Direct TV causing hum in audio system


Hello,

I'm experiencing a humming problem when I integrate my direct tv into my audio system. When I disconnect the satelite cable, the hum goes away. Am I experiencing a ground loop? Is the solution to ground the satelite dish? (I had the dish installed free as part of a promotion.) I heard cable tv can cause this problem and wondered if satelite tv is any different?
ethannnn
You more than likely have a ground loop. I also had this problem. The only way I was able to get rid of it was to have an electrician run a ground cable from the satelite grounging block to the house ground in the breaker box. You can probably do this yourself. I had an electrician do it when I had a dedicated line put in for my system. Mondial makes a magic box device that works for cable but it will not work with the digital signal from your DirecTV dish. There is at least one other thread here on Audiogon about this issue that I remember reading within the last few months.
I have same problem... I actually was getting worse hum
from a powered terestrial antenna i use for local HDTV. I had to get rid of the power module. Im still getting minor hum from SAT connection. I got rid of the cable and that helped. See below sounds like Aragon has adressed the issue..

INDIANAPOLIS (September 27, 2002) — Post project completion visits to the job site are expensive for the installer, but Aragon has introduced a complete solution for power distribution and hum and noise prevention in home A/V systems, thereby eliminating many common performance-robbing complications. The new Aragon M.A.G.I.C. Power Box power controller consolidates multiple functions into a single component to maximize installer and user convenience.

Styled to match Aragon’s new Stage One digital preamplifier/processor, the Aragon M.A.G.I.C. Power Box combines voltage-triggered AC switching, surge and EMI/RFI suppression, ground-loop interruption for cable and satellite TV connections, and 12-volt DC power supply in a single component.

Half of the back panel of the new Aragon M.A.G.I.C. Power Box is devoted to eight industrial-grade AC outlets with built-in surge protection and EMI/RFI rejection. Six are switched, two are unswitched, and each has both front- and back-panel status LEDs. Two of the switched outlets are on a 2-second delay and the other four can be easily converted to unswitched via a back-panel toggle. Switching is accomplished via a 5- to 30-volt trigger input, which is flanked by a 500-milliamp trigger output for controlling other components.

In addition to AC, the M.A.G.I.C. Power Box provides two sets of binding-post terminals that supply 12-volt fully regulated and short circuit protected power for auxiliary devices, such as IR blasters and keypads. One set is switched and the other set is unswitched. There is also a front-panel vacation power switch that completely disconnects the AC line to protect the system components.

A feature unique to the M.A.G.I.C. Power Box is Aragon’s patented M.A.G.I.C. circuitry for breaking the hum-inducing ground loops often created by cable-TV hookups. M.A.G.I.C. is superior to traditional transformer-based solutions because its special circuitry introduces almost no signal attenuation and minimal bandwidth reduction. The Power Box provides a one-in/two-out RF splitter with M.A.G.I.C. circuitry built in. But in this product, Aragon has extended M.A.G.I.C. functionality to satellite-TV connections as well. Because satellite systems require an uninterrupted ground connection on the RF line to carry the signal from the dish, the Power Box also applies M.A.G.I.C. technology to a complete set of audio and video loop-through connections. Connecting a satellite receiver to the system through these M.A.G.I.C.-enhanced input/output loops isolates its ground, thereby preventing ground-loop hum. Connectors are supplied for component-, composite-, and S-video, left- and right-channel analog audio, and coaxial digital audio.

The M.A.G.I.C. Power Box matches the appearance of other Aragon components, with the same size chassis as the Stage One preamp/processor, the same faceplate design, and the same adjustable (on/dim/off) blue-downwash panel illumination. It will be available with a black or silver finish. The Power Box will ship to specialty audio retailers in the first quarter of 2003 with a suggested retail price of $1,500.

Aragon brand high-end electronics and premium audio products are handcrafted in the U.S.A. by Klipsch Audio Technologies and its Mondial Designs Team. Klipsch Audio Technologies is a privately held global corporation with worldwide corporate headquarters in Indianapolis and manufacturing facilities in Hope, Arkansas. Klipsch makes and markets premium home, commercial, professional cinema and multimedia loudspeakers under the Klipsch brand name, and high-end amplifiers, preamplifiers, processors and other electronics under the Mondial Designs and Aragon brand names.
I've been using the M.A.G.I.C. ground loop isolator and splitter for months with great satisfaction. You may not need to go all the way to the big box.
See this thread that I posted earlier:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?bhome&1036026282&openusid&zzTreyhoss&4&5#Treyhoss

I bought the Mondial MAGIC box and while it did eliminate the hum, it also eliminated about half of my Direct TV channels. I ended up getting "cheater" plugs for everything on the same circuit (I had missed one while going through all of this). Anyway, hope this helps you. -Tony
Thanks for all your input. I think I'll start by grounding the dish to the same location as my power outlets. One thing that worried me, as I move the cable coming down from the dish, it occassionally sparked when touching other component. Is this unusual? Treyhoss, I read your post, did you ever fix your problem?

Thanks,
Yes, I did. I found I had unaccounted for a grounded (3-prong) plug on the same circuit. I put a cheater plug on that and the hum was eliminated. I would try the cheater plugs before anything else since it is so inexpensive. My fix ended up costing <$2.00 - of course this was after I spent almost $100 on the MAGIC! Good luck
Had the same problem guys!

The issue is that these darn dish people DO NOT RUN a ground from the dish to the house ground. This is MUXT HAVE!

I hae seen over 50 systems since it took me months and $100's of bucks to fix mine too!

Everyone with hum, make sure that your house polarity is correct, and that all equipment has a solid ground.

good luck!
Thanks for the expertise. I've been having the same problem in connecting my Dish Network to the A/V system, but only when I hook up my Toshiba S-VHS VCR to it. Using my naive knowledge of electric wiring, I thought it would be a bad choice to put "cheater" plugs on all or many of my system's AC power cords. Is there any danger to using the plugs? I'm also using a Panamax 1000, but I haven't had any luck using the coax inputs on that.

Enjoy the Experience.
I believe the satellite box sends a DC signal back to the dish to alter the horizontal/vertical polarity of the receive horn. If you put something in the line, such as back to back 75/300 Ohm transformers, you block the DC signal going back to the dish so the dish never changes its polarity. I presume that is why Treyhoss lost half his channels with the Mondial thing. As mentioned in an earlier post, make sure the dish is grounded to the main electrical ground.

Best regards,
Dave