hum through my speakers because of lights?!

[peterS]

everytime i use the dimmer for my track lighting i get hum through my speakers
they are not hooked up to the same outlet but probablty the same curcuit

[Arneson]

I can absolutely say for sure that your speakers are not on the same circuit as your dimmers.
A little bit better description of this issue would be good, mentioning brand names and wattages.

[NonSense]

The noise you hear is probably conducted switching noise caused by the SCR or Triac in the dimmer chopping the AC power to the lights to give the dimming effect. You can turn off the breaker to determine if your system is on the same circuit as the dimmer. If this is the case, you only have a few options.

1 - try some different dimming modules to find one with better line filtering.
2 - Move your system to a different circuit, or run a dedicated power circuit.
3 - add an AC power filtering device to you system.


If your system is not on the same circuit, you may be experiencing radiated common mode switching noise. Less likely, but still possible. If this is the case, you should look at the low voltage interconnect to ensure good shielded cables or use balanced type to reject the common mode.


I would start your searce with the AC mains as this is likely the root cause.

[peterS]

The noise you hear is probably conducted switching noise caused by the SCR or Triac in the dimmer chopping the AC power to the lights to give the dimming effect. You can turn off the breaker to determine if your system is on the same circuit as the dimmer. If this is the case, you only have a few options.

1 - try some different dimming modules to find one with better line filtering.
2 - Move your system to a different circuit, or run a dedicated power circuit.
3 - add an AC power filtering device to you system.


If your system is not on the same circuit, you may be experiencing radiated common mode switching noise. Less likely, but still possible. If this is the case, you should look at the low voltage interconnect to ensure good shielded cables or use balanced type to reject the common mode.


I would start your searce with the AC mains as this is likely the root cause.

what bothers me is that i do have a belkin line conditioner
what is strange is that if i turn all of my equipment off it still does it 8O

[NonSense]

Try unplugging your equipment from the AC mains to determine if it conducted noise or radiated. If it is still there after you unplug your gear from the outlet, you have some serious radiated emmisions and I would look at changing out that dimmer.

Also look all the other external connections into your system such as Cable TV coax or coax connections to the TV etc. These may also be sources of noise from the AC conducted via the ground loop.

[Kevin D]

Are you sure it's your speakers and not your light bulbs?? Cheap bulbs will 'buzz' when dimmed.

Kevin D.

[peterS]

Are you sure it's your speakers and not your light bulbs?? Cheap bulbs will 'buzz' when dimmed.

Kevin D.

its both,, they are 50 w halogen bulbs btw

[Tubby]

What brand equipment do you have? I have a new RSX 1067 that hums like crazy, I am waiting for a replacement.

[Snap]

I can absolutely say for sure that your speakers are not on the same circuit as your dimmers.
A little bit better description of this issue would be good, mentioning brand names and wattages.

No you can't! I have seen several new construction homes that have one side of the wall outlets, and the can lights on one breaker, and the other side wall outlets and the ceiling fan on another breaker.

It might not "Supposed" to be....... :scratchhead: but I have seen it happen before SEVERAL times.

Also the panel box shares the ground with all the circuits in the house, so a ground loop is possible. The other factor is unless you are there when rough electrical is done, then you have no idea how the electricians paired off the grounds, travlers, and hot wires.

[Brandon B]

I've got a good one in this vein. Discovered this morning that the balanced power unit I built generates a very loud and audible hum when and ONLY when the toaster is on.

Let's hear the theories for this. I have mine. New, electronic control toaster, so possibly similar effects to peter's dimmer, but why does it make the plitron (and nothing else) hum?

BB

[Arneson]

No you can't! I have seen several new construction homes

I dinint mean it.
We as kids loved to put large speakers onto the AC line, but they did more than hum, and only for a second.
If your system is sharing a load on AC line, that could be a ground loop or radiated SCR noise.

[Snap]

Electricians doe some crazy stuff. Power for my plasma over the fire place is tied into the switch for the fireplace blower, which is ran off the same cir. as my living room outlets! And my garage door opener is tied....... get this........

to the kitchen GFI!! :scratchhead:

[ChaoticKinesis]

Electricians doe some crazy stuff. Power for my plasma over the fire place is tied into the switch for the fireplace blower, which is ran off the same cir. as my living room outlets! And my garage door opener is tied....... get this........

to the kitchen GFI!! :scratchhead:

You think that's bad? I recently moved into a 1 bedroom apartment I'm renting and this is the worst electrical wiring I've seen. In the box I see two 15 amp breakers and two 20 amps. One 15 is for one wall of the living room, the main wall in the kitchen (over the counter, refrigerator, etc.), bathroom, AND bedroom!!! :E The other 15 is for the opposite living room wall, living room lights, and the hallway lights and outlets.

If you think that's bad wait until you hear about the 20's! One of them is for a single outlet on the opposite wall of the kitchen, which is barely useable except for small appliances. The other 20 is not hooked up to anything at all...

Imagine how I felt the first time I used my rice cooker while watching a movie and had my a/v system turn off for no apparant reason! :evil:

Dave

[dyazdani]

I found a section of wiring that wasn't grounded when I moved into my house... always interesting to see what they've done.

[chinets]

Yes, check the grounding as that could be the problem!! I have seen your problem before, and it was the grounding.
Cheers

[miner]

Would a line conditioner solve ground loop probelms (hum)?

[Aldo]

I had the same problem! It was the ground, but the real problem is that I never could fix it until I take out every ground on my sistem wich is very, VERY dangerous, If your sistem got a short cut, the current will flow instead to the ground, to you if you are tuching it.
But you can try, buy at Radioshack a converter for external ground, and if this solves the problem you can work with the ground and stop spending in other solutions. A Panamax conditioner help me alot specialy at a HISSSSS in the tweeters!
Please do not take your grounds of permanently as I do..... You can fried your self!

[Arneson]

Grounding rods are cheap at almost any hardware store.
I bought one planted it and hammered the rod all the way down to the clamp connector,
Used it to ground the sat dish, now that the house took a lightning strike I'm glad I did it.
All my AV and computers were OK, all the telephones were gone.

[wkhanna]

SW Florida is, or close to, the lightning strike capital of the world. Smart of you to take preventive measures to protect your toys and everyone in the house!

[WI Rotel]

Dimmers are a well known pain. Line conditioners are simply filters they cannot regulate voltage, thus cannot compensate for the dimmer problem. If possible just get rid of the dimmer which is a very simple fix. More expensive units actually isolate the dimmer from the circuit and avoid the problem too. hope this helps.