Bizarre electrical interference

First of all Questions & Answers: Continuing the saga from when we first noticed how the timing of the farts from the failing water pump scrambled the picture on both TV’s. The following blurb could be useful. I’ll try to write this as seriously as is possible for me, which is extremely difficult when it involves pumps & farts…

Mike the Meerkat kindly informed me that the same thing happens when they flush their macerator loo, it’s good to share these things isn’t it…?

So12 volts can play games with 240 volts… 

A Question: Why did our problem start happening all at once when we hadn’t changed anything?

An answer: Well, we’d noticed the water pump causing rumblings for the past few weeks – lasting longer & LOUDER as time went on. It’s about to pop it’s clogs, so something resembling relevant HAS changed…

Another Question: Why does it affect the 12 volt TV in the bedroom?

Another Answer: Because the Freeview box in there which delivers the picture is 240 volts. And the signal booster is also 240. 

So the conclusion is: A 12V farting water pump “appliance” can interrupt a 240V appliance. Especially if the former’s got it’s amps in a twist is playing up a bit.

Dave compared the principle of how it happens with really old cars that used to have 12 volt “dynamo’s” in them, as they went past houses they could interfere with 240 volts. So manufacturers had to put “Suppressors” on them. OOO a very clever “correctly configured” connection there…

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Right, that’s enough of that, but we’re back to talking TV’s again. (Sorry). As explained yesterday, we all know buying Hi-Tech stuff can be painful, not only on the pocket / purse strings. It can also bring on symptoms such as frayed nerve endings & immense stress, which, after several hours can lead to fatigue on an immense scale… And it did…

So continuing from yesterday where were we up to? (PROD) Ah yes. After hours of faffing about with “WEAK SIGNAL OR NO SIGNAL” & various other obstacles in the way of being able to move on in life. By that time even the new TV was fatigued…

And, after going through it’s long drawn out setup routine, with Freeview built in it grabbed all the channels. (Goody). However, due to the SIGNAL problem it does a brilliant job of not working at all on it’s own, it’s got a lovely black screen though…

Aha! Good job we’ve got a new set top box to record to as well. We managed to get that up & running ok, but that’s not the point. The signal for both internal & external Freeview comes from the same source. However, on the up side the picture on screen is mind blowing, we’ve never had a HD TV before…

Then there’s setting up t’internet, by this time it was 11pm & “brain drain” was well & truly INSTALLED. So with the other box doing the channels we managed it. THEN THERE IT WAS, THE TT BLOG IN ALL IT’S GLORY ON THE TV!!!

BUT BBC iPlayer isn’t playing at all, the firmware needs an upgrade, so why the hell are they selling dedicated dongles for 50 quid that need a MAJOR update…? [I remember having the same problem with my Vodafone Wi Fi dongle – that one played nice & downloaded it all for me.]

Needless to say, the TV’s online, but it won’t update said firmware itself & it should. So this aft, Heth here had to work out how to do said job online with a laptop. Then work out VERY carefully which version it required, download & install to the TV via USB stick & hope for the best…

However there’s one good thing – the water pump doesn’t bother it at all…

Meantime, Dave went back to COMET to get a more sophisticated TV booster & god knows how many metres of cable, posh stuff designed to deliver a specific digital signal BOOST… [Another 50 quid]

So he’s spent all afternoon fitting the new posh cable under the gunnels. But the last straw (happened just now) is when he switched on the new booster & it won’t erm, switch on. Dead as a doornail, tested in many different wall sockets, nothing, nada, plus RED HOT underneath…

Yet another trip to COMET again tomorrow then, that’ll make it 3 days on the trot. As you can imagine, the word “COMET” on this boat now refers to a swear word… Update: He’s just announced he’s going now & he wants the new one tested before he leaves the shop. (Good on ya hun). It’s not like we’re TV couch potatoes, & forget the old chestnut “you get what you pay for.” This is a case of “give us what we paid for” DAMMIT… 

So now neither TV will work, the old booster is useless because the fittings are different. So I still haven’t had chance to check the new firmware to find out if we’ve got iPlayer yet. Bet we haven’t… Just as frustrating is that the boat resembles Steptoe’s scrapyard inside…

Oh, & don’t mention the DAB radio, oh well go on then. I tried setting that thing up last night: “Scan complete” & it had only found ONE channel, “The Asian Channel”. I kid ye not, what good is that to me…?

However, Dave has a personal DAB radio which goes all crackly when he walks under any LED lights. I went in the saloon one night & found him switching the lights on & off. Thought he’d taken a funny turn till he explained that he was carrying out a Beta-Test. I helped him out with a second opinion, & confirmed that his diagnosis was indeed correct…

Does anyone out there know anything about poltergeists…?

Well Dave set off about 20 minutes ago, just hope he’s got the receipt with him…

Sometime later: He’s just arrived back with a new booster thingy, walked past me & said “if you hear a scream I’ve thrown myself in.”

Just about sums the situation up nicely that…

PS: Think this blog post’s a bit too short, so if you actually make it down here, let me know.