First : check the shield of your antenna cable and the plugs. Normally telecom use a separate frequency band and your TV has an AGC. Me, I should contact a technician of this telecom center to see what can be done.
Interference? I don't know how you can tell that with a digital tuner. Pixelation, drop outs, freezes, and no signal indications usually mean borderline signal to noise ratio.
Get a better antenna, add an amplifier, and carefully redirect it. If your TV has a signal level meter (unusual), you can use that. Many ATSC stand alone boxes did have a signal level utility which is helpful in seeing how much signal you have.
It's like Hatlow's "They'll do it every time." A bunch of neighbor's pointing at the local amateur radio guy. Among other comments, "I hear he even interferes with Doc's diathermy machine.
** Or, if intermittent, are clear signs of in-band interference.
** Mine normally shows over 90% readings for signal level and signal quality - but in the early evening some severe interference and drop outs ( "no signal" message displayed ) are experienced.
I reckon it is due to folk turning on their fluoro kitchen lights.
If 'better antenna' means aim-able, or selective of TV frequencies, that's good.
Instead of an amplifier, get an ATTENUATOR. It's possible that an out-of-band signal is overloading the first stages of amplification, before filtering. When that happens, any pre-amplification just makes the effect worse.
If attenuation leaves the signal good but removes the interference, it means (1) the neighbor isn't accidentally clobbering a TV frequency, and (2) either a selective antenna or a trap or lowpass filter can solve the problem. Usually cellphone frequencies are too high for TV interference, and won't go through antenna wires effectively anyhow, but the cell bands are certainly known and separable from UHF television signals.
Is that OTA TV, cable TV, satellite TV? How many channels do you normally see on your TV? How many of those channels show interference? VHF, UHF, or both? Interference is rarely on more than one channel at a time unless you have a broadband source (6MHz per channel) that's causing the alleged interference.
Pixelation can mean many things. Usually, it means a weak signal or bit loss. Lots of possible culprits.
Which channels?
Are you sure you didn't do anything to make it go away? Antenna connection? Loose shield on the RG-6/u coax cable? Nearby noise source got turned off? I once disarmed a "negative ion generator" that was wiping out OTA TV reception in part of an apartment building.
The cellular antennas have a very narrow vertical beamwidth. My guess(tm) is 11 degrees vertical beamwidth on 850MHz and 6 degrees on
1900MHz. In other words, all the RF is going over your head and not into your house. However, if you have a rooftop antenna, or live in a multistory house that puts you into the beam, then maybe the cellular stuff is causing a problem.
Ah, you decided to disclose the maker and age of the TV without bothering to supply a model number. Very good. It's a start. I don't suppose there might be something wrong with a 13 year TV? The transition from analog to digital TV started in 1996 and was done in
2009. So, your TV probably has an ATSC tuner. 2006 puts your TV in the middle of the transition, which makes it difficult for me to guess the quality of the tuner.
Cellular interference to OTA TV is quite real, especially LTE in the
700MHz band. This might offer a few clues: "Out-of-Band Interference: Myth or Reality?"
You walk over to the neighbors and see if they are getting the same interference on the same channels. If yes, then find the owner of the nearby antenna farm and unload your frustrations on their public relations department. If no, and you have an outside antenna, try to borrow a different TV and compare what you see on the screen. If only your 2006 Sony has the problem, it might be time to get a better TV.
Yes, there are TV bandpass filters. However, few of these will work with unspecified multiple channels. It might be helpful if you would insert some numbers in your description. If you are numerically challenged, just look for an "LTE TV Filter" such as: More:
Try an LTE filter first and see if it helps. Then find whomever owns the antenna farm and ask them whom to contact. Most large teleconfusion establishments have a mechanism for handling such complaints.
Good luck.
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Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Peter Jason wrote: "Last year I had several month's of TV interference on some channels, mainly pixelation but sometimes "no signal". Worse on some channels.
Then, up to now, the interference has stopped, all by itself, "
Welcome to the world of digital OTA TV broadcast - the biggest scam ever perpetuated on American consumers since the 'Federal' Reserve"
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