TV has mind of its own

Shoot it with your sidearm; it's obviously an intruder! :lol:

 

Check the neighbors, they may have the same brand of TV, and same cable box (being from the same cable company) with a universal remote with some great range. I'm reminded of the scene from Grumpy Old Men (or was it the sequel... can't remember) where one of them stood outside the window of the other guys house and changed the channels on his TV for the fun of it.

 

Run, do not walk to blockbuster, and rent "Pulse" immediately.

Here's info, so you make sure you are getting the 1988 version, not any of the newer crapfests by the same name:

IMDB: Pulse (1998)

Also, make sure your Prius doesn't see this movie... wouldn't want it getting any ideas.

 

Obviously, it's possessed. Either that or you're losing it. Wasn't that helpful?
Umm...I'd say it's time to call the TV repair shop. Something's fused or shorted out. A liberal application of contact cleaner may do the trick.

 

What type of equipment, brand name of cable box and TV?

It does seem strange that they both come on.

You will want to find out if the cable box has an IR Blaster to turn on other equipment.

If the Cable Box is UHF remote, your neighbor could be opperating it, but why are they up in the middle of the night.

Could a friend be pranking you? Anyone in your house with an learning IR remote could lean the codes for your remotes, and then from outside your house, turn them on in the middle of the night and watch your reaction.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hyo silver @ Aug 23 2007, 04:00 PM) [snapback]501204[/snapback]</div>

That would be my guess if it was one or the other... But to have both the TV and the cable box turning themselves on... Doesn't sound like a fuse or short unless one can turn the other on, which you generally only see done through remotes.

 

One of your neighbors may have gotten one of these Ninja remotes and amplified the IR for a long range TV snipe.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/884f/

What I would do is keep your TV plugged in to make sure it will come on again by its self. When It does come on cover the IR sensor on the TV with a few layers of electrical tape. It it stops coming on by its self someone is sniping your TV.

To find out where this sniper is at use a video camera at night pointed at your windows. The camera will be able to see the IR and you can start tracking down the culprit and prank them back.

 

They did say they would be baaaaack.

If they aren't back, try taking the batteries out of the remotes (TV and cable) and see if the problem goes away. Then you will know if its a faulty remote or coming from the outside. Or they actually are back.

I just saw you did take the batteries out. Try asking your closest neighbor to borrow their remote and see it it works on your stuff. Ask if they are having a similar problem in case someone is pranking the whole neighborhood.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hyo silver @ Aug 23 2007, 02:00 PM) [snapback]501204[/snapback]</div>

If your TV or Cable box has any contacts in it, replace that obsolete set.

Seriously though, most likely thing is you are being pranked. I would plug your TV and Cable box into a power strip with a switch on it and just turn off the power strip each night before you go to bed. Then turn it on when you wake up in the morning. The TV might take a little longer to come on if you try to rurn it on right after you power up the power stip, but after two or three minutes, it would be ready to start instantly.

Actually, you might need to leave the cable box plugged in if it does a nighly check in with the cable company, but just unplugging the TV at night will bore the pranker and he will move on to another house.

 

Now unhook the TV and plug in the cable box. If the cable box has a mind of it's own as well then the problem is not the TV.

 

Is there a cell phone near the TV when it happens? I have a touch-control table lamp next to my bed. If I have my cell phone within a foot of the lamp the lamp will come on by itself 2 or 3 times during the night. Placing the phone across the room during the night eliminated the phantom lamp activity.

 

It is actually quite likely that you have an unlicensed Ham radio operator in the neighborhood...
Our next door neighbor is not licensed, and he has a tendency to do side-band skipping, cranking up the power/frequency, and has caused a few interesting phenomena at our house.
Of course, we just go over, pound on his door, and tell him to knock it off

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hycamguy07 @ Aug 24 2007, 09:09 AM) [snapback]501517[/snapback]</div>

When I lived in rural Minnesota, my nearest neighbor was a half-mile away.
Trucks driving by, using their CB radios, would turn on/up my touchlamp.

You might also check for a timer setting on the TV... one of the shirttail relatives gave our boys a TV because it was "possessed by a demon"... the timer had been set, and every day it would turn on and go to a specific channel.

However, with the volume control increasing, I'm sticking by my theory of illegal radio waves. You don't have to be close to them, sometimes, depending on what they are doing.

 

Hycamguy07

Have you installed those energy saver flourescent light bulbs in your lamps recently? Believe it or not those bulbs can play havoc with your TV remote signals! Flourescent bulbs pulsate if you look closely. Or you may not see the pulsation. It may as fast as 60 times a second.

I was in a hotel room years ago and the TV changed channels be itself. I thought the room was haunted.

I know it sounds a little weird, but its worth a try.

Marvin