#1936553 - 05/03/08 04:52 PM
Radio Interference in Home Studio - Advice??
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SoulHitchHiker
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Registered: 05/03/08
Posts: 1
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I'm new posting here, and I searched this forum to see if maybe someone else had asked this question, but I didn't find anything. I really need some help. My apartment building's electrical system seems to be one GIANT radio antenna. It interferes with my radio receivers, which I can live with, but what's really messing up my world is that I have a little 8-track set-up that I like to use for demoing new songs, rough tracking when my writing partner and I are working on arrangements, etc.
We have a larger set-up at his place that's just fine, but I still need to be able to work at my apt. When I go into record mode on my 8-track, I hear some d@mn rock station coming through the headphones, or monitors, and it does print on my recorded tracks too. I'm sure I'm not the first person have this problem what with all the home studios of various types.
Is there a filter or something (short of figuring out which station it is and, well, if I say what I'd LIKE to do to it, I'd likely be locked up at Gitmo indefinitely...) that I can use to at least reduce the interference to a lower level?
I am resigned to the fact that I may never be able to get really good tracks done here, and that's OK, but it's rough trying to get through a song I've just written with somebody else's song blasting about in my ears.
Help? Advice? (and please don't suggest that I move - my furniture is REALLY big and heavy... I always have to PAY people to move me!!)
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#1936730 - 05/04/08 07:42 AM
Re: Radio Interference in Home Studio - Advice??
[Re: SoulHitchHiker]
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paully
Platinum Member
Registered: 05/25/04
Posts: 1057
Loc: Northern New Jersey
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Hi, and welcome to the forum. You're problem is fairly common, and there are fixes, from bandaids to major projects. I'd suggest you go to this forum http://www.gearslutz.com/board/geekslutz-forum/ , register, and re-post. This issue is constantly coming up/discussed there.
What I'd look for include a few user fixes.
Assuming your AC supply is a 3-wire system with a solid earth ground:
Make sure you use the heaviest coax wire available for all your patchcords. This cound mean going to 75 ohm(TV cable type) coax for all cords, including the wires from the board to active powered speakers.
Check the connectors(plugs) on all wires to make sure they have metal cases.. not plastic. Make sure no coax wires have been telescoped(shield disconnected on one end).
Stick with a balanced opproach to wiring if possible. For something like a guitar, an unbalanced to balanced transformer, followed by this will help http://www.shure.com/ProAudio/Products/Accessories/us_pro_A15RF_content .
Adding a simple nonpolarized capacitor of suitable voltage(.01 @ 600V) across the AC outlet where your equipment plugs in should shunt radio frequencies that are coming in on the AC line.. umm, maybe.
If your apartment has old wiring(before romex and bx), they were real good at picking up radio signals and creating 'hum' hotpots. Your landlord won't allow it, but changing the AC lines to bx(metal) wire casing with twisted pairs and a solid earth ground is usually the fix.
A fourth option is to create a Faraday cage in the recording area. This can be a simple box shaped cage, made out of chicken wire, that surrounds your 'live' recording' area and connects to earth ground.
Good luck with the search.
Best, Paul
_________________________
WUDAYAKNOW.. For the first time in my life, I'm wrong again!!
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