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Forums - Music techology
Subject: Unwanted radio interference? Help?
Viewing all 4 messages - View by pages of 10: 1
Original Message 1/4 28-Feb-98 @ 05:40 AM - Unwanted radio interference? Help?
Hey Kilo, you guys always got the knowledge, so please help. Were recording tracks in our make shift house studio. How the hell can we keep the radio tower up the street from interfering with our gear. Help. The compressor and the mixer and the Korg seem to have something to do with it.
Message 2/4 28-Feb-98 @ 09:47 AM - RE: Unwanted radio interference? Help?
oh shit...... mate......... there could be many solutions.... your gonna need a sparky for this one...... find a local tech with test kit etc.......or... burn down the arial !!!...midnight sabotage......
Message 3/4 28-Feb-98 @ 04:46 PM - RE: Unwanted radio interference? Help?
Not easy to help without knowing a bit more. Here's some thoughts you could try.
1. Is it just one bit of gear that's picking up the rfi? (radio frequency interference). The only way to be sure is to somehow disconnect EVERYTHING else completely, midi, mains, audio etc. even metal bits of one bit of kit touching another... You'll need to use headphones to listen to a synth for example because connecting to an amp will tell you nothing - if it still gets rfi you'll not know if it's synth OR amp!
2. If not one bit of gear on it's own, is it a particular combination or configuration, eg you only get the problem when the Korg is midi'd to the kettle and the compressor is not conected to the toaster but goes away as soon as the kettle boils?
3. Once you've found out which bit are being affected it's easy (oh yeah?). You can either remove or screen the source (Kilo's suggestion is pretty good here or you can wrap a load of wire mesh around the radio mast and earth it - this'll work just as well but won't make you very popular as no-one else will get the radio either. You can try screening your studio. If all else fails this really should work but you'll feel like battery hens because you'll have wrapped grounded wire mesh all around your room (floor and ceiling to) and connected all sides together so you can't get out. But it'll work a treat. You might be lucky and find that you're getting some kind of big standing wave or reflection so it's worth getting just a piece of mesh, say door size, earthing it carefully and holding it in different places to see if it makes a difference. Try it behind and to the side of the gear, not just between the gear and the mast.
4. All is not lost if you've had to get this far. Yet. Let's check the earths (grounds). Hopefully you now know which gear the problem is with. If it's a combination of 2 bits of gear try changing all of the cables between them and from them to anything else like the mains, mixer... It's unlikeley that a well made and designed bit of gear has had an internal earth connection fail but you can check by simply holding a bit of wire between it's chassis and a reliable ground like a water pipe, but make sure you're holding it onto a conductive bit of chassis and not something painted or varnished. Does that make it better or worse?
5. Maybe it's not getting in through the air at all but through the other wiring, probably up mains earth itself? Again try a wire from a decent earth like a water pipe that goes deep into the ground, and touch it to any chassis or signal/midi grounds that you can get to.
6. All your cables are aerials. Doesn't matter if they're screened, the screen is just another aerial that'll pick up country and western shit like any other. Making all cables as short as possible will help a lot. Does the rfi change at all if you move any cables around? You can get ferrite beads or rings to put around any cables that are picking up rfi. If you go into any decent electronics component shop and explain what you're trying to do they should sell you some boring grey things to loop your cable through.
7. If you can't screen the source, block it's path, screen your room, find a duff earth or slug the cables the I'm afraid you're fucked! Let me know how you get on - if you're still stuck make sure to tell me all the details.
1. Is it just one bit of gear that's picking up the rfi? (radio frequency interference). The only way to be sure is to somehow disconnect EVERYTHING else completely, midi, mains, audio etc. even metal bits of one bit of kit touching another... You'll need to use headphones to listen to a synth for example because connecting to an amp will tell you nothing - if it still gets rfi you'll not know if it's synth OR amp!
2. If not one bit of gear on it's own, is it a particular combination or configuration, eg you only get the problem when the Korg is midi'd to the kettle and the compressor is not conected to the toaster but goes away as soon as the kettle boils?
3. Once you've found out which bit are being affected it's easy (oh yeah?). You can either remove or screen the source (Kilo's suggestion is pretty good here or you can wrap a load of wire mesh around the radio mast and earth it - this'll work just as well but won't make you very popular as no-one else will get the radio either. You can try screening your studio. If all else fails this really should work but you'll feel like battery hens because you'll have wrapped grounded wire mesh all around your room (floor and ceiling to) and connected all sides together so you can't get out. But it'll work a treat. You might be lucky and find that you're getting some kind of big standing wave or reflection so it's worth getting just a piece of mesh, say door size, earthing it carefully and holding it in different places to see if it makes a difference. Try it behind and to the side of the gear, not just between the gear and the mast.
4. All is not lost if you've had to get this far. Yet. Let's check the earths (grounds). Hopefully you now know which gear the problem is with. If it's a combination of 2 bits of gear try changing all of the cables between them and from them to anything else like the mains, mixer... It's unlikeley that a well made and designed bit of gear has had an internal earth connection fail but you can check by simply holding a bit of wire between it's chassis and a reliable ground like a water pipe, but make sure you're holding it onto a conductive bit of chassis and not something painted or varnished. Does that make it better or worse?
5. Maybe it's not getting in through the air at all but through the other wiring, probably up mains earth itself? Again try a wire from a decent earth like a water pipe that goes deep into the ground, and touch it to any chassis or signal/midi grounds that you can get to.
6. All your cables are aerials. Doesn't matter if they're screened, the screen is just another aerial that'll pick up country and western shit like any other. Making all cables as short as possible will help a lot. Does the rfi change at all if you move any cables around? You can get ferrite beads or rings to put around any cables that are picking up rfi. If you go into any decent electronics component shop and explain what you're trying to do they should sell you some boring grey things to loop your cable through.
7. If you can't screen the source, block it's path, screen your room, find a duff earth or slug the cables the I'm afraid you're fucked! Let me know how you get on - if you're still stuck make sure to tell me all the details.
Message 4/4 02-Mar-98 @ 11:10 AM - RE: Unwanted radio interference? Help?
cool........ now that's a reply !!
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