Monitor Blinks when turning lights off

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javacookies

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Dec 8, 2012
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Hi,

I'm really curious. This is not too life breaking :D. Since I replaced my VGA cable with DVI, my monitor always blinks for about 1 second whenever I turn off a particular light. There are two lights near my PC but only the one in our living room triggers the blinking. So what's up with that? I'm also worried that it could be a serious matter. Thanks.
 
Solution


Can't tell from that picture but it definitely is how I fixed my blinking monitor problem caused by interference from circular fluorescent lights switching on or off. Also running extension lead for monitor to another power point across the room fixed it too but that was not a long term solution.

I've since had a closer...

javacookies

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It's a circular fluorescent light. I have a 22" LED monitor. I tried turning on and immediately turning off the light and the monitor did not blinked. It seems that it only reacts to the light itself not electrically.
 

MOHAWK117

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Oct 25, 2012
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@javacookies i hav the same problem XD the reason is because bad wiring around u r house r some thing like that causing a power leak deep inside the circuit causing u r monitor 2 blink r turn off for 1 sec r 2 u can fix this by getting a electrician and ask him to check the wiring all round u r house its not u r pc's fauls ;) gimme a thanx if this helped! :D :D :D
 

javacookies

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Yah it could really be in wiring but it's not turning off. Only the screen dims and the led indicator is still on.
@nukemaster i'm not sure. i have Samsung s22b310. The thing is, the kitchen light should cause the blinking if it's really a light sensor. It's the one with direct light to the monitor. Now i'm becoming more curious :)
 
That looks to be just like the Samsung s22b300. The 300 has HDMI and not DVI, but other then that that look the same.

The only thing I can think of that would adjust the brightness on a screen like that would be dynamic contrast(Damn I hate that feature), but chances are it is NOT that in your case since it happens with the light and not how dark or bright the image on the screen is.

You do have some ECO options, but they are manual and should not do things without you telling them to.

I would try to plug it into another outlet, but it is strange that VGA did nothing and DVI does.

Either way, you can TRY to look into the settings on the screen, maybe something is set different from one to the other.
 
Earth/Ground is a SAFETY feature and should NOT cause you to get a shock. It prevents shocks if somehow power comes in contact with the metal casing of the computer/power supply, but by that point, you would have a MUCH bigger issue and would likely blow a fuse or trip a breaker.

If that screen uses the same power supply as the s22b300 model(damn they look close), it does not even have a ground wire.
 

snapped

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Ever find A solution? I have the same problem. Samsung 23" Syncmaster P2370HD, HD5770, Dell XPS8300, 8 gb ram, Intel core i7 3.40, Win 7. Every time water cooler, AC, light switch, stove ect turns on my monitor blinks. Just recently started after I removed my video card to install a second Hard drive. I doubt it's the wiring in my apt.
 

snapped

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Update: I tried opening my catalyst control center and it would not open even after uninstalling it and reinstalling. I seen a post here giving instruction to right click on user folder in C drive and showing hidden files to repair the control center. After doing so my User folder became corrupt and was unusable. I looked up a work around creating 3 accounts on the Microsoft website to no avail. I then did a complete reinstall of Windows 7 on my XPS 8300. After re-installation everything works fine again my video card and my monitor, no more blinking and everything's back to normal. So I figure it was software related and nothing to do with hardware or the wiring in my dwelling. I'd suggest backing up your files right away before any become corrupt and be sure to run a virus/malware scanner prior to doing so. Hope this helps.

Forgot to add, I also was having no problem with the VGA out just the DVI port with an HDMI converter connected to my monitor.
 


javacookies and other victims of the mystery,

Your description of a computer monitor blinking off when a light is turned off is very similar to the TV monitor in my bedroom. In my example I have a Samsung Blu-ray player with WiFi that streams Netflix to a 32" LCD TV via HDMI. The TV and Blu-ray player are plugged into a reasonable quality and recent surge strip. When I turn off the light in the bathroom, the monitor can go off for several seconds and then returns. In some cases- 1 out of 10, when the monitor returns, the sound is lost and I have to cycle the Samsung off > on and restart Netflix. If it's playing a disk, the sound does not go off.

What I think is going on > The TV, Samsung Blu-ray, and the light are on the same electrical circuit- and in fact the light and the TV are only about 6' apart- but with two walls in between. I think the important factor is that the light is a fluorescent and with a miraculous ballast that is 45 years old- the same age as the house. And in some way, that elderly ballast- possibly in some kind of failure mode- is causing some kind of intense RF interference when switched off that is interrupting the HDMI signal or there is some capacitor discharge that is it is simply making an undervolt -or surge on the circuit.

