There is something seriously wrong with my house.
For the last six months I have been troubleshooting a whole bunch of anomalies in my house and I'm still unable to find out what they are.
I first noticed it when I attempted to use an X10 controller in or living room back in 2003. Even though it worked fine elsewhere in the house, the controller would not operate in the living room. Troubleshooting involved unplugging everything in the living room except a lamp attached to the module and testing it on every outlet in the room. I even tried with the controller and the module in the same room and they still would not operate. Since the controller sends a signal through existing wiring it could only mean that the line was VERY noisy but I had no way to prove it as it was isolated to this circuit and there was nothing else plugged in.
In the same room I also had an incident regarding the radio and an old VHS RCA camcorder. The camera was running off AC power at the time and the radio was on. By chance, when I was recording I looked at the radio and the radio suddenly switched off like somebody had unplugged it and when I turned the camera away again the radio came back on (however the clock and the station presets had reset). This one blew my mind and I do not have the slightest clue what would of caused this.
The third is limited to the kitchen outlets, the living room outlets and an outlet at the local old folks home.
I have an In Focus LP425 projector and it seems that it has outlet preferences that don't make sense.
If I plug the projector into the outlet closest to the stairs in the living room or into any outlets in the kitchen the projector will turn on but the bulb will never light. On th other hand, if I used it on the other two outlets in the living room it will work fine every other odd time even if it is the only thing plugged in. The same thing happened when I tried to use at at the local Old folks home. It turned on but the known good bulb never lit.
The same goes for an IR extender that allows me to control the satellite receiver downstairs. According to the signal activity LED on the transmitter downstairs the receiver upstairs in the living room is constantly sending an IR signal and whatever it is that is causing that, it is jamming the remote control.
One of the other things in my house that annoys us is that all types of radio reception is terrible. Unless the radio is tied into the massive antenna I have out on the deck, good luck getting any FM reception. Cell coverage is also notably bad in the house, You can lose one to two bard as soon as you are inside. I also notice that when walking around with the cordless phone you will sometimes walk into walls of interference that move around the house. It is really creepy and scares the hell out of me.
Finally, Our phone has a nasty issue where when you answer a call you will hear the ringing tone one or two more times before it stops. In the past we had issues with corrosion up on the pole but that should not be the problem this time.
I seriously do not understand what could be wrong. I individually tested each circuit for noisy items but I can not find anything. One thing to note however is that the outside walls of the house are coated in stucco which is held to the house using large 1" x 1" steel screen-like chicken wire but for stucco. I don't think it would be causing any problems.
Since this also was happening before I got my SGI's or anything that was not certified for home use we can also rule my electronics out.
I first noticed it when I attempted to use an X10 controller in or living room back in 2003. Even though it worked fine elsewhere in the house, the controller would not operate in the living room. Troubleshooting involved unplugging everything in the living room except a lamp attached to the module and testing it on every outlet in the room. I even tried with the controller and the module in the same room and they still would not operate. Since the controller sends a signal through existing wiring it could only mean that the line was VERY noisy but I had no way to prove it as it was isolated to this circuit and there was nothing else plugged in.
In the same room I also had an incident regarding the radio and an old VHS RCA camcorder. The camera was running off AC power at the time and the radio was on. By chance, when I was recording I looked at the radio and the radio suddenly switched off like somebody had unplugged it and when I turned the camera away again the radio came back on (however the clock and the station presets had reset). This one blew my mind and I do not have the slightest clue what would of caused this.
The third is limited to the kitchen outlets, the living room outlets and an outlet at the local old folks home.
I have an In Focus LP425 projector and it seems that it has outlet preferences that don't make sense.
If I plug the projector into the outlet closest to the stairs in the living room or into any outlets in the kitchen the projector will turn on but the bulb will never light. On th other hand, if I used it on the other two outlets in the living room it will work fine every other odd time even if it is the only thing plugged in. The same thing happened when I tried to use at at the local Old folks home. It turned on but the known good bulb never lit.
The same goes for an IR extender that allows me to control the satellite receiver downstairs. According to the signal activity LED on the transmitter downstairs the receiver upstairs in the living room is constantly sending an IR signal and whatever it is that is causing that, it is jamming the remote control.
One of the other things in my house that annoys us is that all types of radio reception is terrible. Unless the radio is tied into the massive antenna I have out on the deck, good luck getting any FM reception. Cell coverage is also notably bad in the house, You can lose one to two bard as soon as you are inside. I also notice that when walking around with the cordless phone you will sometimes walk into walls of interference that move around the house. It is really creepy and scares the hell out of me.
Finally, Our phone has a nasty issue where when you answer a call you will hear the ringing tone one or two more times before it stops. In the past we had issues with corrosion up on the pole but that should not be the problem this time.
I seriously do not understand what could be wrong. I individually tested each circuit for noisy items but I can not find anything. One thing to note however is that the outside walls of the house are coated in stucco which is held to the house using large 1" x 1" steel screen-like chicken wire but for stucco. I don't think it would be causing any problems.
Since this also was happening before I got my SGI's or anything that was not certified for home use we can also rule my electronics out.
<----Computer says I need more beer.
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