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[tuftedduck]

A near neighbour has been cutting his hedges using a petrol powered hedge trimmer.........noisy thing !

When that machine is running, I experience great interference on my ( old crt ) goggle boxes...wavy lines across the screen and very loud crackling noises.

Machine on...disturbance, machine off........ all is sweetness and light

Are these machines supposed to be equipped with suppressors, in the same way that motor vehicles used to be ? Or could there be another explanation of this happening ?

As a secondary issue, if this machine can cause that effect on a telly.....is there any likelyhood of it having a similar effect on an adsl connection ( I know that TV and adsl signals travel in different ways and I have not seen any problem with my adsl connection...just wondering. )

[roseway]

I've got no particular knowledge of the subject, but I'm fairly sure that this type of equipment should conform to UK interference specifications, and shouldn't cause such severe interference. But of course getting something done about it is not so straightforward if you want to keep on good terms with your neighbour. Perhaps there are other neighbours who suffer the same effect? I doubt that the fact that your TVs are CRT types makes any difference.

It certainly could also interfere with your ADSL connection, particularly if you have an overhead telephone line. There's no way to be sure without monitoring your connection with something like Routerstats, but if your connection continues to work when the hedge trimmer is doing its worst, then there probably isn't a big problem.

[tuftedduck]

Thank you for your comments, and for taking the time and trouble to advise.

Not sure if anyone else in the area has the same problem on the TV, will ask around..........and will speak to the machine user about the matter. We do have good relations, and a polite conversation with him should not cause problems.

As to adsl, my phone line does overhang his property to an extent.
As stated, I have not noticed any connection problems but will keep an eye on the router logs, and maybe branch out into the great unknown ( for me) and try Routerstats.
As yet, there does not appear to be anything untoward in the logs and, to be honest, when experiencing the prob. on the TV I have not left the telly to rush upstairs to eye up the PC and it's connection........will do next time if the problem persists.

Thank you again.

[silversurfer44]

What you are experiencing on your tv Tuftedduck is what we used to call tv eye. It was caused by spurious frequencies given off by CB radio. It would appear that your neighbours hedge trimmer is not suppressed properly. It does seem odd that for it to give off strong enough signals to interfere with your tv though. The fault could be just a badly fitting spark plug cap or the plug lead is damaged. Something along those lines anyway.
As you have good relations with your neighbour a friendly word may do the trick, as they probably don't know it is happening.

[tuftedduck]

Thank you, ss44, for taking time to comment.

You could have hit the nail on the head, I think.

I have asked around ( the machine operator neighbour is off to work.....wont see him till evening ) but no one else experienced the problem  ..........but :-

Our telly signals move from analogue to digital next June........in the meantime we have the choice of using a fancy big aerial pointing at a digital transmitter up country, or a smaller old-fashioned aerial pointing at the still analogue transmitter/booster along the road.
All my neighbours have the new set up...I am still on the old....it appears that I am in some sort of shadow and cannot get a digi. signal without a lot of fiddling about with boosters and things. So, will use that until next year when my local transmitter will go digi.

It may well be, then, that I currently get a fairly weak signal from my old mast...a signal more prone to interference than the ones from the newer digi. pole.

Will have a fiddle with the machine when the guy gets home....on reflection, this a new phenomenon despite him having used the machine for months...so something has gone awry and is no doubt easily solved.

Thanks again.

[geep]

Hi TD,
Your problem triggered my memory.
In my youth I remember that the Beeb (Black & White, and the only channel) used to broadcast a public information film urging car owners to fit spark plug suppressors and showing the interference effects on the tele.

The film was humorous, and I seem to remember that it finished with the unsuppressed car, something like an Austin 7, exploding. Unfortunately all this doesn't help solve your problem.

Cheers,
Peter

[sevenlayermuddle]

Wavy lines are suggestive of RF interference such as, suggested by Colin, CB radios.  I'd be surprised if a hedge trimmer could generate that type of interference.  More likely you'd see impulse interference from a hedge trimmer - fairly random flashes of black dots, or short horizontal dashes, on the screen.

Does your TV have a fine-tuning control?    It's possible that the TV is just not tuned in perfectly, and the hedge-trimmer is enough to tip the balance, and make an unnoticeable problem noticeable.

[tuftedduck]

Good morning, gentlemen, and thank you for your further comments.

@ geep..........I, too, remember that film..I thought it was hilarious..

@ 7lm........not the fine tuning, when the machine is off the TV pic. is fine..no need to fine tune.

We ran some tests yesterday evening....I watched the TV and my internet connection and the neighbour ran the machine. We then swapped roles...he did the watching and I did the hedge cutting bit.
Without doubt, the interference comes from that machine.....although it does not seem to affect my connection  , it does for sure affect the TV.

Neighbour has agreed with this and has promised to rectify the problem. He does not know what is wrong but he is today taking the machine down to Soapy's workshop, and he will sort it out ( hopefully).

Thank you all for your advice and guidance. 

[silversurfer44]

Now that is what I call being a good neighbour.

[roseway]

It is indeed.

[UncleUB]

Now that is what I call being a good neighbour.

Or the mention of fetching Big Jessie might just  have swayed him.....  

[tuftedduck]

 

[sevenlayermuddle]

A good neighbour indeed.  But also perhaps a rather cunning neighbour...?

We then swapped roles...he did the watching and I did the hedge cutting bit.

[scottiesmum]

 

glad you have it sorted 

[tuftedduck]

A good neighbour indeed.  But also perhaps a rather cunning neighbour...?

We then swapped roles...he did the watching and I did the hedge cutting bit.

 

Quick update........machine back from repair shop and tested.........problem solved...