Poor power quality?

[lopsided]

Hey all - I've been lurking in these forums for several months now, and I continue to be impressed with the wealth of knowledge here. I've learned quite a bit in the time I've been here, and I just wanted to say "thanks"!

Oh and by the way... (queue ulterior motive )

I've been having an unusual problem with my monitor's display ever since I moved to a new apartment. At refresh rates higher than 60hz, the image distorts in kind of a subtle to not-so-subtle way. It varies from rate to rate, but at its worst the entire screen image wavers to and fro.

Fast forward a couple days - in the middle of checking my cables I accidentally pulled the power cord for my (cheap) ups out of the wall causing it to switch to the battery. When I glanced up at the monitor I noticed that the wavy-ness had completely cleared up. Sure enough, it returned as soon as I plugged the ups back into the wall.

I assume that this is a problem with a dirty or poor power in my apartment? If so, would I need a better ups with a line conditioner or something? I admittedly don't know much about the subject - is there something you recommend?

Cheers- Lopsided

 

[DarN]

Have you tried without the UPS completely? Maybe also try another socket/circuit? It may be you have too much going on one circuit for it to sustain an even power flow.

 

[Bolloxoid]

Devices with electric motors (vacuum cleaners, air humidifiers, cooling fans etc.) can send distortion back to the mains, manifesting itself among other things as undulation on computer monitors nearby. Perhaps your neighbors have such a device plugged in.

Can't really help you on how to get rid of the problem.