I have a relatively new Samsung flat screen thin line TV connect to a Scientific Atlanta cable box provided by Brighthouse.
When I turn the system and TV on, the TV speakers emit a fairly loud humming noise; if I turn everything off except for the TV, the humming continues. When the TV is off, the humming stops, as you might expect.
I have no external speakers connected and I have taken the DVD player out of the loop; the cable box and the TV are the only two things that are operative.
Can anyone provide suggestions as to the cause of the hum and ways to eliminate or minimize it?
Due to my physical condition, I’m unable to get into a position where I can disconnect the cable, nor can I move the TV stand away from the wall. I’ll recruit a helper, give it a try, and get back to you but it might be a couple of days from now.
How is the cable box connected to the TV? For a while I had a nice LCD HDTV but my roommates didn’t want to spring for HD cable, so the TV was connected with just the coax cable, and it buzzed. If I used a composite cable (since it was a non-HD cable box I couldn’t use HDMI or even component,) the buzzing stopped but it was a worse picture.
Since the TV is HD, are you payingfor HD cable service? If so, I recommenced using an HDMI cable. Since it’s digital, you won’t get feedback (I’m not sure if a ground loop is technically feedback, but you get my point.) If you aren’t paying for HD cable service…well, then it’s mostly a waste of an HDTV. In that case, that filter thingy linked up thread will help.
Incoming cable goes to cable box; box is connected to TV via a cable harness that has more cables than I can count; DVD player is in there somewhere, too. I thought life would get easier as I got older; it seems to be going the other way. I think working an “on-off” switch will be too much for me in a week or two.
I was able to recruit a helper just a couple of minutes ago; disconnecting the cable from the converter box eliminated the hum so I’ll be looking to buy your recommended part or its equivalent locally today.
Thanks for the information; I greatly appreciate it.
Happy to help.
Years ago, I had a severe ground-loop problem with my Cable TV. It was so bad that it made watching TV impossible - “hum bars” would roll through the picture constantly. Installing an isolation transformer eliminated the problem.
I hope this isn’t considered a zombie thread by now. Anyway, I tried to locate the recommended part locally, starting with a Radio Shack that’s only a few blocks from my house. The people there had “never heard of such a thing” although one guy had a faint memory of having something similar installed in his car stereo system. So I tried calling various electronic shops; none of them had “ever heard of such a thing.” So I tried calling the few TV repair shops in the area; ALL of them said I’d have to bring the TV in to the shop for repairs, the cost of which ranged from one to “a few” hundred dollars------thank God for Amazon and thank the SDMB for the recommendation; I should receive the thing within the next few days. Where do hobbyists go for their parts now a days? How do HAMS keep homebrew sets operating?
Unless one is in Silicon Valley, the only practical way to buy electronic parts it through the Internet, these days. Radio Shack and Fry’s Electronics stock a handful of basic parts, but there are simply too many obscure parts for a local store to carry. I buy from DigiKey, Mouser, Future, Arrow, and other major distributors. You could probably find the transformer you need locally, but you would have to track down a store that specializes in Audio/Video installation. Once you do, you are going to sped 3x what it costs on Amazon.
Failing that, there’s always Digi-key and Mouser, but they’re more volume component sales than anything. They have a ton of stuff but you really have to know what it is you’re looking for.
One more revival and I’m done. I bought the part recommended by beowulff and have now installed it: Problem is solved and humming is gone. Thanks again.
