I have a client with several Sharp Aquous flat screen TV's
(various sizes). They are in a house that is un-occupied
for months at a time.

I check the house every few weeks and nearly always,
one of the TV's will be turned on.

I've ruled out a flaky remote; but, other than a ghost, have
run out of ideas.

Suggestions?

The Streets wrote:
I have a client with several Sharp Aquous flat screen TV's
(various sizes). They are in a house that is un-occupied
for months at a time.

I check the house every few weeks and nearly always,
one of the TV's will be turned on.

I've ruled out a flaky remote; but, other than a ghost, have
run out of ideas.

Suggestions?


Hmmm,
Unplug it. Or is it set up by such feature as sleep timer?

"Tony Hwang" wrote in message
news:NXBph.617093$5R2.344909@pd7urf3no...
The Streets wrote:
I have a client with several Sharp Aquous flat screen TV's
(various sizes). They are in a house that is un-occupied
for months at a time.

I check the house every few weeks and nearly always,
one of the TV's will be turned on.

I've ruled out a flaky remote; but, other than a ghost, have
run out of ideas.

Suggestions?
Hmmm,
Unplug it. Or is it set up by such feature as sleep timer?

Yes, unplugging works and I've done that with the ones that are
easy to unplug (I guess that rules out ghosts). I still have two that
are not easy to unplug. Plus, unplugging means going through
setup again when the owners return. I don't think it's a sleep
timer; but, perhaps, some type of energy saver ...

The Streets wrote:
"Tony Hwang" wrote in message
news:NXBph.617093$5R2.344909@pd7urf3no...
The Streets wrote:
I have a client with several Sharp Aquous flat screen TV's
(various sizes). They are in a house that is un-occupied
for months at a time.

I check the house every few weeks and nearly always,
one of the TV's will be turned on.

I've ruled out a flaky remote; but, other than a ghost, have
run out of ideas.

Suggestions?
Hmmm,
Unplug it. Or is it set up by such feature as sleep timer?

Yes, unplugging works and I've done that with the ones that are
easy to unplug (I guess that rules out ghosts). I still have two that
are not easy to unplug. Plus, unplugging means going through
setup again when the owners return. I don't think it's a sleep
timer; but, perhaps, some type of energy saver ...

Consider that unplugging it helps provide additional protection from
surges etc.. I think I would put up with going through the setup again.
I'll bet you get really good at it.

--
Joseph Meehan

Dia 's Muire duit

Someone else has a house key

"The Streets" wrote in message
...
I have a client with several Sharp Aquous flat screen TV's
(various sizes). They are in a house that is un-occupied
for months at a time.

I check the house every few weeks and nearly always,
one of the TV's will be turned on.

I've ruled out a flaky remote; but, other than a ghost, have
run out of ideas.

Suggestions?
Had a TV that would go on---it seems that it was very responsive to power
surges. Since today's TVs are usually powered all the time, even when off,
why not just pull the plugs on all the electronics--safer that way.
MLD

"m Ransley" wrote in message
...
Someone else has a house key

I considered that but wouldn't they want to keep any trace
of their visit a secret?

"MLD" wrote in message news:ObNph.13$Wz.11@trndny06...

"The Streets" wrote in message
...
I have a client with several Sharp Aquous flat screen TV's
(various sizes). They are in a house that is un-occupied
for months at a time.

I check the house every few weeks and nearly always,
one of the TV's will be turned on.

I've ruled out a flaky remote; but, other than a ghost, have
run out of ideas.

Suggestions?
Had a TV that would go on---it seems that it was very responsive to power
surges. Since today's TVs are usually powered all the time, even when
off,
why not just pull the plugs on all the electronics--safer that way.
MLD

The nefarious "surge" does seem a likely candidate.

On Fri, 12 Jan 2007 06:53:45 -0500, "The Streets"
wrote:

"Tony Hwang" wrote in message
news:NXBph.617093$5R2.344909@pd7urf3no...
The Streets wrote:
I have a client with several Sharp Aquous flat screen TV's
(various sizes). They are in a house that is un-occupied
for months at a time.

I check the house every few weeks and nearly always,
one of the TV's will be turned on.

I've ruled out a flaky remote; but, other than a ghost, have
run out of ideas.

Suggestions?
Hmmm,
Unplug it. Or is it set up by such feature as sleep timer?

Yes, unplugging works and I've done that with the ones that are
easy to unplug (I guess that rules out ghosts). I still have two that
are not easy to unplug. Plus, unplugging means going through
setup again when the owners return. I don't think it's a sleep
timer; but, perhaps, some type of energy saver ...


VCR's turning it on to record Oprah?

I considered that but wouldn't they want to keep any trace
of their visit a secret?

Not if they want to play mindgames.

Try this: Take a small square of black electrical tape and use it to cover
the remote sensor of each set. Test with a remote to make sure you've
blocked it. This will eliminate the possibility that someone is coming and
shooting a remote through the window just to create mischief. (Obviously
any weird things happening with the owner's own remotes can be eliminated
by putting them in a drawer.)

Also test the theory that any of these TV's come on if power is dropped and
restored. Probably not but worth testing to see if they power on when
plugged back in.

If it was just one TV doing it and no other cause is found I'd say some
sort of power surge could be the reason but with different ones (are they
different makes and models?) that would seem less likely.

Make sure you leave a few little secret telltales around so you can tell if
someone has been in there. If something turns up that way and there's an
internet connection on these premises it might be fun to set up a hidden
cam of some sort, maybe a network camera for which you run motion sensing
monitoring software back home.

Keep us posted. This sounds like fun.

Oops...forgot that they are all Sharp Aquous. Hmmm.

On Thu, 11 Jan 2007 20:51:38 -0500, "The Streets"
wrote:


I check the house every few weeks and nearly always,
one of the TV's will be turned on.

Check the backs of the TVs for a master power switch. When that
switch is "off", the remote won't do anything, and a power surge won't
either.