By this time they were very confused and I had nearly wet my pants with laughing so hard. When they were out we would change all the settings on their TV. The best one was at 2am we would come home from the pub, turn on their TV, quickly mute the sound and then turn it up really loud and then un-mute it. Watch as all the lights next door went on and they sleepily unplugged their TV. Man we had a lot of fun until they found out. They were so relieved that their house didn't have a poltergeist that they found it funny. How close is your neighbour's house? Remote control frequencies often overlap... __________________

July 13th, 2008, 07:53 PM	#2 (permalink)
Southern ILL Tele-Holic Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Illinois Age: 38 Posts: 836	Call TAPS....Ghost Hunters!! I was watching the other night with my daughter and they was having a little Celtic Jam session......SOund pretty good too.

July 13th, 2008, 08:14 PM	#3 (permalink)
Telehackster Tele-Holic Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Texas, USA Age: 42 Posts: 936	"They're ba-a-a-a-ck!"

July 13th, 2008, 09:22 PM	#8 (permalink)
Jakedog Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Cleveland,OH But my heart's still in TE Posts: 2,905	You may have cross talk going on. It sounds totally implausible, but I have actually seen it happen. If you have a neighbor close enough, with a remote, or even a garage door opener or somehting similar operating on your TV remote's frequency, it may be affecting your set. I once stayed in a hotel suite while on tour. Three rooms, three TV's, all on the same remote frequency. We drove each other bonkers before we figured out what was going on. EDIT: Nick types faster than I do!! __________________ "Them that don't know him won't like him, and them that do sometimes won't know how to take him..."

July 13th, 2008, 09:35 PM	#10 (permalink)
garytelecastor Friend of Leo's Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 3,303 18 Photos	They're Hhhheeeeeerrrrrrreeee!!!!!!!!! __________________ éí 'aaníígÓÓ 'áhoot'é Redd Volkaert is a Jedi Knight at one with the Force!!!

July 13th, 2008, 10:12 PM	#12 (permalink)
woodman Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Mint Hill, NC Age: 62 Posts: 5,671	we're on a big lot, at least 60 yards from a house in any direction, so i don't think it's the crosstalk syndrome (although that would be a hoot!). so far, i'm leaning toward SMPTE's theory about the power supply ... but i still may try the tinfoil hat! __________________ Truth is stranger than fact ... www.myspace.com/woodymitchellmusic BAND PAGES: www.myspace.com/stragglerswing (Stragglers - Western Swing) www.myspace.com/loafersgloryband (Loafers Glory - '70s country-rock)

July 14th, 2008, 11:12 AM	#17 (permalink)
Tele Fan Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Louisville, Ky Age: 29 Posts: 1,332	Just remember if you have metal fillings in your teeth no amount of tinfoil hat can protect you. You have to rap the foil around your teeth. __________________ Life is better when you just make it up as you go along.

July 14th, 2008, 11:26 AM	#18 (permalink)
neocaster Friend of Leo's Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Chester County, PA Age: 35 Posts: 3,475 11 Photos	My grandparents lived in a neighborhood very close to the Philadelphia International Airport. About 20 years ago, everybody's garage doors started randomly opening themselves. It turned out that some navigational radio frequencies from aircraft and towers were bleeding into the openers' range. There's a lot of this, like wireless land-line based phones sharing spectrum space with wireless network interfaces. Sometimes I wonder if there's anybody paying attention at the FCC. Edit - Added: There's a nice toy at www.thinkgeek.com called the ninja remote. It's a small remote that scans through multiple code sets until it finds one that works on a device. Then you have a remote on your keychain for the tv/stereo/cable box... Lots of fun. (Mrs Neo dropped one in my stocking a few years back) __________________ "...You don't need faith if you know it's gonna work!" "The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."