Any reason for 'static' sound in my house?

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

It started with the telephone. We had a bad storm and suddenly we had problems with the phone. Originally we had a 3rd party on the line with us for all of our calls & that went away after I unplugged the answering machine (old tape kind) but now we have a constant static on the line. It varies in intensity and the other party on the line can’t hear it but it makes it almost impossible to carry on a conversation.

The really strange part is that if you turn off the computer, the speakers will pick up the same static sound that you hear on the phone. Any ideas as to what may be causing it?

#2

Did you recently switch to a cable modem or DSL? We had this problem when we switched, and the WryGuy had to install some kind of damper thingie on the phone lines to correct it. I have no idea what the damper thingie was, but I’m sure someone with a clue will be here directly.

Or… you could have water in your phone lines. There should be a telephone box outside your house. If you take a house phone and plug it into the box, and you still get static, then it’s the phone service’s problem to fix. If not, the problem is inside the house. I have no clue what you do if it’s inside, but if it’s outside, call your provider and they’ll fix it.

Final possibility - did you recently move to Taos?

#3

No recent moves to Taos! :slight_smile:

#4

Check the ground connection on your incoming phone, power, and cable tv. These are usually outside. They’ll each be a clamp with a stout single wire that runs to a metal stake in the ground. These clamp connections can get corroded or loose, and cause the stuff you describe.

#5

[cute little ‘Poltergeist’ girl voice]

“They’re here!!”

[/cute little ‘Poltergeist’ girl voice]

#6

If all/most of the phones in your home are cordless, they can wig out for no reason, without warning. We had call waiting ‘installed’ a bit ago and that somehow triggered freak static and made the call waiting beep this irritably loud and sharp craaaack instead of a beep. We downgraded half our phones to the regular cord kind and the problem was solved.