Help: Diagonal Lines Floating through the picture

[acommuter]

Hi,

I'm testing with an external Max/Mel and a 3100 receiver. I've recently moved my setup from one location in the house to another. I'm now noticing diagonal lines floating through the picture. I've had this happen before but never this bad.

I'm sure I read a post in the past that it has something to do with a "grounding" difference between the receiver and my laptop.

Any help or ideas offered would be great.

Thanks.

[JT]

You may be able to cure the problem by simply moving the cable so it's not running right next to a powerful speaker or electrical lines. It may also be the laptop. If that doesn't work, a ferrite bead should fix it. I don't use external boards, but I know for sure this works on internal's. Ferrite beads are those bulbous things at the ends of a lot of power cords and cables. They are essentially RFI sponges. You can buy them at most electronic stores. Wind your emu cable through the bead, a few times if it fits. They usually work best when put on the end of a cable. In your case, the emu board side is probably best. I have so much electrical and etc. junk running around my computer and entertainment centers that I put a bead on both ends of the cable just to be safe. It can help picture quality quite a bit depending on the other junk you have running right next to your system.

[acommuter]

Thanks JT for the quick reply.

I didn't even think of using a ferrite bead. I will certainly try that on the emu cable.

Since the diagonal lines appear on the video signal, would that not suggest it's interference on the coax? BTW, I'm using RG6.

[JT]

Good RG6 cable should be shielded well enough to prevent any issues. The fittings might be an issue depending on quality though. This issue is generally the emu board or cable absorbing some kind of RFI, so it's usually the emu cable where you would put the bead.

[acommuter]

Sounds good. I'll give the ferrite a try. Thanks again JT for the quick reply.

[NYSE]

you also might try grounding your IRD if it is not already. If the power cable has the ground lug cut off, or if it's put into a power strip that has no ground, this can cause this problem.

[rg6a]

Everyone has covered all bases, are you using a CRT TV and if so..........it could be the flyback transformer that is giving you grief.

Try moving the cables and also check connections...........undo and reconnect. Sounds like a shielding problem and it may be from the IRD to the TV. You using S-Video and RCA or just all RCA jacks?

When in doubt, disconnect and reconnect and do the wiggle test and see if the video changes. You mentioned that all was OK before.

The speakers if unshielded will distort the CRT but not cause diagonal lines in my experience. Sounds like a bad connection, external RFI will kind of buzz the whole picture.....sorry that's the best explanation I can give.

Anyways, you have been given prevous good advice and let us know what it was.

[DarkSide]

I also have the same problem only when running external emu. (when i use my rom102 or atmega, the picture is perfect.) So I do believe it is caused the emu emitting rf interference. I have a resistor on the emu board to reduce interference as well as a ferrite bead on the emu cable. This does reduce the diagonal lines but it is still noticeable and I have not been able to get rid of it completely... maybe some else may have solutions to mod the emu to get rid
of it competely ??

[JT]

I also have the same problem only when running external emu. (when i use my rom102 or atmega, the picture is perfect.) So I do believe it is caused the emu emitting rf interference. I have a resistor on the emu board to reduce interference as well as a ferrite bead on the emu cable. This does reduce the diagonal lines but it is still noticeable and I have not been able to get rid of it completely... maybe some else may have solutions to mod the emu to get rid
of it competely ??

Easy fix. Don't use an external emu, and if you do, make sure it's a well designed board. Not a home built single chip or the like.