Maybe OT? But you guys prolly know
 

I have a 42" Sony LCD RP, a Hughes HD satellite receiver, a Sony audio
reciever, and apparently a home with wiring issues. I've had this problem
where the sat box would pixelate whenever my washer, dryer or dishwasher
kicked on; but didn't worry enough about it to want to invest in one of
those expensive "power conditioners." I only noticed problems in the sat
box, and it is insured. Yesterday I noticed the audio receiver would start
to "ring" when a large appliance kicked on; a steady buzzlike ring, until I
turned it off/on or switched inputs. Now I'm obviously a bit more concerned
about protecting my equipment from low power surges. What would be the most
cost efficient vs. purpose effective solution? Options? WWYGD? (what would
you guys do?)

Maybe OT? But you guys prolly know
 

Robin wrote:

I have a 42" Sony LCD RP, a Hughes HD satellite receiver, a Sony audio
reciever, and apparently a home with wiring issues. I've had this problem
where the sat box would pixelate whenever my washer, dryer or dishwasher
kicked on; but didn't worry enough about it to want to invest in one of
those expensive "power conditioners." I only noticed problems in the sat
box, and it is insured. Yesterday I noticed the audio receiver would start
to "ring" when a large appliance kicked on; a steady buzzlike ring, until I
turned it off/on or switched inputs. Now I'm obviously a bit more concerned
about protecting my equipment from low power surges. What would be the most
cost efficient vs. purpose effective solution? Options? WWYGD? (what would
you guys do?)



First of all, I would have an electrician check your wiring. There is
NO WAY that you should have a problem like that if your receiver is
getting the proper voltage and is properly connected (including proper
grounds). It sounds like you could be having a voltage sage and while a
"power conditioner" could fix the problem the real solution may be to
put some of your appliances (or your DirecTV receiver) on a different
circuit. The problem also could be caused by a missing or improper
grounds. DirecTV installers are well known for taking "shortcuts" and
not installing one.
--
Bill R.

Remove nospam_ in e-mail address to reply by e-mail

Maybe OT? But you guys prolly know
 

Bill R wrote:

Robin wrote:

I have a 42" Sony LCD RP, a Hughes HD satellite receiver, a Sony audio
reciever, and apparently a home with wiring issues. I've had this problem
where the sat box would pixelate whenever my washer, dryer or dishwasher
kicked on; but didn't worry enough about it to want to invest in one of
those expensive "power conditioners." I only noticed problems in the sat
box, and it is insured. Yesterday I noticed the audio receiver would start
to "ring" when a large appliance kicked on; a steady buzzlike ring, until I
turned it off/on or switched inputs. Now I'm obviously a bit more concerned
about protecting my equipment from low power surges. What would be the most
cost efficient vs. purpose effective solution? Options? WWYGD? (what would
you guys do?)



First of all, I would have an electrician check your wiring. There is
NO WAY that you should have a problem like that if your receiver is
getting the proper voltage and is properly connected (including proper
grounds). It sounds like you could be having a voltage sage and while a
"power conditioner" could fix the problem the real solution may be to
put some of your appliances (or your DirecTV receiver) on a different
circuit. The problem also could be caused by a missing or improper
grounds. DirecTV installers are well known for taking "shortcuts" and
not installing one.
--
Bill R.

Remove nospam_ in e-mail address to reply by e-mail

I concur. Particularly because of the "Yesterday I noticed ..." remark.
Things may be getting worse. Like an open neutral or loose ground
connection.

--
Paul Hovnanian
------------------------------------------------------------------
Hit any user to continue.

Maybe OT? But you guys prolly know
 

"Paul Hovnanian P.E." wrote in message
...
Bill R wrote:

Robin wrote:

I have a 42" Sony LCD RP, a Hughes HD satellite receiver, a Sony audio
reciever, and apparently a home with wiring issues. I've had this
problem
where the sat box would pixelate whenever my washer, dryer or
dishwasher
kicked on; but didn't worry enough about it to want to invest in one of
those expensive "power conditioners." I only noticed problems in the
sat
box, and it is insured. Yesterday I noticed the audio receiver would
start
to "ring" when a large appliance kicked on; a steady buzzlike ring,
until I
turned it off/on or switched inputs. Now I'm obviously a bit more
concerned
about protecting my equipment from low power surges. What would be the
most
cost efficient vs. purpose effective solution? Options? WWYGD? (what
would
you guys do?)



