Odd Problem

[flashman78.livejournal.com]

Hey, I've been living in Davis since June and have been watching this community, but this is my first time posting... hi!

The reason for my post is this: I'm a graphic artist with a strange problem. I own a Wacom Graphire3 art tablet and ever since I've moved to Davis I've noticed a little jitter to my cursor whenever I use the tablet to draw. My brother has a tablet in the apartment and it has the same problem so I know it's not just my device. It renders the tablets useless since all of my strokes come out all shaky. I've tried calling Wacom directly and they think that the only explanation is that there might be a very strong source of RF interference in the area.

Is there a radio station close to Davis or has anyone had similar problems? Any solutions?

Thanks!
~Rich

Comments

[georgy.livejournal.com]

There is WMFO, which transmits from Tufts, but it's not super-strong.

[bridgesyoucross.livejournal.com]

it transmits from right by the intersection of college ave and boston ave i think.

[georgy.livejournal.com]

That's where the station is, but the transmitter is more in the middle of the Tufts campus, atop the hill (hence, closer to the square).

[xuth.livejournal.com]

There are lots of potential RF sources. Unless you're very close to the broadcasting tower of a radio station, it will be drowned out by your many household appliances. Specifically anything with a motor and unshielded computer monitors are suspect. The RF can also be transmitted through any household wiring (electric, phone, and to a lesser extent cable). It also might be that you got lucky and there's some electronic device that happens to generate a rather strong signal on the frequencies that are most disruptive to your tablet.
As a first thing to try I would use the tablet in the center of the room away from any of the wiring in the wall. Ideally I'd run it off of a battery either connected to a notebook computer or a computer running from a UPS. If you're still having the same problems then I'm not sure what to suggest.

[push-stars.livejournal.com]

If you can, walk around the block with it. That should tell you whether or not is radio staition or something even more local. It could even by your neighbors microwave, wireless router, phone or a local transformer on a powerline.

[marmota.livejournal.com]

If you have a mouse plugged in at the same time, try unplugging it.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

I have a Graphire (though I don't know if it's a 3 or not, and the sticker on the back doesn't really help - it says "CTL-430" for Model), but I have not had that particular problem- I have other problems, but they are laptop-tablet issues specific to my glitchy laptop. Well, I think, anyway; I never had them before about a week ago, and now I am out of state, so it will be very interesting to see if they reappear - I thought them related to my laptop having Issues when it goes into standby, and failing to properly recognize the tablet when it wakes up (resolved by unplugging the tablet, and then plugging it in again).

[ron_newman]

WJIB-740 has a transmitter near Fresh Pond in Cambridge, but that AM signal is so weak that I can barely receive it in Davis Square at night.

I think WXKS-FM has a transmitter near Wellington Station in Medford, possibly shared with other stations.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

Do you live right in Davis, or perhaps close to any of the engineering labs at Tufts?

You could try encasing your house in some sort of insulation :)

[ceo]

A TEMPEST house? :-)

I concur that it's likely to be something inside the house. Though a friend's parents' house was maybe 1/2 mile from the ~100KW WRKO transmitter in Burlington, and they got WRKO on their modem speaker.

[flashman78.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the suggestions guys...

Be trying different positions int he house for staters with no avail. Tried unplugging devices, and insulation might be slightly...cost prohibitive. (thanks for suggestion tho) I think I'm going to upgrade to the more costly Wacom Intuos... Wacom said they function on a different frequency. Hoping that works. :-(