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Grounding A Room?

  • 25-05-2009 10:45am
    #1
    BuddhaJoe
    Closed Accounts Posts: 329 ✭✭


    Hey Guys! Since a lot of you guys have studios, both hobby and pro, I'm hoping someone will be able to help me out. I have setup a nice little recording setup in a room in my house but unfortunately I'm getting a ground loop problem which I cant seem to isolate, its there regardless of what equipment is being used..

    My current solution consists of sticking a copper wire to a bare metal section of any piece of equipment that is in the current recording chain and sticking that to the radiator. It works but I would prefer a more professional solution, any suggestions?


Comments

  • #2
    PaulBrewer
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,790 ✭✭✭PaulBrewer


    Buddha,

    If your earth hums are so loud and constant as to impede work it might be time to get an electrician in to check the mains earth.

    Most modern equipment is built in such a fashion that it's difficult to get an earth loop going and even less likely in a home studio that probably won't have a huge number of units for interconnections in the first place.

    Single coil distorted guitars will always be a hum-picker-upper but that's an RF not an Earth issue. (though good earthing can help control it)

    In the ideal world you'd have a Technical Earth which is usually a copper tube or plate inserted into the ground i.e. it's a real earth with an effective 0 ohm resistance.

    The next important thing in audio is a 'star earth' where each individual earth is run back to the one point ..... if you're running a few plug boards for example you'd probably be better not looping them together from one to the other.


  • #3
    studiorat
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,408 ✭✭✭studiorat


    +1 to wha he said...

    get a dirty great copper earth rod and drive it into the back garden close to the house and get a sparks to hook it up as an technical earth. only use audio equipment on this circuit.

    if you put a voltmeter to your mains earth and the radiator with a tight connection then if you read a voltage then you have a floaty earth. a properly earthed circuit will have 0 volts.


  • #4
    BuddhaJoe
    Closed Accounts Posts: 329 ✭✭BuddhaJoe


    Thanks guys! I managed to isolate the ground loop problem to my monitors so I removed the ground pin from the plug and everything is fine now :) Now to make some music :pac:


  • #5
    studiorat
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,408 ✭✭✭studiorat


    You shouldn't thank that Paul!!!

    We all know that removing the earth from a mains pin is a big no-no. Particularly with amplifiers IMO.

    Don't try this at home kids...


  • #6
    BuddhaJoe
    Closed Accounts Posts: 329 ✭✭BuddhaJoe


    studiorat wrote: »
    You shouldn't thank that Paul!!!

    We all know that removing the earth from a mains pin is a no-no. Amps carry a fair bit of power too! BANG!

    Don't try this at home kids...

    I didn't think it would be that bad? The monitors originally came with a 2 pin kettle plug which I replaced with 3 pin for convenience so I reckoned this would be okay. If I'm way off the mark on this please let me know!

    Edit: Okay, after reading up on this my assumption that it should be okay since it was originally supplied with 2 pin plugs appears wwwaaayyy off the mark so once I get home that ground pin is going back in.


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  • #7
    PaulBrewer
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,790 ✭✭✭PaulBrewer


    studiorat wrote: »
    You shouldn't thank that Paul!!!

    We all know that removing the earth from a mains pin is a big no-no. Particularly with amplifiers IMO.

    Don't try this at home kids...

    Studiorat is correct. I should have read your last post when I'd awoken fully. ;)

    Taking the earth of anything is a no no. Safety First always.

    If that is your issue (2 things being earthed causes an Earth loop) and you've followed the star earthing as best possible then you can disconnect the shielding on the connection to your monitors i.e. in the plug that goes into your monitors.

    That should break your Earth loop but still give you shielding as one end is still earthed.


  • #8
    BuddhaJoe
    Closed Accounts Posts: 329 ✭✭BuddhaJoe


    PaulBrewer wrote: »
    Studiorat is correct. I should have read your last post when I'd awoken fully. ;)

    Taking the earth of anything is a no no. Safety First always.

    If that is your issue (2 things being earthed causes an Earth loop) and you've followed the star earthing as best possible then you can disconnect the shielding on the connection to your monitors i.e. in the plug that goes into your monitors.

    That should break your Earth loop but still give you shielding as one end is still earthed.

    Cheers Paul! Ill follow your advice and see how it works out, first step is getting bigger plug boards as I do have a few that are looping one from the other :)


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