Re: [IRCA] Noisy cable TV

["W. Curt Deegan" <WWWR@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Some excellent points Rene.

The idea of disconnecting at the pole to see if cable is what's causing the 
DSL problems is a good one.  Move the probable noise source as far away as 
possible.

I walked my portable radio along under my cable drop out to the 
distribution pole in the back yard, and the noise followed me all the 
way.  Not definitive since the power lines go that way too, and the phone 
lines are buried along the same path, but still.  While there are power and 
telephone lines on the pole, there is a junction of a major cable line from 
the south that splits in two directions east and west for local feeds, from 
that pole.  Walking across my back yard east under the three utility 
services' overhead lines, the noise dropped off as I moved away from the 
pole.  Tomorrow I may try walking along the perpendicular cable line to the 
south as well as the westward feeder, just to see what happens to the 
noise.  With my luck it is all fed directly into my house!

It is interesting to note that the occasions of extreme noise began around 
the time that very utility pole was replaced and all the services moved to 
the new one.  Possibly that procedure damaged something and created the 
noisy situation in so doing.  I had always been suspicious of that but had 
not traced the noise to the extent I have the last couple days, since it 
has gotten far worse.

Your comments on sunshine and day/night problems is also very 
interesting.  During a recent period of cloudy rainy days, my DSL was 
pretty good, though lightning in the area would disconnect it.  The last 
few days, during which I've had no daytime service, the days have been 
bright and sunny.  I had been hoping once the thunderstorms subsided, my 
DSL would stop frequently going out.  Instead, as the nice weather moved 
in, I lost DSL entirely, during the day.  Now that you mention the notion 
of daytime heating aggravating the problem, the correlation becomes evident.

I'll keep these ideas in mind and hope the cable guy is willing to listen 
to suggestions.

Thanks a lot.

Curt


At 03:57 PM 10/2/2006, you wrote:
>It almost sounds like the cable feed is leaky somewhere and emitting
>extraneous noise that is most likely either their Internet feed or control
>signals (for addressable cable boxes, pay-per-view,etc).  Both of those
>operate on very low frequencies that often include MW and LW on many CATV
>systems.  Or it could be a bad repeater/amplifier on the cable trunk in your
>neighborhood.
>
>If it's strong enough to disturb your DSL, that's pretty bad.  I would
>recommend that the CATV Technician disconnect the cable feed at the pole and
>see if the noise goes away.  Then check your DSL to see if it's working.  If
>everything seems normal, have him reconnect the cable and see if the problem
>returns.  If it does, you will have then proven that the interference is a
>Cable TV problem.
>
>My guess is a noisy amp in the neighborhood whose signal level is so strong
>that it blasts through the cable.  Why it would only happen during the day
>is anybody's guess.  Given that you're in Florida, it could be that
>something in the CATV system nearby is heating up during the day and causes
>the noise.  At night, when things cool off and there is no direct sunlight
>on the pole, the noisy device could go back to normal.  That's all I can
>think of for the day/night difference.
>
>Good luck,
>Rene'
>
>Rene F. Tetro
>Chief Engineer
>Salem Communications - Philadelphia
>WNTP-AM / WFIL-AM
>117 Ridge Pike
>Lafayette Hill, PA  19444
>Phone:  610-828-6965  Ext. 41
>Fax:  610-828-8879
>Email: rtetro@xxxxxxxxx
>
>"Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God."
>(Matthew 5)
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "W. Curt Deegan" <WWWR@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>To: "IRCA List" <irca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Sent: Monday, October 02, 2006 3:31 PM
>Subject: [IRCA] Noisy cable TV
>
>
> > For some time I've had two problems that now seem to come together.  I
> > have
> > had a lot of trouble with DSL ever since I switched to it a month or so
> > ago.  I have also had periods of serious noise covering at least the lower
> > half of the AM band and below.
> >
> > The last few days the noise has been very bad and my DSL has been
> > completely out.  I walked around with a pocket radio and found a huge load
> > of noise coming from the cable TV lead.  Since the cable, telephone (and
> > DSL), and power all converge on the same place at the back of the house, I
> > went around to where the cable TV was away from the rest of the utilities
> > and the noise is on it.
> >
> > I have called the cable company and a technician is supposed to come out
> > in
> > a couple days.  I have less than great confidence that my problem will be
> > solved, but must start somewhere.
> >
> > My question is, has anyone else had extreme interference from the cable TV
> > radiating noise -- not the TV, the cable?  Has anyone had DSL failures
> > induced by extremely noisy conditions?  Does anyone have any suggestions
> > what I might do to help the cable rep investigate the problem?  Any
> > thoughts regarding extended DSL outages -- it is from Earthlink but
> > delivered by Bell South?  Anything at all?
> >
> > At the moment I'm lucky to hear anything that isn't local on MW, and
> > nothing much at all on LW.
> >
> > One strange thing, the noise seems to disappear at night.  I placed the
> > radio next to the cable TV lead last night when my DSL came back on and
> > the
> > noise was gone -- one reason I called the cable company today.  And
> > another
> > point to ponder, cable TV reception is fine, albeit the only reception
> > that is.
> >
> > Thanks for any thoughts.
> >
> >
> > Curt
> > -------
> > W. Curt Deegan
> > Boca Raton, (southeast) Florida


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