First of all, I would have an electrician check your wiring. There is
NO WAY that you should have a problem like that if your receiver is
getting the proper voltage and is properly connected (including proper
grounds). It sounds like you could be having a voltage sage and while a
"power conditioner" could fix the problem the real solution may be to
put some of your appliances (or your DirecTV receiver) on a different
circuit. The problem also could be caused by a missing or improper
grounds. DirecTV installers are well known for taking "shortcuts" and
not installing one.
--
Bill R.

Remove nospam_ in e-mail address to reply by e-mail

I concur. Particularly because of the "Yesterday I noticed ..." remark.
Things may be getting worse. Like an open neutral or loose ground
connection.

--
Paul Hovnanian
------------------------------------------------------------------
Hit any user to continue.



Thanks for the advice. I'm pretty sure there may be multiple wiring issues
with the house, but a rewire isn't an option for at least another year. I
was hoping for more of a hardware solution to protect the equipment in the
meantime.

Maybe OT? But you guys prolly know
 

"Robin" wrote in message
. ..

" Thanks for the advice. I'm pretty sure there may be multiple wiring
issues with the house, but a rewire isn't an option for at least another
year. I was hoping for more of a hardware solution to protect the
equipment in the meantime.

You really ought to consider the electrician. If you have an open ground or
neutral, you could be risking not ony your equipment, but the electrocution
of whoever happens to touch the wrong thing at the wrong time, or possibly
even a fire if a wire gets hot enough! A rewire may not be an option, but a
repair should really be done now, if it's needed.

Maybe OT? But you guys prolly know
 

Robin wrote:
"Paul Hovnanian P.E." wrote in message
...
Bill R wrote:

Robin wrote:

I have a 42" Sony LCD RP, a Hughes HD satellite receiver, a Sony
audio reciever, and apparently a home with wiring issues. I've
had this problem
where the sat box would pixelate whenever my washer, dryer or
dishwasher
kicked on; but didn't worry enough about it to want to invest in
one of those expensive "power conditioners." I only noticed
problems in the sat
box, and it is insured. Yesterday I noticed the audio receiver
would start
to "ring" when a large appliance kicked on; a steady buzzlike ring,
until I
turned it off/on or switched inputs. Now I'm obviously a bit more
concerned
about protecting my equipment from low power surges. What would
be the most
cost efficient vs. purpose effective solution? Options? WWYGD?
(what would
you guys do?)



First of all, I would have an electrician check your wiring. There
is NO WAY that you should have a problem like that if your receiver
is getting the proper voltage and is properly connected (including
proper grounds). It sounds like you could be having a voltage sage
and while a "power conditioner" could fix the problem the real
solution may be to put some of your appliances (or your DirecTV
receiver) on a different circuit. The problem also could be caused
by a missing or improper grounds. DirecTV installers are well
known for taking "shortcuts" and not installing one.
--
Bill R.

Remove nospam_ in e-mail address to reply by e-mail

I concur. Particularly because of the "Yesterday I noticed ..."
remark. Things may be getting worse. Like an open neutral or loose
ground connection.

--
Paul Hovnanian
------------------------------------------------------------------
Hit any user to continue.



Thanks for the advice. I'm pretty sure there may be multiple wiring
issues with the house, but a rewire isn't an option for at least
another year. I was hoping for more of a hardware solution to
protect the equipment in the meantime.

I used to have a similar problem, as the house was 40+ years old and had
poor grounding issues and multiple rooms on the same circuits. I ended up
having to hammer an 8 foot copper rod through the floor and into the crawl
space and then ran a ground directly from the outlet to the rod in the crawl
space. Of course, my crawl space was pretty tight, and would have been much
easier 20 pounds ago....!
I was just about ready to finally run a dedicated circuit, but I ended up
selling the house.