i have actually submitted a few diagnostics (last one about 8 days ago). any way you can still retrieve those since i caught it in the act right away like you suggested?
Yes I saw that one but I need more to compare against
ok no problem! just thought i'd mention in case you didnt see it. so same kinda thing then? glitches and quick send the player diagnostics and good?
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Yep
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ok will do! i'm trying to look at our network here too as a culprit (hoping you can somewhat confirm or rule that out in the logs i send ) as well. we have a google wifi mesh setup and use googles older onhub router as the main router and google wifi ap's spread out (mentioned above have one near the shield hardwired in since its been known to have wifi issues in the past). wondering if i have to replace the onhub but not seeing any other network / lan issues other than this so hoping to see if what you see is packet loss or something network related to confirm or not......also considered a different client but would rather focus the $$ on what might actually help
So the new HDHR Tuning feature added to Android tonight (see that thread)...has led to a discovery for me.
I have discovered that turning off or on things like fans, especially repeatedly toggling the power/speed switch on them, will cause my HDHR signal of even strong signals to cut out entirely. Some stations, the signal strength and Quality will remain high, but Symbol Quality will die.
I can now 100% re-produce this behavior of glitching out most any OTA station by making this "interference"? I am not sure why this happens.
The main and most effective culprit is a small round Vornado table top fan i have near my bed. The other fan i have is a large Lasko Cyclone floor fan.
Now, i thought about power line feedback, noise or something, but, i can't imagine that the case. yes, all my equipment is on the same breaker (can't be helped as my small apartment, the back 3 rooms are wired on same breaker).
However, the HDHR tuner, is behind a UPS (CyberPower PFC Pure Sine wave model) and a TrippLite ISOBAR High end surge protector connected to the ups, that connects my devices, with each outlet pair having some sort of "isolation" filters for line noise etc.
The antenna(Mohu Ranger), is mounted one room over, above a window, and its cable run through the wall, to my HDHR Quadro, with RG6 cable. and a Channel Master LTE filter fitted direct to the HDHR.
The fans are plugged into a different outlet, the Vornado specifically, is also on a surge strip, that is connected to a Surge only port of a different, cheaper UPS ...so there is plenty of "noise filters" and things in line for each device...so I can't imagine the issue carrying down the power cords and feeding back into the HDHR or antenna cable some how.
Must be some sort of radio transmission, EMI...??? that happens when one moves an electrical power/speed switch attached to a motor based device?
When i put the fan on a wifi smart plug, and trigger the plug to toggle the power to the fan, bypassing the fans built in speed/power switcher, it only affects OTA when the power is cut off, if at all.
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Anyways, to the OP user, or any others here that have OTA interference happening at times, random or "similar" times... Ask your self, is there anything in you household being turned on or off, or has a motor that is running, at that moment the signal broke up? a fan? a lamp? Garage door?
Anything scheduled on a timer that activates something around that same time as the signal issues? Like maybe your furnace or AC? Outdoor lights?
May be worth investigating.
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EDIT: Did some more testing....plugging in the fan to outlet on different circuit, no change. Even as far away from antenna as possible, no change.
Both my Lasko Cyclone fans, one is over 15yrs old, the other, only 2yrs old, affect OTA.
I have a all metal, High Velocity Masterforce floor fan, from Menards, that does not affect OTA when toggled.
Some other fans i have , also affect OTA.
Turning on or off the bathroom vent fan, also affects OTA. but my ceiling fan does not.
So yea...know I know if i turn on/off things like fans, or my neighbors around me do such, (they sure use their bathroom vent fan alot) that is probably what is causing the very short signal glitches. Like every Wed evening, my neighbor takes a shower at about the same time, and flips on the vent fan, and my show that records during that time has a brief glitch always around that same time.
Anyone have any idea what is going on here, and how I can combat it?
As just regular old citizens/homeowners/DIY'ers there is really not much we can do other than things already mentioned in this thread - isolate the cause, if possible/practical remove/replace the offending EMI source.
As you discovered in most cases I have seen it isn't electrical line noise but the RF EMI caused by energizing those devices. A lot of the EMI has been solved (think 70's microwaves being used in 2 wire homes back in the day) by better shielding but not all.
You might attempt to build a minature Farady Cage - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage to place the tuners in. But that wouldn't solve the issue of EMI at a client/viewing device.
Also use good cables - HDMI, Power, Composite, Network etc. I have run into many cases where cabling was the issue.
