Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions My Intuitive side is off tonight

Hey guys.....I tried searchin so as not to dredge up an oft discussed topic. But....I must have forgotten how to use the date range? I keep getting a "broaden search criteria" message? At any rate, I have an apparent ground loop hum. I can't remember the exact process but could probably fumble through ok. If anyone has an old post that would be great - and a piece of advice - are the standard Radio Shack isolaters sufficient or should I look elsewhere?..........Rob

Rob, setting the search at newer than 3 years and older than 1 day for "ground loop"(use the quote marks in the search term)brings up 204 posts, so start reading. Or, first read Alan's hum tips . Also, why don't you describe the symptoms in some detail to see if we have some thoughts.

You can just clear out ALL the fields in the newer than and older than fields (all 4 of them) and search across all years, you don't have to be restricted to 1 year searches.

I have had the hum for some time - just ignoring it. I notice it most from my QS8's during normal listening when there is a quiet moment like the breaks between commercials. Alan's article leans heavily towards the sub being the culprit. I'll do the search, do some reading, and do some checking tonight to see what I can come up with. Thanks for the responses.

Do you have any dimmer switches on the same circuit? That's what caused the buzzing that came out of all my speakers. Got rid of the dimmer, and it fixed everything.

Yup. I believe those switches, much like the remote activated ones I have in my house, have their own transformer box (or something of the sort) that causes the issue.

The remote ones that communicate over powerline purposefully put noise on the lines, that's how they send data. It isn't supposed to interfere with other things plugged in, but I've heard of many cases where audio gear will pick up the noise.

Great suggestion, Neon. Those dimmers radiate all kinds of garbage because many are unshielded. I had a friend in Toronto who was devoted to a CBC radio station on the AM band and he complained to me about a terrible buzzing he was getting, making the station unlistenable. He'd just had his place renovated with all kinds of dimmers, so I used a portable radio as a kind of signal tracer and as you got closer to the dimmer switch the buzz increased. Once the dimmers were gone, AM reception was clear.

Argon should also unplug the cable-TV feed (or satellite feed) where it enters the cable box or satellite receiver and see if the hum goes away. Those are most often the source of ground voltage differences causing ground loop hum.

Alan

The light switch in my room emits a very quiet buzz, but it's really only noticeable when the room is quiet, and the moment it's switched on.

Thanks, group - Alan I read your article and a couple of others and am going to check it out tonight. I do have a dimmer that operates by remote control. If it (the hum) is not the cable, is there a way to check the dimmer without removing it? I really like the dimmer - is ther no way to eliminate the hum if the dimmer is the source - other than removing it?