RFI question

[The20poundhammer]

Ok guys a lil perplexed here. Never had any RFI issues with my television before last night. Skip running hard on the bowl warmed up everything started working and the xyl said the tv is freezing as I modulate. It only did it when using the cable service. When streaming no issue. Any one any idea? Can weather cause it?
Thanks Tim

 

[Shadetree Mechanic]

Strange that the problem just started. Makes me think of CMC on the braid of the coax. Maybe a coax connector or jumper going bad?

 

[Crawdad]

Any baluns or RF chokes used?

 

[The20poundhammer]

Not before now this is on the direct fed quad with no issues in the past and no changes in the setup or Tv.

 

[Crawdad]

Wondering if some element in your Quad has mechanically failed or loosened causing enough imbalance for it to use the coax shield. Make any sense?

 

[The20poundhammer]

Well I dont think so I will have to do some testing.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Since it only happens when you use the cable box I would say the issue is with RF getting into the cable system somewhere. It could be as basic as a bad or loose connector or a bad cable amp pr a break in the cable shield itself.

 

[nomadradio]

Once you are sure that EVERY connector in line with that cable box is properly tightened, snap-on beads might help. Makes it sound as if the outer surface of the TV coax shield is acting like an antenna, carrying your RF into the house. Just one loose plug anywhere down the coax can do this all by itself.

One remedy we used in the bad old analog cable TV days was to take the two ferrite half-cores from a CRT TV deflection yoke. The TV cable got five or more turns around one half of the core, and the AC power cord for the cable box got wrapped around the other half, preferably wound in the opposite direction. Makes it a "common mode" choke that way. The two halves got duct-taped back together.

At least it was a cheap fix to try first if you had a derelict TV on hand.

73

 

[BJ radionut]

Cable TV installer's are NOTORIOUS for POOR or no grounding of shields.
As stated before, just 1 bad or lose ground/shield and it trashes the whole system.

 

[The20poundhammer]

Well I will check the connections but its odd there has been no issues beforehand. We have FTP with internet phone and cable thru one provider so not a poor install.

 

[kaos513]

Check for any corrosion on the connectors

 

[nomadradio]

The one thing we know for sure is that something changed. Was it the radio? Or the TV cable hookup? A loose or poor ground in a coax jumper on the radio can do things like this as well.

73

 

[The20poundhammer]

No changes in the hookups so I hope to have time tonight to look at the cable box to make sure nothing is loose there and hook up the analyzer to see if anything has changed antenna and feed line wise

 

[Tom Line]

Test your antenna just because.
Maybe a neighbor's cable coax was damaged or removed and not terminated. Lots of rats' nests in that kind of system.

 

[The20poundhammer]

Lol where I live there are no neighbors lol