bourniplus Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Hi everyone, (this is very off-topic, but I believe this forum is "friendly" enough to tolerate this post!) everytime I go back at my parents' house, I notice this: there is a constant 60hz noise in my room. I spent the first 20 years of my life there, and I hadn't noticed until a few months ago. During the day you don't really hear it, but at night it's a bit annoying. You can't tell where it comes from. I don't know if I've been hearing this for all my childhood (maybe it would explain my obsession for Hammonds and Leslies!) or if it just started doing this, but I'm curious. I know it's something with the electric system, but does anyone know what the exact cause could be? thanks martin "Show me all the blueprints. I'm serious now, show me all the blueprints." My homemade instruments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Guess #1: electric heater (baseboard heater or space heater) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundscape Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Could be a power supply of some kind. Although those tend to be turned off. Hmm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Horne Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Over here that kind of noise is lower - 50 Hz. Is your room near the electric meter, you know, the black box with a spinning metal disk that show how much electricity you've used? No guitarists were harmed during the making of this message. In general, harmonic complexity is inversely proportional to the ratio between chording and non-chording instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloodsample Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Wouldn't it be cool if you could wear headphones that can have filters applied to the ambient sounds coming through. Kind of like noise cancelling headphones but with tweakable parameters. That way you could wear some high pass filter headphones set at maybe 70Hz cutoff. But then you'd have to wear headphones all the time. YouTube: onceuponasynth.tv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bourniplus Posted April 7, 2006 Author Share Posted April 7, 2006 I don't think it's the heater, as it's all turned off, and actually I tried shutting the heater breaker and the noise was still there. The room is about 15-20 feet away from the electric meter, so that may be the cause, but then there's not much I can do about it... Hmmm maybe mike it with a microphone plugged into an EQ filter set at 60hz cutoff and then send that to a powerful PA. "Show me all the blueprints. I'm serious now, show me all the blueprints." My homemade instruments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammodel AV Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 transformers that have loose plates/laminations, bad ballast coils on flourescent lights, potentially loose windings on electric motors, and the filaments of electric heaters as mentioned above. An odd one can be the transformer for a doorbell or a doorbell assembly (if it backs up to the wall of your room). Sometimes it is installed in hall closets, ceilings of basements, and attics. Use the old technique that we used to use for cars to detect what valve/lifter is going bad -- a wooden stick. Put your ear on one end, and the other on the wall where the noise is the loudest. Brian Hammond T-582A, Casio WK6600, Behringer D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammodel AV Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Forgot to mention the last time I heard a 60hz hum that wasn't there before, my living room ceiling fan was catching on fire! The laminations had arc'd over and that somehow caused the hum. Brian. Hammond T-582A, Casio WK6600, Behringer D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITGITC Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 http://www7.tltc.ttu.edu/kechambe/transporter%20beam.jpg Have you counted your COWS lately? "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Doe Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Gas, you cracks me upsome times. No signature required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finale Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Neon ballasts? Circuit breakers main box nearby? Hydroelectricity site as neighbor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKeys Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 It's not the hum that gets to me ....it's the voices that drive me nuts. Jimmy Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others. Groucho NEW BAND CHECK THEM OUT www.steveowensandsummertime.com www.jimmyweaver.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bourniplus Posted April 7, 2006 Author Share Posted April 7, 2006 I remember reading somewhere that lights with dimmers could be a cause of ground loops. I could try replacing the dimmer with a conventionnal switch. Gas: if I find out the sound comes from a nearby flying saucer, I think I'd be more surprised by the fact that it makes a 60hz noise just like our electric system, rather than discovering that extraterrestrial forms of life do exist... "Show me all the blueprints. I'm serious now, show me all the blueprints." My homemade instruments Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byrdman Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Originally posted by bourniplus: I remember reading somewhere that lights with dimmers could be a cause of ground loops. I could try replacing the dimmer with a conventionnal switch. Dimmers cause RF noise rather than ground loops. That can be worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITGITC Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 OK. Let me be serious - if only for a minute. If it's 60 cycle hum and you are pretty sure that it's coming from something electrical in your home and you hear it mainly at night, then it seems to me the simplest way to find it is by checking your fuse-box (circuit-breaker box) - at night. Listen for the 60 Hz sound and stand close to where you can hear it well. Then have someone else start flipping circuit breakers at the panel until the noise goes away. I'll bet you that it has to do with an electric motor in your house. Let's see... that would include the motor in your furnace perhaps. Or your refrigerator. Of course, it could be many things. These kinda things drive me nuts as they compete with the dogs barking in my head. ...not to mention that damn tinnitus ring ring ringing. Low frequencies don't travel far unless there's some real power that's responsible for them. In other words, it's probably a fairly large motor (your furnace), or the teenager next door who just installed a new 18" subwoofer in his Yugo and wants to show off in the middle of the night. Hell, I'd just call the cops on your neighbor. When they come to check it out and can't find your neighbor, break open a box of fresh hot Krispy Kreme donuts and invite them in to hunt for the sound. Say something like "I think he's hiding out in the basement... near the furnace." I mean, your taxes go to pay for these guys' salaries. Shouldn't you make the most of that? "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finale Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 "Gas, you're under arrest". -Wiggum http://www.tvsquad.com/images/2005/09/wiggum.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finale Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Donuts? A too severe donut attack may also end up triggering 60 Hz in your intestines. http://www.csh.rit.edu/~jlyon/gallery/albums/fest2002/101_donuts.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITGITC Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Yummy. Cydonia... is THIS your monkey? "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMcS2 Posted April 7, 2006 Share Posted April 7, 2006 Do you have a clock radio/alarm clock in the room? Like the kind given away for opening a new checking account or in many hotel rooms. They tend to give off a little hum. Also, an instant on TV may do it as well. Check any wall warts too. Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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