Grounding - especially in older homes. Make sure that your ground is actually good and not assume that there are 3 prong outlets so the ground is good.
thanks everyone! just to make sure i'm on the same page though......we have our tuner in the same area as our Channels DVR Server computer (ubuntu server) and the recordings never have an issue which i would think means the signal from the tuner to the server do not have an issue (no interference). Its only when i am watching Live TV on my client device that we see the issue . And remember i mentioned i've tested setting something to record (tuner to server) and also streamed it live on my client device and when the client device blipped we noted the time and afterwards watched the recorded version and it did not have an issue (this has happened w/ tuner sharing on and off for reference). please correct me if i'm missing something but to me that doesn't seem like an interference issue w/ the tuner but isolates things either w/ my client (nvidia shield) or w/ the networking streaming from the dvr server to the client, right?
I was going to post something similar earlier, but never got around to it.
I have almost the same story with a Hi-VHF OTA station that randomly became untunable at fairly frequent, regular intervals.
Long story short - one of my sons had a USB-powered fan. When he turned it on, EMI (assumingly) took the signal out, despite it being a floor down from the antenna/preamp, and 2 floors from the HDHR. Madness. Replaced the fan, and issue solved.
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I can't replace the fans, and can't control what my neighbors do...
I have had an OTA setup for couple years now, and only now notice this curiosity.
I guess its worse in the summer months, cause people get fans out.
But overall, it is not a serious issue, since the act of normal turn on/off of affected devics only affects the signal for 1-2 sec, so only a very brief glitch, usually.
Gonna try some clamp on Ferrite choke magnet thingy's on the power cords and other cables....those apparently help cut EMI/EFI.
Also, maybe can eliminate the audio hiss i get when a certain set of under cabinet LED tape lights get turned on.
Skeptical, but who knows.
yeah, in my case, I outright lost a channel while this fan was on.
Assuming you have a preamp - where is that plugged into AC? Might be worth checking, though it's a crapshoot.
Nope, I don't use an sort of amp with my antenna. Not needed. All but a few channels are strong signal and I found any form of amp overpowers the tuner and causes issues.
lucky. I'm over 50 miles from most towers, and antenna is in attic, so it's a must for me. Works pretty well, though.
I would recommend trying the shields HDHomeRun app and see if it glitches out in that app. I had a similar problem as you and silicon dust sent me a custom firmware and it fixed it. Those changes have long since been added into their firmware though. I wonder if one of your 4 tuners is a little more sensitive than others. You can check what tuner is being used when the glitches happen and then try other tuners with the channel to see if it’s across the board. Good luck
Good thought.
I just tried that, and it affects all tuners, and the hdhr app.
Not all fans or electrical devices i hae tried affect it, just certain ones, but they are many, mostly all fans though.
O, and forget those Ferrite Core clamp on cord things...tried a few, on the power cords of offending fans, on the antenna coax, tuner power cord, ethernet, no change whatsoever. guess they don't work for this situation or are just a gimmick/snake oil.
Ok. so now i discover that one of my 2 massager wands(both same model), when it is on, it seriously causes interference with seemingly all OTA channels.
Pretty sure that was not a thing since i have had Channels and a OTA setup for couple years now and never noticed it.
Could this be an issue with firmware on the HDHR Quadro?
it has updated a few times since i bought it.
It currently has HDHomeRun 20210224
I have changed anything else, same antenna, cabling etc.
All connections are tight.
EDIT: I can not get logged into the Silicon Dust forms. the first time i try, ot always says Reached max attempts. Then password wrong, and capatcha thing. I try to reset password, never get the email. It has been this way for long time, and i have never gotten a response to my emails to them for help.
Sounds like electrical noise introduced by switching (using mechanical switches) inductive loads like motors on fans, pumps, vacuums, lamp ballasts, inductive heaters, etc. where the mechanical switch experiences arcing. The list could go on forever. Refrigerator, toaster, toaster oven, electric oven or range, pool pump, sump pump, A/C compressor...
Solid state switches using something like a triac wouldn't cause that.
Speedycheetah my suggestion was for the op since they are still trying to find the culprit. Yours seems to be a dirty power issue. You could try a power conditioner like a ss6b and that might fix your issues
You have the latest firmware, unless you want to try beta. https://forum.silicondust.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=371893#p371893
Like i said, I already use a ISOBAR surge strip along with a nice UPS, so those both would provide clean power and filtering to the HDHR and my devices on their end.
It would not be possible to put all fans and devices that trigger this on a power conditioner. and since it does not matter what outlet things get plugged into, or through what, not sure it is anything to do with the powerline wires. Seems more like strong RF being broadcast into the air and the antenna is picking it up. maybe, not sure.
Either way, if it was a power line/dirty power issues, i would have had the issues since day one no? same fans, same devices for 2yrs now.