Occasional Static Inteference in TV Reception

Thanks,

My wife has had the same problem with some of her FM stations, especially BNet Tejano out of Houston, TX. Will see if we can pinpoint it per your instructions

Hello,

See if you can hear that static on a portable AM or FM radio. AM would be best as there is great directivity in the ferrite antenna. If only FM, gradually push in the antenna so you can barely hear it on a vacant channel and start hunting. That's how I found most any source of static. Usually a dimmer, energy saver bulb, the power supply of that new laptop or printer and the like. The last one I hunted down was the Dell printer in our own lab. Its power supply made the loudest RF racket I ever saw.

Be careful on your fox hunt, especially on ladders, roofs etc. It is very easy to get carried away concentrating on the radio and then ... oops.

Regards, Joerg

Hello,

Before you head off tune the portable radio to a weak station where you have a clear line of sight, if you can. That allows you to figure out the directivity of a partially or completely pushed-in telescopic antenna. It won't be great since the antenna is too short and wires will go off from its base to the circuit board. But mostly it's good enough for hunting noise.

I don't know how that static sounds or looks on the TV screen. If it is in any way synchronous to 60Hz it could also be an isolator on an above-ground power line that has gone bad or become dirty. That usually requires more walking to find it but on the other hand walking is healthy.

Regards, Joerg

I recently had a similar problem. I mentioned to my wife that every time the snow on the TV went away, it caused the microwave oven to turn off. She hit me with a skillet. Sorry! I just couldn't resist. Regards, Jon