Phantom Fence Signals in Your Yard and Home?

Why is my collar beeping all over the house and yard?

If this happens to you, take the collar off your dog immediately and unplug your wall-mounted transmitter (the box on the wall in the garage or basement).  If this is occurring in your yard and home and it was not there before, then something changed in your yard or home, and it is probably related to a CATV line or maybe a phone or internet line.

  1. If your collar stopped beeping when you unplugged the wall-mounted transmitter then there may be a problem with your wall-mounted transmitter. This is a well known PetSafe Professional problem related to the Models ProTX-1 and the RF105 and related models. There is no fix for this. The transmitter must be replaced. It usually happens after the unit is 10+ years old. Electronics wear out and it can happen to yours too.
  2. Plug the wall-mounted transmitter back in and if you have a Pet Stop transmitter, press the bottom button on the wall-mounted transmitter to turn the “Field Range” or signal down. You might look at the label we placed on our card next to your wall-mounted transmitter. We wrote a number on that label. If the number displayed on the digital readout on the wall-mounted transmitter is bigger than the one we wrote on the label, then use the “Down” button to adjust the signal back to the proper setting.
  3. If unplugging the wall-mounted transmitter did not make the receiver stop beeping, then a neighbor may have their wall-mounted transmitter turned up too high. Call your neighbors. Like you, we have no control over your neighbors.

Try the following ideas next:

  1.  Look in the basement ceiling for the CATV cable tv line that is causing the problem. Hold your receiver up to each line until you find the one that is “Live”. Then move that line in your yard to somewhere else. (Not realistic, right?). Re-route the CATV lines in your home away from the part of the home that your dog frequents so. This does not fix the problem, but it moves the signal to a different part of the home and away from his water bowl or sleeping area.
  2. Decrease the wall-mounted transmitter 1 number and test your fence. Do this until you find the number that makes the problem go away. This is the preferred solution because it will not affect the indoor units.
  3. Decrease the sensitivity of the collar by using the button on the left side of your wall-mounted transmitter (it says “Distance”). Use it the same way you would use the “Training” button on the right side, except you are making the receiver less sensitive instead of changing the shock level. This will affect the way the indoor units are “heard” by your receiver”.
  4. Combination of 2 + 3. This will affect the way your Room Wizard indoor units are “heard” by your receiver.
  5. Upgrade to Edge-to-Edge.  This receiver is less sensitive by nature. But when it does activate, it pushes the dog back a few more feet. In theory, instead of shocking at 5 ft, it might shock at 3 feet and not stop shocking until the dog is about 5 ft back.  This will affect the way your Room Wizard indoor units are “heard” by your receiver.
  6. Remove the ground wire from the CATV line at the ground rod or inside the CATV box on the outside of your home. This almost always fixes the problem, but I am not an electrician and cannot do this for you and did not suggest it either as it ungrounds the CATV line and could increase risk of shock. Only you or the CATV company can accept this risk.
  7. Combination of 2 + 3 + 6 This will affect the way your Room Wizard indoor units are “heard” by your receiver.
  8. Do nothing. Your dog has already probably figured out how to avoid that mistake in the future already.

2 Comments

  • Debbie Posted 04/27/2021 8:42 AM

    Thanks for sharing the tips. If a homeowner has difficulty troubleshooting, do you think it’s worthwhile to call a professional to troubleshoot the fence signal issues?

  • Roger McCoy Posted 04/27/2021 1:14 PM

    Yes. I built my reputation on troubleshooting. Anyone with a shovel can put in a fence. It takes a pro with years of experience to be able to work out some of issues.

    If my assistance provided in the article does not allow you to track it down, then you might call a pro. Pet Stop brand professionals have the ability to change sensitivity in their collars, change frequencies and use the Edge to Edge technology. I have used Edge-to-Edge numerous times to resolve Phantom issues. But the best solution is usually to figure out why it exists and then deal with it.

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