TO: ALL WEST VIRGINIA ARES MEMBERS (OFFICIAL)
ALL ARES AND NON-ARES AMATEURS ANYWHERE (INFORMATION)
FROM: KEN HARRIS WA8LLM WV SECTION EMERGENCY COORDINATOR
WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED
WV ARES® BULLETIN NR 10.42 DATE: October 17, 2010
SUBJECT: REMOTE CONTROL INTERFERENCE
Have you ever had problems with you TV, DVD, Cable, or other Remote Control device, only to find out later the problem goes away?
If you have to be close to the device you are controlling before you are able to make it command, it could one of a couple problems. The batteries may be getting weak, or you are having interference from another device in the room. Most of the time you will find that new batteries will take care of the problem.
If you've changed the batteries and the problem is still there, start looking for an interfering signal. There are devices that may produce an Infrared Signal which most Remote Control devices uses, but the most likely source of interference will be another Remote Control device.
If you are like a lot of other people, you may have a Remote Control unit that you are no longer using, but the batteries are still good in it. Be sure to take the batteries out of the unit before you put it up. There's a likely chance that something may get pushed against it, or laid on top of it, pressing one of the buttons. If one of the buttons gets pressed, the device will be flooding the room with an Infrared signal preventing other devices from doing their job.
Move around the room and see if blocking the signal corrects the problem. If that clears the problem, start narrowing the problem by blocking the interfering signal with a newspaper or other light blocking device. If you can't find the interfering signal, it may just go away when the batteries in it go dead. (Spoken from experience)
Ken Harris WA8LLM
Wood County WV
WV ARES® Section Emergency Coordinator
WV ARES® District 3 Emergency Coordinator