Ok, here’s the scenario. I’m watching tv one night when the picture goes out and shows only a white line horizontal through the center of the screen(right in the middle of “the Bone Collector”). I took it to the repair shop and the told me that what often happens is if the Cable company believes you are stealing cable (using a “black box”) then they will send a surge through the line (…to attempt to zap the cheaper electronics of the illegal boxes???). In my case the surge blew out the picture tube in my set. I figured that since i had never had such a box that it couldn’t be true so i went and got a new tv. Three days ago i get a call from the cable guy saying that they have been getting an unusually high signal from my house and they would be sending someone to check it out. th tech guy came and said everything was normal, no high signal feed at all. I asked about my tv and he vehemtly denied any knowledge of that going on.
So. The question is: Do cable companies Zap the homes of suspected cable thieves? How can i prove it and can i get them to buy me a new tv?
Doubtful.
The cable is a low-amperage conductor. If enough current was sent through it to fry your picture tube, all the cable and its associated box would’ve been fried too.
The only time I’ve ever had a picture tube blow was when lightning struck nearby. I’d either blame your power company, or maybe it was just time for your tube to die.
Thats what i assumed, but considering: the age of the tv(2 years), the weather, which was clear, and the call from the co. coming so close to the surge… Well it started to sound more probable. But I guess there is no way to pin it on any one thing. Just the Man trying to keep me down…
Considering that a picture tube is subjected to tens or thousands of volts and is isolated from the cable input by countless transistors, IC’s and other components, I can’t imagine how the cable company could fry it.
Moreover, to do so they’d have to have unhooked your cable from the common feed (so as not to fry other peoples’ sets) and then hook it up to, say, a Tesla coil or something. If they’d done that, you’d have first seen some “snow” on the screen, during the time when the signal was lost.
Finally, I believe that if the cable company did what you described (essentially blowing out your appliance), they’d be guilty of what the law calls a “tort”. (I am not a lawyer, but I think that’s the right term.) It’s much easier for them to simply snip your cable and see if you call to complain. (I’d bet there’s some small print in their Terms Of Service that would let them do that.)
Don’t most pictures tubes have a 5 year warrentee? It should be covered.
This is exactly whats going on: the repair place is doing its best to rip you off. Cable companies can send special signals called bullets that will shut off unregistered boxes, but it won’t do squat to your TV. Go find a repair place that isnt a scam or clueless.
Radio Shack will sell you a bullet protector for about twenty bucks, but bullet’s cannot damage your TV in any way.
We had a thread about this a few months back…And there was some question as to whether the cable companies even use electronic bullets anymore. As I recall, there was some case in New York City (where apparently EVERYONE has an illegal box) where the cable company fried some guy’s box in an apartment complex that started a fire while the guy wasn’t home. As I recall, no one was hurt, but the cable companies were told not to do this anymore because of the potential liability.
I’ve never been able to confirm this story (could be an urban legend) but the way I’ve heard it, as has already been suggested, the cable company cuts off your cable and waits to see if you complain. Though I’d like to know how that works because presumably if you have a box, you’d unhook it, bring the cable guy out to turn on your cable again, then after he leaves, reattach the illegal box.
Personally, I think you just got a lemon of a T.V. - check your warranty to see if they’ll just replace it.