The Snook’s been driving me crazy for two days now with these “colored spots” he keeps seeing on the TV. He’s convinced that it’s somehow become magnetized or something, and thus we get weird purple spots over certain color backgrounds. (Can you tell that I’m skeptical?) His most recent attempt at correcting the “problem” involved him holding his giant computer monitor up in front of it while I turned it on. This would supposedly “de-gauss” it.
Snook: Maybe they’ve installed something in the cafe [below our apartment] that’s creating a magnetic field…
Me: Like a giant magnet?
I dunno; I just find the whole thing funny.
Tricia
April 12, 2002 — 4:28 am
You know you’re a engineer/tech geek when…
Bad reception becomes an engineering challenge
You try to degauss your TV
This was meant in a derisive way; I’m right there with you. Have you tried wrapping the TV with aluminum? What about metal coils wrapped around the TV? Back in my days in the USN, we did get wierd colors on our computer monitors after we turned on our ship’s degaussing system, so I think there’s something to his theory.
Dan
April 12, 2002 — 6:49 am
I sympathize with him. I’m always bugged by the buzzing noises that tvs make–I hear it loud and clear. But practically no one else I know (especially girls) can even hear it. They think I’m a loony toon. I have no idea–do most people not hear the buzzing?
amy
April 12, 2002 — 7:08 am
hey, refrigeration units can cause funky things to happen to computer/tv screens. our water fountain at the news-sentinel was doing funky things. and it was through a wall!
Tricia
April 12, 2002 — 8:22 am
I’m making typos all over the place today. Not meant to be derisive, I meant to say above. I think the electromagnetic interference theory is brilliant.
Kris
April 12, 2002 — 12:14 pm
I hear the buzzing, Dan, but it doesn’t bother me. (Of course, that might indicate that I’m not hearing the buzzing you are.)
I can’t believe you guys are backing up the Snook on this. Like Tricia said, he’s a geek. He sees problems to solve where they don’t exist.
Einstein Ferret
April 13, 2002 — 12:42 am
First all Dan. Maybe you got a bee’s hive in your TV so don’t go messing around the back. Bzzzz..Bzzzz!
Are for the electromagnetic thing, this is true. If you have your speakers near your TV set you will start to get colour distortion (purple) normally since the mag field is screwing up the screen. Erm..I can’t remember the best ways to fix it though, you better search on the web for solns or go into some electronic store and ask the peeps there.
Maybe the simple solution though would be for Rodd to go get his eyes tested though 😉
Tricia
April 13, 2002 — 2:16 am
Eye exam or stop taking those pyschedelics… 😉
Are you really surprised that your readers are supportive of geek-neurosis, Kris? After all, a lot of us found you thru cyberspace…
Silly Ferret III
April 13, 2002 — 2:36 am
I found Kris through the Geek Central Helpline in London.
I was suffering from VDU deficiency. She came to my aid but I did have to go through a rigorous screening progress 😉
Also Kris does monitor my progress from time to time.
Right enough of the bad puns….cya