am i damaging my monitor (1 Viewer)

[Ted Lee]

hey guys -

the way my house is setup, i have my monitor (sony 17") on one side of the wall, and a dryer on the other side (in the laundry room). i'd say the distance between the two is approximately three feet.

well, everytime i run the dryer, it causes the picture on my monitor to "shake" or "warble" ever-so-slightly. it's not bad, but it's definitely there.

i assume it must be some sort of magnetic interference.

anyway, do you think this could damage the monitor?

thx,

ted

 

[Max Leung]

There may also be power fluctuations caused by the dryer. Not a good thing!

 

[Andy Olivera]

Is the effect constant, or does it occure when you initially start the dryer? The dryer has to be on a different circuit, so if it's constant my guess would be EM interference. There are 240 volts going to the dryer.

I would try changing outlets(I'm sure you already have) or move it away from the dryer and see if the problem stops. One of those should tell you whether the cause is a power fluctuation or interference.

As to how damaging it could be, power fluctuations are obviously bad, but I can't remember whether an EM field can permanently damage a CRT. Someone else?

 

[Gerald LaFrance]

yes an EM field can damge a CRT!!!

 

[Ted Lee]

yeah, it's definitely the dryer causing the warble. it happens *everytime* the dryer runs and *only* when the dryer runs.

unfortunately, moving it away from the current position isn't really feasible because of the layout of my home-office.

i haven't noticed any power fluctuations when the dryer runs. my lights don't dim, etc.

how can the EM damage the monitor? can it screw up the internal guns? i must admit i haven't noticed any degredation in my monitor's picture, but i may just not be aware of a gradual change.

 

[Max Leung]

Have you tried hooking up the monitor to a UPS and see if the problem goes away? UPSes should clean up the noise/fluctuations.

 

[Cees Alons]

Ted,

You could do some tests, like placing the monitor further away from the wall, using the same wall outlet. Then use quite another wall outlet, then put it at the same place using the other wall outlet, etc.

Also, if it is the power (in fact EM radiation isn't that common from a dryer - because it's shielded anyway - but not impossible), it could also be the PC itself (or the graphic card). So try changing the wall-outlet of that one too.

Good luck,

Cees

 

[Ted Lee]

oh...i see what you guys are getting at. you think the "warble" (i just like using that word ) is still due to some sort of power fluctuation?

i'm still not sure, because it *only* happens with the dryer...not with the washer (which is on the same circuit breaker)...or a/c, or refrigerator, or any other household appliance. so that would lead me to think it's not a power issue.

i don't have a UPS, but i will go ahead and try to plug it (and the cpu - never thought about the graphics card) into a different outlet and see what happens.

thx much guys!

 

[Mike LS]

I'm no electrician, but if your house is wired correctly, there's no way the dryer is on the same breaker as your washer, or anything else for that matter. 99.9% of dryers require a 220 circuit and those cannot share the circuit with anything else....there's twice the current running through that circuit, which would damage any other appliances. Hence the funky plug your dryer has.

 

[Max Leung]

Hmmm yeah your dryer could be acting like an unshielded speaker and messing up your monitor's image. Guess moving it away should help.

Although, if your dryer is putting out that much magnetic interference (if it isn't just EMI), I'd expect your credit cards to be wiped by now.

 

[Ted Lee]

there's no way the dryer is on the same breaker as your washer,

oh yeah...you're right. i just realized i actually have *two* circuit breaker switches in the electrical panel. i'm sure one is washer...one is dryer. :b