I have a computer nearby on this circuit with a 27" monitor connected by DVI and it has not been affected. It is however, plugged into an 8- outlet. 11 Amp Powervar isolation transformer power conditioner- the kind used for hospital equipment and that has a robust RF and surge protection.

I agree, mysterious and troubling! The oddest feature is that it happens only when turning the light off.

Questions for you > Is the light in question a flourescent? Is that light on the same circuit as the monitor?

Here's the stranger part. I took a break while writing this and connected the TV and then the Samsung to a long extension cord connected to the power conditioner. The TV did not blink off if either one or both were connected to the conditioner. However, when I plugged the TV and Samsung back into the surge strip, I can not get the TV to blink off- whether with disk or WiFi ! All I can think of is that repetitive switching of the fluourescent light is getting some capacitance discharged.

Or, it's demonic possession,..

I'll try some other things report back.

Cheers,

BambiBoom
 

adimeister

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@bambiboom: I'm also thinking the same problem! The freakin' ballast could be the culprit of this one.. My monitor also turns off when a fluorescent bulb is turned off. I'm also connected to a fused extension wire (some sort of a surge protector, not as expensive as yours though! haha).
 
adimeister,

Certainly, I would think the kind of light has to be the key. Earlier on in this thread- January!, our friend nukemaster asked, ",.. what kind of monitor and what kind of light?" and javacookies replied, "It's a circular fluorescent light." Now, including yours, all (three) the mentions of the type of light is fluorescent.

Fluorescents are little generators of complex RF effects >

http://www.ieice.org/proceedings/EMC09/pdf/22S3-3.pdf

> and you see in this paper the field effects are bizarrely non-linear, have wide frequency bandwidths and the field strength is proximity-related = dirty little buggers if you're nearby!

Would it be too much to ask if you would try replacing the lamp that is causing your problem with an incandescent? I would try this except in my case the light is hard-wired / wall mounted.

Two more thoughts> LCD monitors are backlit with cold-cathode fluourescents and LED's are switched with ballast resistors that operate on voltage drops. It's a conspiracy of ballasts and I'm going to start wearing a tin foil hat!

I can see it now, "Ballasto: Legacy of Darkness", the exciting first 1D game played on a completely black screen.


Cheers,

BambiBoom
 

adimeister

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@bambiboom: hahaha you're hilarious bro. :D In spite of me being entertained by you, I can't replace it too. It's also hardwired to the ceiling bro, and I don't have any experience on replacing fluorescent whole assembly to the direct incandescent bulb (direct PnP type of bulb, without the ballast and starter hahaha)

So, I guess we'll have to wait for another victim huh. haha I'm worried, will this have an effect on my monitor or rig?? Because I'll try to buy an AVR next week. That might solve the problem because I currently plug my whole system directly to the wall......
 
adimeiester,

O.K. Now we're getting somewhere- 1> all the lights identified (javacookies' is a circular kitchen light) are hard wired fluorescents and 2> Since last evening, I've had the TV plugged into my isolation transformer power conditioner- on the same circuit as the fluourescent light and after many tries, the TV has not suffered from the flourescent switching off syndrome.

I've poked about a bit looking for fluourescent RFI and switching noise data and there's enough, along with the results from trying the TV on a power conditioner to convince me that the problem has to be with from ballast switching RFI. An odd item > there were a couple of mentions that the switching noise is less on the old magnetic- those heavy Iron ballasts than the new electronic ones- I would have thought it was the reverse.

I think that anytime an electronic device is functionally interrupted by anther device is a time to worry about stress on the circuits. The TV is an old banger off Craigslist, but if it were happening to my monitor I would work out a solution. I think there are only a couple of choices- replace the fixture with incandescent- probably the less expensive idea, or find a good RFI supressor power strip or conditioner. In my Los Angeles power paranoia- the voltage varies from 109 to 131V and there must thousands of RF signals just passing through, I ended up with six Powervar and OneAC isolation transformer conditioners. These were expensive new- a 12A OneAC new was $1,100, but you can get the 6A ones off Ebahh for reasonable prices- $60-75. (600W = 5A). There's an 8.3A Powervar on Ebay for $90. No guarantees it would solve it, but I wonder if one of the following might not only solve the problem but be a general act of kindness to a computer system>

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/M8x2/

> which is Furman conditioner- not an isolation transformer, but having very good RFI filtering and surge protection- $65. these are intended for audio - mainly recording systems. Furman also makes power strips with RFI filtering in the $35 range.

I might not only wear a tin foil hat, but add a grounding strap and power crystal so the NSA can't check my email,..

Let me know what happens!

Cheers,

BambiBoom


 
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