psychedelic

[TheSHAD0W]

I was on a service call, repairing a server that had blown its power supply, when someone at the office took me aside and wanted me to look at their computer, because the display was acting weird. I went over and it was true; the display on the monitor was shimmying and waving in a trance inducing manner. I was surprised the user didn't periodically get nauseous.

So I stood there for a second, watching it... Then reached behind it, grabbed the printer's power brick that had been propped up on top of the back of the monitor, and lowered it to the floor.

Problem solved.

[sms001]

Hyper-competent much?

In their defense, it just plain old NEVER occurs to them to associate real world cause and effect. Sad but true. Even at the point where someone put the power brick there and a few minutes later noticed the wavies.....

[jiarby]

This same thing happened to me twice...

1. President of the company, his office backs up to the data center. He decides to re-arrange his office and puts his PC in the back corner. He calls to complain about the wavy monitor thing. On the other side of the wall in the data center is our fridge sized rack of UPS batteries. DOH!! We swapped his old CRT for an LCD and all was well... as long as he doesn't get a pacemaker!

2. Company grows, blows out the walls in a storage room and make it office space.
Noob engineer in the new space complains about wavy monitor, but everytime we get there it is fine. Swapped monitors, cords, power supplies, all kinds of things.... then one day it happened when I was there helping someone else! He jumped up and screamed "There it is!!" Sure enough, it was all weird for a few seconds and finally it went normal. I run out and around to the other side of the wall, and lo and behold a machinist is sitting there doing nothing.... I point at a thing up against the wall and say "What is that thing... and did you just use it"?
Yep! It is a giant (500lbs) electromagnet plate that he uses to magnetize tools.
Woo hoo! Found it! He only used it once or twice a week for 30-45 seconds.
Moved it to the other side of the room, problem solved!

[Ironclad Alibi]

When I first encountered the wavy monitor problem, it took very few minutes to determine it was caused by a small desktop fan I had sitting next to the monitor.

[Eric the Grey]

I get that every once in a while. Whenever my cell phone rings... I keep it sitting right under the monitor on my desk when I'm using it.



Eric the Grey

[sms001]

I get that every once in a while. Whenever my cell phone rings... I keep it sitting right under the monitor on my desk when I'm using it.

My cell on my desktop makes my speakers give off a 'beep-a-deep beep-a-deep beep-a-deep' noise whenever it handshakes with the local tower.

[RayvenQ]

My cell on my desktop makes my speakers give off a 'beep-a-deep beep-a-deep beep-a-deep' noise whenever it handshakes with the local tower.

Mine does that too, gave me a bit of WTFness before realisation kicked in.

[technical.angel]

My cell does it... FROM ACROSS THE ROOM.

Very annoying when I forget to turn my speakers off before I go to bed.

[EricKei]

My cell on my desktop makes my speakers give off a 'beep-a-deep beep-a-deep beep-a-deep' noise whenever it handshakes with the local tower.

My speakers just sound like they're getting static or mild feedback when that happens. NO BEEP FOR YOU

[Yfandes]

Our previous fiscal officer would call me about her "monitor acting funny". I would go upstairs and move the oscillating fan from on top of the monitor and put it elsewhere.

Every summer

[CorDarei]

my biggest wavy monitor story was from someone who had a pool pump outside the house causing it.

[WhiteRose]

I never get that...then again i have a laptop, so i don't know if that makes a difference...

[Ironclad Alibi]

I never get that...then again i have a laptop, so i don't know if that makes a difference...

It makes a big difference. A CRT uses electro-magnetic fields to direct the electron beam that hits the fluorescent coating on the screen. Outside electro-magnetic fields, such as those from electric motors, cause the electron beam to miss its target and create the psychedelic picture. Laptops use a different technology for their screens.

More details of how a CRT works.

[Lingering Grin]

My cell does it... FROM ACROSS THE ROOM.

Very annoying when I forget to turn my speakers off before I go to bed.

lol, I had a set of speakers once that would pick up any cell phone that was in the same room.

Best part was, that it would do it just a split second BEFORE the phone rang. More than once I creeped friends out, when the following conversation happened.


Speakers: BEEP-A-DEEP BEEP-A-DEEP BEEP-A-DEEP

Me: "Your phone's ringing."

Friend: "No it's no..."

Phone: "BBBBBBBBBBRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNG GGGGGGGGGGGGG"

Friend: "...How the hell!?!?"

Me:

Best part is when it would do it, when there phone was on silent

[Ironclad Alibi]

Best part is when it would do it, when their phone was on silent

Isn't it fun being pyschic?