How does my cable reception predict when a transformer will blow?

Factual Questions
1

Disclaimer: As intriguing and earth-shattering as the premise of the GQ may be, it’s possibly FOS.

I’m currently living in sunny Sacramento. About 8 this morning I heard an explosion outside and my power went out for a couple seconds. I went out to investigate and ran into my neighbor. This guy is a real street smarts kinda guy. He told me at once that that was the sound of our local transformer exploding. He said this happens with fair regularity (he’s been living in the building for 15 years to my 3 months).

In addition, he said he knew the transformer was due to blow.

“How?” I asked incredulously.

He told me that in the days prior to the transformer blowing, the reception on cable channel 8 develops a peculiar interference pattern (squiggly horizontal lines).

Amazed, I told him I’d noticed this oddity the night before. I asked if he knew why but he only knew it had something to do with, “overcharging and frequencies.”

Can anyone postulate a reasonable mechanism whereby an incipiently failing transformer could cause interference on cable channel 8?

2

When the transformer wires start arcing internally, they create high frequency electrical noise which shows up on the TV as interference.

There’s something seriously wrong with the electrical system if it keeps blowing transformers. It sounds like someone needs to pay for a higher amperage service.

3

I second that- my neighbour had faulty plug leads, which used to emit broadband emf noise and screw up TVs and radios when he drove by. Fault motor brushes, transformer insulation breaking down or any arcing will produce similar electrical noise. It gets transmitted directly through your power lines to the TV, or by broadcast if you had an antenna.

4

My WAG is arcing or corona discharge inside the transformer is leaking into the cable system. (Arcs and corona both put out radio-frequency garbage)

As the transfomer’s health deteriorates, it’s probably having more internal arcing until it fails.