Sounds like your signal levels have gotten really low [or the noise levels
really high]. Time to call Comcast.
--
Thomas T. Veldhouse
Religion is a crutch, but that's okay... humanity is a cripple.
Ayup!
Or bad or loose connections at a splitter.
Yes but - bat connection(s) should show issues on more than 1 channel as
the OP reported.
If he didn't figure that out on his own before posting here, then he is still
better off calling Comcast IMHO.
Actually, it showed up on two channels. I mentioned the Animal
Planet as well (Ch 43.) Anyway, I emailed to Comcast about it and they
also suggested loose cable connection which turned out to be the
apparent case. Once I tightened it at the wall plate, the problem seemed
to disappear. I would have thought of this myself if it had affected all
channels, or if it had not shown up suddenly last weekend without me
doing anything around the connections. At least next time I know better.
Thanks for your suggestions, guys.
Do you have any pets, in particular, any cats? I am always blowing dander out
of my computers and restoring power cords that get yank ... one day that cat
is getting a 230gr Winchester JHP 45 round in it .... dust and muck is all I
have to deal with then ;-)
Another cause of loosening cables which I have first hand experience with is
nearby trains. My previous home had a dual track line right behind the house
and it shook one monitor to death, but back then I had 10baseT coax Ethernet
and occassional a cable would loosen over time [although I have to say it was
rare]. Those were the days when my Cable Modem (via MediaOne) was one way
400+Kbps down and a phone line for upload and they were bound together to form
one connection [it was quite unreliable].
None of those applies here but I can see now how little stress on
that outlet jack can make a difference in reception. When it happens
only on one or two channels that you don't even use that much, it
becomes almost impossible to link the cause and effect later together.
"The signal travels on the surface of the wire" - cable guy. The carrier
RF form(s) standing waves, so partial contact of the surface can lead to
spotty problems.
True, but the signal travels on the surfact of the tiny interior wire of the
cable, the outer metal is simply shielding (An attempt at a Faraday Cage).
Realize too, if your area has taken off most of the analog ch.s, then
"Ch.43" may actually be RF "Ch.29-3" or "Ch.25-12"!
For instance, up here in the Boston area, we have (partial)
*Mapped>Ch.<RF Station
======= ====== ===============
2-1 115-01 WGBH:2
4-1 114-02 WBZ:4
5-1 113-01 WCVB:5
7-1 113-02 WHDH:7
8/46-1 83-12 WWDP:46
9-1 85-89 WMUR:9
11-1 82-06 WENH:11
16/44-1 82-10 WGBX:44
17/27-1 82-08 WUNI:27
18/50-1 82-11 WZMY:50
19/60-1 83-04 WNEU:60
20/62-1 83-05 WMFP:62
23/48-1 83-11 WYDN:48
24 26-05 DISNEY
25 26-06 NICK
25-1 114-01 WFXT:25
28 26-04 MTV
29 26-11 VH1
35 26-12 USA
38 26-10 TLC
39 26-09 DISCOVERY
44/27-1 27-01 C-SPAN
44-1 116-04 WGBX:44
47 25-02 WEATHER Channel
55 25-08 SPIKETV
59 26-08 AMC
56-1 115-02 WLVI:56
60 26-02 CARTOON
61 26-03 COMEDY CENTRAL
62 26-07 SYFY
68-1 98-01 WBPX:68
83 85-07 INSP
*"44/27-1" = Ch.44 on ComCast analog converter box,
Ch.27-1 on HD digital TV tuner (otherwise,
HD tuner shows RF Ch.)
So, if RF-Ch.83 is poor, then the mapped Ch.s 8/46-1,
19/60-1, 20/62-1 and 23/48-1 will all be poor while the
adjacent (mapped) Ch.s will be fine!
~Kaimbridge~
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Reply: ------------------------------
I'm not doubting what you say. Not knowing any better, I just
assumed that if the single center wire carries all channels then any
contact issue would also effect all channels, not just one or two.
<snip>
> So, if RF-Ch.83 is poor, then the mapped Ch.s 8/46-1,
> 19/60-1, 20/62-1 and 23/48-1 will all be poor while the
> adjacent (mapped) Ch.s will be fine!
>
> Reply: ------------------------------
>
> I'm not doubting what you say. Not knowing any better, I just
> assumed that if the single center wire carries all channels then any
> contact issue would also effect all channels, not just one or two.
Not necessarily: On one of our TVs in particular, the connection is
such that the VHF-lo signal's (i.e., Ch.s 2-6) are usually weak and
snowy (sometimes Ch.s 2 & 4 are outright unwatchable...this was
particularly true when the OTA analogs were ghosting over the CATV co-
Ch. retransmissions!), as well as a few of the higher, >Ch.70, ones
(including the aforementioned Ch.83). Then, if you wiggle the wire
(or sometimes even flush a toilet! P=), it may clear up. Thus any of
the affected upper Ch.s with digital signals may sometimes degrade to
anything from just minor pixellation to the dreaded BSOD.
~Kaimbridge~
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