"Ghost" line floating up projected picture (1 Viewer)

[DonN]

This is probably a stupid questions but since it comes from newbies to home theater perhaps you will over look our ignorance. We are using a very basic crt projector in our basement home theater. A Sony VPH 1020Q. There is a "ghost" of a line that you can barely see that starts in the lower part of the picture and floats up to the top and starts at the bottom again. It is most noticeable when the screen is black or the images are dark and it runs the entire width of the picture. We see it when we are projecting tv, vcr or dvd but not when projecting the cross patterns to align the projector. Is this a problem with the equipment or just a setting or perhaps the cable that carries the signal ? I remember years ago that you would sometimes see something like this on a tv set. We appreciate any advice you can provide us. If it is a problem with the equipment we may just have to live with it but if it is something we can fix we will but just don't have any idea where to start. Thanks for any help anyone can give us.

Don

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

Hey Don,

I had the same problem with my new Infocus X1. It was caused by a ground loop. Once I grounded my TV cable signal, it vanished.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

If it's not anywhere else, i.e. the test patterns and such, most likely it's cabling/source related.

I'd try changing that around first. I don't recall reading any CRT posts about similar problems, though.

 

[Jason_Els]

I have it on my TV when I plug in the space heater on the same circuit. Turn off the heater and the line goes away.

 

[DavidLW]

Light dimmers when on dim mode causes havoc with electrical circuits. Make sure that any light dimmers in the house are completely off or all the way bright.

 

[Scott Dautel]

Don:

Not a stupid question at all. No doubt you're dealing with a ground loop problem ... quite common for Cable TV users with FP setups. It has been discussed a few times here at HTF. See this thread.

Typically, the problem can be eliminated by runnign your cable through a ground loop eliminator. Most of them cost from $60 - $100, but I found one the other day for $10 here. I have not bought one since my ground guard works well, but it would be worth a try.

Scott

 

[DonN]

Thank you to all who have replied. We will be looking for electrical interference and see if we can solve the problem. We appreciate all the help !

Don

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

Scott,

Thanks for the link. The ones I had seen were much more expensive.