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[kitz]

Thats excellent news that you found the source, its good of you to replace the neighbours appliance..  but I suppose at the end of the day if it sorts something that has proved to be a real PITA then cost doesnt much come into it.


>> So dodgy portable TVs can be added to the long list of eletrical appliances that can interfere with ADSL.

Along with the dodgy music system that we had reported on these forums by someone else last year :/


Thanks for letting us know, and sharing with us.

[mr_chris]

I've seen goods branded "Cello" a few times - can't remember where but I think one of the supermarkets was selling something branded Cello - it looked pretty cheap and nasty to be honest.

Makes me wonder about these "RF interference - meets standards blah blah" statements you get with electrical equipment - either a. how loose and ineffectual the standards are or b. <cynic warning> how well the models that come off the batch production line perform, compared with the prototype they submitted for testing! </cynic warning!>

[Ezzer]

Great to see you got a result, And very good of you to offer to buy her a replacement.

What was her inital reaction when your husband explained what you where up to. In a nearby RAF base there was a similar problem, knocked out several broadband lines in 2 blocks. After several visits by a few engineers it was pin-pointed to a coperals TV. Every thing was fine for the 1st 15 min's of use, but once the tv had warmed up; "My internet's dead" ,"and mine" , "my e-mails stopped" ,"damm thing stopped again" , "where's my porn.....ahh!"        

I think in that case he was pressured into getting himself a new tv

[rachael1]

In reply to Ezzer,

She took the news well but also looked a tad bewildered as we tried to explain that her television was the cause of our internet failing to work. As she is an old lady living on her own (her husband has only recently passed away) I didn't want to burden her with the responsibility of going out and buying a new TV. The portable TV causing the disturbance was in her kitchen and she used it for several hours a day sometimes leaving it on just for company. When we took her new TV set to her yesterday she insisted on giving us half the cost which we accepted but to be perfectly honest didn't really want.
Ethically speaking, I think in this case we were right to replace it on her behalf. Had it been somebody younger and had it affected several people's connections then I would be tempted to ask the party involved to get it replaced. I must say, however, it is a thorny issue especially where neighbours are concerned, faulty as some equipment might be I'm not sure if it is any neighbour's responsibilty to ensure you have an ADSL connection. All round it would have been a much better situation and perhaps more swiftily resolved if an impartial party had observed the interference and having tracked it down, approached the neighbour instead. Yet having put this point forward, I had at least five different Openreach engineers at my property over the years and not one even mentioned REIN or EMI, about time BT had some more training to identify these problems methinks.
NB: Luckily enough we managed to replace the TV for under £100, had it been a £1000 plasma job I think there may have been a problem.

Rachael

[mr_chris]

Just thought, fingers crossed hopefully the new one won't do the same!!!

[setecio]

Very interesting, but how does this problem actually happen ?

Does a component in the TV, (or is it in the PSU of the TV) generate interference in the 612khz region ?

which then feeds back via the mains cables and then up the mains cables to Rachael1's house ?

Or is the interference airbound and broadcast over the airways into Rachael1's property ?

I've read http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/rein.htm but what components actually generate this and how does the resulting interference travel ?

Would it be a one off faulty TV or is every TV of that particular model likely to be faulty and are the manufacturers breaking the law ?

Any links to more in depth info welcome.

Thanks.

[Ezzer]

All of the above.......

Generally every electrical appliance will leak some energy as radio waves. Accross a wide range of frequencies to a degree, but particuarly over certain frequencies in particular, depending on the natural harmonies of particular components.

The problem occurs when something may generate excessive noise which another piece of equipment may be in harmony with, also if i'ts the right noise it may inhibit what the innocent article is reciving. you could be in a room having a conversation with someone, the backround music is heard at a similar volume but bears little effect on the conversation. Now replace this with the same volume of other speech and this becomes distracting, eventualy effecting the ease of conversation your having.

This is normaly caused by an item which isn't working as it should, so when it's either switched on or working harder, the right noise in the right range may affect amongst some things like your broadband

As broadband is asking such a large amount of delecate data it can be one of those things which the sensitivity is really noticeable in this case.

Is it a component or psu ? luck of the draw, anything which uses electrical current is a potential generator of a problem. The more energy it draws the more likely it will cause a problem.

Is it broadcast through the air or back via mains cable ? either.

If you had a radio reciver which would listen to a wide range of frequencies at the same time you'll find we are awash with a wide range of radio noise.

Ever been in a room where one loud brash person distracts you from your conversation or listening, thats in human terms REIN

[setecio]

I switched a portable radio onto 612khz and was amazed walking around the house all the noises coming off dimmer switches, old telephones, TV (only on standby), energy efficient light bulbs.

Rachael1 found alot of noise on the radio and had a problem with her broadband.

I suppose it is also equally likely that someone could walk around their house with a similar level of noise to Rachael1 on the radio, but not experience any problem with the broadband.

Thanks.

[roseway]

Well, yes, the radio is just being used as a diagnostic helper. It's not definitive, but it does help to pinpoint where the interference is coming from.

[Ezzer]

It's normal to pick up noises every where near electrical appliances via this method, what your looking for is a distinct noise which still exists beyond quarter to half a meter away. try this by an lcd screen. you should hear a distinct buzz which fades away as you move the radio away