Dont make this mistake!

[Kalamazoo-DJ]

I was watching my Maggie when I noticed a skipping picture with cycles of black bands, I was becomming very annoyed because I checked all TV adjustments, tuner and wiring to and from the satellite reciever and the tv network connection boxes.
I tried everything I could think of, suddenly it was getting way worse and then my cell phone rang, I left it by the VCR/DVD player, apparently it sends interferences when it is too close to the reciever, simple but very challenging to figure out after a rebuild and something like that happens.

[miniman82]

Put a cell phone next to a radio, same thing.

[DaveWM]

there is so much RFI now a days, esp if you have comp gear. I took a radio to a friends house to demo (it was AM) could not get thru the RFI. I thought the FCC was supposed to make sure devises complied with some RFI standards. oh well too busy mandataing digital TV to sell freq so more people can text on cell phones...

[newhallone]

I wonder if consumers could push the issue somehow?

[peverett]

The RFI from my laptop supply is so bad, I cannot receive AM radio anywhere near it. However, my desktop, with the enclosed power supply, does not cause problems.

[drh4683]

I've had the same thing happen. I have a telefunken radio next to my chair that I listen to all the time and my cell phone ends up sitting next to it whenever I empty out my pockets at the end of the day. I'll be sitting here and all of a sudden the radio starts to sputter and make all sorts of strange noise. 5 seconds later, my phone rings. Its like a warning that Im about to get a phone call (or a dreaded text message).

Motorola works in a drawer sets pick up my cell phone RFI all the time. Even if Im far away from it.

[ctc17]

GSM (att, tmobile) has the 117hz timing buss and its a packet type of rf so its a fairly sloppy noisy signal that will interfere with anything. iden (boost, nextel) technology is similar. Both GSM and iden are fairly high power compared to cdma (verizon, sprint, usc etc)
gsm-2 watts max, iden-600mw max, cdma-325mw max, the tower only commands what the phone to put out what it needs so its often much lower. closed loop

I always enjoy hearing a broadcast of some important thing like a sound byte of the president and theres a few seconds of GSM buzz.

[ChrisW6ATV]

Yep, ctc17 said exactly what I was going to mention, but with a lot more detail. I really dislike that stupid GSM phone "bippity-bip-bip-bip" noise coming from other equipment. I will not own an AT&T or other GSM cell phone.

[miniman82]

It's not bad unless the phone is really close to somethign receiving a signal, I can most times put the phone somewhere else and the problem goes away.

[vinljnkie]

The thing my cell phone really screws up if it's too close is my wireless mouse. I'll be just surfing along fine then the page will start scrolling up and down like crazy.

[miniman82]

That's funny! I guess putting the phone next to the mouse when bidding on Ebay would be a bad thing, then.

[wkand]

FCC part 15 says that a receiving set must be capable of tolerating all interfering signals. Translation, the gov't won't get involved, alshough somewhere there are recommendations on how to reduce interference. I do not recall where,though.

[Phil Nelson]

Operating a home transmitter and putting rabbit ears back on my vintage TVs has reintroduced me to all kinds of interference. It's cool, in one sense. If you've been watching cable (or in our case, satellite) TV for years, you forget what life with rabbit ears was like. It's just the same now -- look, kids, moving this old-fangled thing called an antenna really makes a difference -- plus we have lots of new RFI sources, like laptop power supplies, light dimmers, cheap flourescents, on and on.

Phil Nelson

[eberts]

There was an article in the NYT a couple months ago, cell phones would make later model gas stoves made by maytag turn on full blast when the cell phone rang. The guy was upset because he wondered how many homes would be burnt down.
The guy who wrote the article was suspicious, so the owner invited the writer to his apartment and showed him in person. Put cell phone near stove, it rings, all burners turn on full blast.

[zenithfan1]

Yikes! I guess I'll cross off buying a Maytag stove. I'm in the market for a better one but not one that'll burn my house! LOL. It already burned once back in '98 before I owned it. They did a nice job remodeling though. My next house will be a 50's or 60's modern ranch with original fixtures. That's my style and where I feel most comfortable. My current house is an 1893 "cracker box"
Ahhh, I can almost see myself down in the "man-cave" with the cool bar and wood everywhere, and tvs