Some help please OT

Re: Some help please OT

mikew

>Hi Todd,

Low power shouldn't affect the computer monitor unless it is really low. Try plugging it in to another outlet which doesn't seem affected, even if you need to use a good heavy extension cord. Alternateively, if the TV is portable enough, try taking it to another outlet.

It does seem fairly coincidental both seem dim.

Take care, Mike

Re: Some help please OT

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>Are the monitor and TV on the same circuit?

I'd unplug everything, kill the circuits, and call an electrician, this is dangerous stuff, Maybe you've got some old wiring. It makes me nervous for the lights to dim when I turn on the TV, so we had the whole house rewired and/or upgraded.

Pam

Re: Some help please OT

paul womack

>You're being haunted by the spirits of all them widder women you bought the 5 dollar Stanley #1's from...

BugBear (remembering old threads)

Re: Some help please OT

Mark Nowicki

>Have an electrician check the connections in your distribution panel. Sometimes, because of thermal expansion and contraction, they loosen up.

If you have a multimeter that can measure AC voltage, you can check the voltage at the outlet. Under 105 probably requires attention.

Regards

Mark Nowicki

PS. For some reason I find it strange to think of you and electricity at the same time :-)

Re: Some help please OT

Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native, Presently Away

>Todd,

Any chance that it may not be the devices but instead your eyes? Probably not, but still woth consideration. do you notice this "dimming" when watching tv at other people's homes? Coarse, if you're like me you rarely watch tv at other's people homes, but it's a thought.

Sure would suggest getting an electrical check up none-the-less tho. House fires are not fun. :~(

Good Luck, and let us know the out-come.

Todd O.

Re: Some help please OT

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

>BB, that was my thought as well. :)

Regards from Perth

Derek

Re: Some help please OT

Bruce, a MN Galoot

>Your power company is obligated to provide your home with voltage at a certain level. Have them come out and check the voltage at the meter to establish whether it's a system problem or a house problem. They do this for free.

Bruce

Great puzzler

woodburnbob

>...like Click & Clack on Saturday mornings. Monitors and TVs have internal brightness knobs (dimmer switches), which implies to me brightness is about amperage (flow). It would be an interesting experiment to hook up a TV to a wall dimmer switch. If regulating flow into the device with a variable resistor dims the picture, that says something. If you get somebody's little TV and plug it in in that room and it's dim too, that tells you something...i.e., the amount of amperage available to "stuff" in that room is inadequate. There'd also be the issue of whether your outlets are mostly in series or in parallel. Sometimes in old houses, really old houses, houses wired homemade by guys like me, the whole house gets wired piggy-back from a single room...actually, how many circuits does your house have and what's the amperage of the service to your house?

Anyway, great puzzler. Don't forget to tell us the answer.

I think I know the answer

Adam Cherubini

>Todd, I think I know the answer. But first you must answer this question. Have you recently lost your welding glasses?

Ya know...

Paul M. in San Diego

>Ya know the stories that state that we start looking like our pets and our pets start looking like us as we get older? Theory states that we grow together and start looking more like each other.

Maybe you have a symbiotic relationship with your electronics. As you grow older (and dimmer), your electronics are also getting dimmer to match! Just be glad they have not made it to the stage where they are releasing offensive odors yet. ;-)

Re: Some help please OT

thomd

>I second the idea of checking outputs from the wall with a voltage meter. Get someone else to look at your monitor to see if they also feel it has dimed. That should rule out or in the line and eyes issues, at which point you should be down to the devices.

Re: Some help please OT

Dave Tardiff

>Well, glass-tube monitors are magnetic devices, that's how

the electron beams are directed in their sweeps. I'd say that

the last few anvils that you added to the pile created a critical-mass

magnetic field that's sucking all the electrons away from your

tubes.....

Re: Some help please OT

walt Q

>Todd,

what you have is a self contained magnetic field, usually generated by large amounts of cast iron surronding your immediate environment. Very hard on electronics and very dangerous to your overall health.

The only solution I know of is to get rid of all the cast iron in your vacinity.. and I mean to at least 30 yards around your house..I know this would be a big job but I'd be willing to come down with a few large trucks and help you....and I'd just charge you for gas money...your health is at stake...please respong quickly.

Walt Q

Sort of my theory too, but not quite

Bill Houghton, 29 deg this am, Sebastopol, CA

>I've been thinking about this since yesterday (trip down to my parents' house for more cleaning, and a 2+ hour return trip - no time last night to post), and I almost agree with Dave, but it's not the anvils, it's the Emmert vises. It's not well known that Emmert used a special cast iron for their vises, and I think you've amassed enough to create a disturbance in the Earth's magnetic field.

The solution is to disperse the vises, preferably as far west as possible. I can't speak for Scott Burr, but I'm willing to accept one so that you can watch Antiques Roadshow again without having to squint.

Yes, and to be safe/cautious

vlparisian in balmy Houston (not today)

>I believe sending a few south would be most helpful.

Re: Some help please OT

Ernie Miller

>Walt I would be willing to drive one of the trucks for you. I have a CDL

Count me in!

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>I'll be happy to take one off his hands for the cause...;^)

Re: Some help please OT

Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native, Presently Away

>Gee fella's sounds like some long hours behind the wheel to me, and thus a major safety concern is raised. Ernie, swing down into Florida a little and pick me up.

This distrubance in the Earth's magnetic field could be the reason for this crazy weather as well. Sheesh Todd, another fine mess you've gotten us into! ;~)

Seriously tho, any info yet concerning the problem?

T.O.

Re: Some help please OT

Dave OH

>Todd,

With over 30 years in the electrical trade, I can say with confidence, your problem normal. Just remove your sunglasses when you come indoors. Things should seem brighter now!

Dave