We have a tv (less then 10 yrs old) that was handed down from my in-laws. Nothing wrong with it. We don't use it very often as it is in our living room and usually behind closed cabinet doors. Once every few weeks or couple months the TV will turn on by itself. It will do it for a few days in a row at the exact same time every day. Then it won't do it for a couple months. Then it will again, but at a different time of day. We have removed the remote from the room and taken the batteries out. We make sure to turn it off by the tv and I have unplugged it numerous times and plugged it back in.
It doesn't seem to fit into any neighbors routines (garage door openers, etc) so we're stumped. I need a good answer.
Honestly, I don't know what a good answer would be. I guess I'm looking for a scientific explanation. I've asked this under consumer electronics and I got a bunch a paranormal answers. Like I said, I'm looking for a logical explanation. There has to be one, right?
2007-01-03 02:12:21 · 8 answers · asked by KJ 5 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
Added....I don't live by any military bases or nuclear power plants or anything that would send out any kind of magnetic waves or anything of the sort.
2007-01-03 02:13:39 · update #1
I just don't understand how if it's off it could turn on.
And why would it be at 442am for four days, then nothing for a month, then 205am for 3 days, nothing for a few weeks, 438pm for 4 days then nothing for 2 months, now the last three nights it's been turning on at 1007pm. Is it possible that a faulty switch would cause that?
I know nothing about electronics really.
2007-01-03 02:20:27 · update #2
Some good info. Thanks!
To mention also, the tv is in an entertainment center with cabinet doors. I have tried turning on the set with the remote outside the doors and even on the shelf above the tv where it normally sits. I couldn't get the tv to turn on that way.
There's no possible way anyone could be playing games with us (we don't think). Most times the three of us are all together in a separate room.
No way to tell the tv to turn on at a certain time either. We tried. Heck, we can't even get the DVD player to work on this tv!
2007-01-03 03:00:34 · update #3
The TV probably has a faulty switch. Either the humidity or the temperature is causing it to turn on. It may even be static electricity. It may seem spooky, but it really isn't. It's just a button that is so close to being a circuit all the time that the slightest change makes it go on.
2007-01-03 02:17:17 · answer #1 · answered by great gig in the sky 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Most TV's sold in the last 25 years have instant on which means that some current is flowing in them even when "off" so that when turned on a picture appears in a few seconds instead of a couple of dozen seconds.
Most TV's sold recently do not have a physical power switch that snaps off, but like mine have a button that when pushed signals the circuitry to shut down the display and other power hungry circuits If it did not have this arrangement, you could not turn it on with the remote but go up to the TV and snap the power switch before using the remote.
Therefore, due to a flaw in your set, perhaps just a reduced potential in some circuit, during a power surge or some other artifact on the power line, the turn-on circuit is activated.
Most remotes are infrared and if the TV is in a separate cabinet, can not reach the remote sensor. If the TV has its own doors (usually a console, few and far between these days) then the fact the doors are closed is irrelevant since the sensor has to be exposed so the remote can turn it on and that leads to other possibilities. A few remotes are RF and will go through doors. They will also be sensitive to electronic interference including the clown with the 25 watt CB - "Who cares what the FCC says, it really gets out there."
The other possibility is that some stupid relative is playing games with you.
2007-01-03 10:33:15 · answer #2 · answered by Mike1942f 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
We have found that various toys or other devices may be on the same frequency. You mentioned garage door openers, which was one idea. However people can drive through neighborhoods and try their various devices to see whose door will open. Any toys with remotes could activate the tv. So can cell phones, cars with satellite devices, and so on. 2 way radios being used in the area may be the same frequency. My daughter has a heater that turns on when the volume is turned up on the radio. I have seen hand held games turn on a tv or ring a phone.There are many new wireless devices these days and thye can interact.
2007-01-03 10:26:39 · answer #3 · answered by science teacher 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Since your TV has a remote, it has circuitry that's always powered up with a micro controller in it waiting for a signal from the remote to turn on the rest of the TV . That circuitry can either be malfunctioning or it could be responding to radiated noise, static electricity or more likely, noise on the power line. There's absolutely nothing paranormal about it. On a dry night in winter, I can pull up my bedspread, see a spark and my TV will turn on.
2007-01-03 10:21:11 · answer #4 · answered by Gene 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Plug a surge protector w/power switch into the wall outlet. Plug the TV into that. When the set is not being used, turn off the power at the SP.
The "off" state simply blocks power with a transistor type device. The power is still on. If the transistor gets a glitch on the power line it can turn itself on.
2007-01-03 11:42:29 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Most probably, it does this when in stand-by mode. In this mode, the TV's behavior is governed by a piece of electronics. I cannot think of anything else than of that piece of electronics being bugged, i.e. having either a design flaw or a building flaw in it. Electronics can have bugs just like software can. Nothing major, no ghosts here. Have it repaired, a good repair shop will find the bugs.
2007-01-03 10:19:49 · answer #6 · answered by smoulderingmauritanian 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Sometimes fluctuations in power can trip electronic devices. Try using a surge protector. They are cheap and usually have a circuit breaker (you can use to shut it off) and 4 - 6 outlets.
2007-01-06 22:09:37 · answer #7 · answered by Ronster 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i don't know if you have any young kids? my youngest would set the automatic timer on the remote when we were out of the room while playing with it couldn't figure out for months why the TV would turn on in the middle of the night at all hours ....thought my house was haunted until i caught him playing with the remote...hope that helps
2007-01-03 10:22:46 · answer #8 · answered by witchywoman_1977 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