1 Topic by cupcake2000 (edited by cupcake2000 2011-12-08 18:40:28)

  • Registered: 2010-06-08
  • Posts: 52

Topic: Weird Ground Loop Problem on my ESQ-1 [SOLVED, maybe]

Hello,

I had to re-jig all my music equipment around this afternoon, and after getting the cabling done i found that if i plug my ESQ-1 into the patchbay leading to my mixer whilst nothing else is connected to it i get the most crazy loud ground hum that can't be muted on the mixer, and i even got an electric shock off the patch cable.

What's going on?

If i patch anything else into the mixer it stops buzzing straight away and all works fine. I'm happy enough to use it this way but got to wondering why i would get zapped by an audio cable, and whether that means something is seriously wrong that may damage my gear...

Any help would be very appreciated as i'm not the most knowledgable person when it comes to electrical circuits and their workings.

  • ronin
  • cervine lugbot
  • Offline
  • From: now
  • Registered: 2008-07-08
  • Posts: 1,266

Re: Weird Ground Loop Problem on my ESQ-1 [SOLVED, maybe]

which connection gave you the shock?

  • Registered: 2010-06-08
  • Posts: 52

Re: Weird Ground Loop Problem on my ESQ-1 [SOLVED, maybe]

The patch cable plugged into the ESQ-1 port on my patchbay gave me the electric zap.

By the way, before posting this topic I read through http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_loo … tricity%29 and understand the principles it outlines, but am still confused as to the reason the problem only just arose when i moved things around.

Do you think the problem would be solved, or less extreme if i were to plug the ESQ into the same power outlet as the mixer?

  • From: Berlin
  • Registered: 2008-07-08
  • Posts: 292

Re: Weird Ground Loop Problem on my ESQ-1 [SOLVED, maybe]

is all your audio gear plugged into the same outlet?

http://sneak-thief.com - raw electrofunk

sneakthief's Website

  • From: North Sea
  • Registered: 2008-11-06
  • Posts: 172

Re: Weird Ground Loop Problem on my ESQ-1 [SOLVED, maybe]

in what way did you re-jig the equipment?  different room and power sockets?
Most of your equipment is low power so plug into one main power outlet and run multisockets from there

  • ronin
  • cervine lugbot
  • Offline
  • From: now
  • Registered: 2008-07-08
  • Posts: 1,266

Re: Weird Ground Loop Problem on my ESQ-1 [SOLVED, maybe]

if that connection gives a shock every time then there's something up with your esx

it could also be something else that's plugged into the patch bay rear which the chassis is then transferring to the esx cable, most studios will ground the patch bay chassis. would be best to get the patch bay out of the equation to begin with. or while the hum is audible start disconnecting the rear jacks one by one and see if there is a suspect...

  • Registered: 2010-06-08
  • Posts: 52

Re: Weird Ground Loop Problem on my ESQ-1 [SOLVED, maybe]

Ok, i solved the issue i think. What i did was this: put the power lead from the ESQ into my SP12 to see if it would cause the same issue. Which it did (minus the electric shock this time). So went out and bought a long extension cable and plugged the ESQ into the same outlet as the mixer. No more hum. I also checked all the patch connections after doing this and found no issue.

Ekranoplan, yes, i changed the power cabling and such. But i can't just run everything out of one socket as there are a few step-down transformers and a computer etc, so i'm not sure it would be safe. Especially with the shitty ancient electrical circuitry where i live.

And Ronin, you're right about the patch bay. But i need it for the moment as i have a lot of outboard effects and shit that need constant re-routing.

It seems like somehow the ground problem was mainly being caused by my computer, as i found that when it was in sleep mode the hum was much quieter, but if i woke it up the noise came back at full volume.

Sorry this was a bit of a time-waster, but i was particularly worried after having gotten shocked a few times that something might be seriously wrong with my system and didn't know where else to ask for advice.