David Bailey
Banned
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- 10,485
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- Harrisonburg, Va.
If your monitor supports it you might want to increase your Refresh rate one notch.
Random rapid screen flicker
- Thread starter Martin1937
- Start date
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- 13
Good question. I got rid of the cordless phones last year. Only corded ob my desk.
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- 13
Monitor won't let me upnotch from 60Hz.
David Bailey
Banned
- Messages
- 10,485
- Location
- Harrisonburg, Va.
A computer/monitor on an extension cord plugged in on the other side of the house just screams at me.
Is this a very old house with limited electrical outlets? I believe the current electrical code requires an outlet every few feet; of course every state differs in requirements. If you're limited in electrical outlets, I believe I'd plug the computer into an actual outlet and use that extension cord for something else.
Also, I checked with Dell for your monitor and found this link: http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/19/product-support/product/dell-g2410/get-started I didn't go further, because it asks questions I don't know the answers to.
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- Central IL
Wynona, when you are looking for problem branch circuits, an extension cord is going to come into play. That way you see if it is a outlet issue in that room that the computer & monitor is in, or if it is a hardware issue (ie computer or monitor). This is done all of the time to do troubleshooting, even by the pro's.
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- 13
I just had a couple of "shakers" this morning again with the computer and monitor plugged into the extension cord going to an outlet on the other side of the house. So it has happened now with three different outlets. I;m going to be getting an electrical person to look at this...since it is beyond my humble knowledge to fix this. it has happened now with two different computers. random shake, rattle, and roll....very disconcerting. The house is "old," built in 1953. And has a couple of subpanels in addition to the main panel. So a complex situation. Everything was fine and dandy until last fall when the monitor image shaking started....on the laptop I was using....then the laptop crashed in November...I replaced it with a desktop, and the problem continued....that's the ongoing saga....
Yes, I understand electricity quite well and an extension cord "across the house" still screams at me. Is it one of those light-weight household jobbies or, is it one that will take a heavier load?
I know a bit about electricity and have done some wiring myself; however, when it comes to more than simple, I leave it to the pros too. I'm glad you're going to do that.
I guess the first thing I want to ask is if your computer is normally connected to an extension cord or if I've misunderstood what you said. If the computer is normally plugged into a wall connection, whoops! I misunderstood and apologize.
Another question is whether there have been renovations to the house in the past. If so, that could explain the sub panels. Also, if there were renovations, and they were done in the 1960s, it's possible (probably not likely) there's some aluminum wiring in your house. Aluminum wiring can cause all kinds of appliance failure (both small and large) besides computers. Have you had problems with anything else?
Have you had your computer connected to outlets from all three panels, one, two, all three? This could help you pinpoint where the electrician starts to troubleshoot; if you've used outlets from all three, then the most likely place to start would be the main panel that would feed the other two. If, say, only to the sub panels, then they would be the place to start. Electricians are expensive, and there are ways we laypersons can minimize the cost.
I just found this site, and it looks like I'll be going back to it a few times; not for electrical issues, but there seems to be a lot of good information for a DIYer! InspectAPedia.com - Diagnose & Fix Building & Indoor Environment Problems - Home
Good luck and I do hope there's no aluminum wiring in your house.
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- USA, Idaho
The longer the cord the greater the wire gauge should be. This is so there is not a great deal of lose because of length.
- Messages
- 3,468
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- Central IL
Wynona Inspectapedia is not a good site for a diy'r to go to. There is a lot of misinformation on that site.
Really!? Seriously, I thought I'd made a great "find" when I stumbled across it.
- Messages
- 3,468
- Location
- Central IL
It has some good information, and I do mean some. But not a site to be taken literal. I am a regular on diychatroom.com. There are regulars in there that are in the trades. I myself have been around electricity and electronics all of my life. My father was a Radio Man in the Air Force and a ESS-4 tech for the telephone company. You can pretty much state that technology and knowing how to read a schematic, along with programming is in his kids blood.
The only time we really reference Inspectipedia, is for the Panel info on the old Fed-Pac panels.
What the OP is doing, is how we would troubleshoot circuits in a home when I have to do work in my own home, or for someone else. We have also done that on board ship, when we would be within 50' of the junction box and needed to tone out a circuit.
As for the OP. Using an extension cord is what most of us sparky's will ask someone to do, to try and figure out if it is a panel issue, or a single branch circuit issue.
The problem with most older homes, is that they are all tied in on the same branch circuit. Kitchen's, Pantry's, Dining rooms can also be on the same circuit for the baseboard and lighting.
Now if you get into the really old homes that had only four, maybe six circuits. You really have to know how to troubleshoot in those setups.
I always look at the voltage at the outlet first, to see what I am getting. Then go to some other circuit that I know should be on another let, and take a measurement. If they are not correct, then I go to the panel and start checking at each individual circuit breaker or fuse, to see what the voltages are. Same with the two legs coming into the house.
If I find one leg out of whack, then I will monitor it for about a week or two and see what happens. If still out of whack, the Power company is getting a call to come to the house to pull the meter and check voltages.
The OP really needs to turn off the power to the various branch circuits, and pull light switches and outlets and check for "Backstabbing" along with incorrect grounds.
You would be surprised at what kind of fun workmanship is found in homes & even mobile/manufactured homes, after multiple people have lived in the structure.
It does not take long for bad connections to cause electronics to go bad. That is why I am a firm believer in using a whole house surge protection, along with a secondary layer of surge protection. Either a UPS with Surge protection, or a surge strip.
I went as far in my place, and placed both our furnace and power-vent water heater on a surge outlet. Especially since they both have electronics in them and they cost more then I make in a month, if I had to replace them, due to a power surge.
