There is a one oulet surge protector with a basic RF filter that sells for $10. It basically plugs into the wall socket and then you plug whatever into it. It is great for laptop computers because it will fit into the the carrying case. I will look it up and post again if I can find it. |
Go to and look for the SL Waber SWT-1N ($7.56) or SWT-1NT ($12.95) The difference between the two is the NT has telephone jack protection also. Both are 210 joule with RFI noise blocker filter. $2500 equipment guarantee. Get the NT and you can use it with a computer if it will not issolate the light. I found that the RFI filter does work, because it clears up my TV picture a little if I plug a TV into it. |
Humm did not show the web site. You can purchase the SL Waber stuff at www.officeinnovations.com |
If you want to buy it locally the company website is --- www.waber.com --- at the top: directory/sales/reps & distributors will give you a list by state of local retailers. |
Perfectimage, your problem is not RFI and I doubt isolating the light will help either. The key here is the word HUM, which almost anyone with knowledge of electronics relates to 60Hz energy. RFI filters are for filtering RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE not 60Hz hum. Your problem is radiated 60Hz from the flouresent light. Flouresent lights have been known for years to be radiators of 60hz energy. Incandecent light is a much better choice or move the flouresent as far away from your system as possible. Spending lot's of money on fancy RFI filters and isolators will only lighten your wallet and not fix your problem. |
Does halogen create any problem, compared to incandescent? I'm looking for a small task light for my turntable. Small lamps tend to be halogen these days. |
Gmkowal(or anyone else...) do you know of any other fixes for this problem. I have recently gotten some new equipment(interconnect/power cords/CD player), and encountered the problem. No flourescent lights. Just the interconnects picking up the 60 Hz AC hum from passing by a power cord. I know the best solution is to rearrange the equipment to minimize this. I am not jumping for joy to do this, as my current arrangement is good(by that I mean my girlfriend wants it this way...). Temporarily, I have found that pulling my interconnects as far from the offending power cord as is possible, mitigates the problem to a large extent. But NOT completely. But, I am wondering if there are any other solutions out there. Never experienced these gremlins before. But, I guess that's life. Thanks to all in advance. |
Trelja- I had some TARA Labs interconnects which picked up 60 Hz AC hum. Replacing them with Audioquest Coral fixed the problem. |
jayboard: halogen is as bad, or worse, than flourescent for use near any electronic equipment. try putting a halogen lamp near your computer monitor and you'll likely see the effect. i recommend you buy a littllite (sp?) for your turntable, which are widely available. |
I leaned something also, thanks guys. Never had a bad hum problem that a power conditioner did not fix, so I thought that some little filter might work, since he said "cheap and easy". BY THE WAY I USE A BATTERY POWERED LIGHT NEAR MY SYSTEM. Only turn it on when needed. |
Trelja, I know this may sound whacky but try turning around your interconnects. Some of them have the shield grounded at one end only. If the shield is not finding a connection to ground it is not serving as a shield at all. Give it a try. If it works it will be the least expensive tweak you have ever made, if not I am afraid new interconnects may be in your future. Let me know if you have any luck. |
Trelja, Sorry, just had another thought pop into this thick skull of mine. If the interconnects are connected to your preamp this may be worth a look. On my preamp there is a terminal for a ground connection. Verify that you have a wire connected between earth ground and this terminal. From your previous posts, I know you are very knowlegable so I know you probably have this connected, but maybe it is loose or fell off. If the ground wire is not connected or loose, the interconnect shields may not be getting grounded. Just another thought my my warped mind. Good luck! |
Thanks to all for the suggestions. I can see there are lots of people on this site smarter than I. Some of my interconnects have no shielding, so I cannot vary that. But, I did try reversing them. I have many interconnects, and have found the problem was only ameliorated(not completely) by a pair of Monster(I know, I know...) cables. And, I think that is because they are two meters. I can keep them away from the power cord. That's how I realized the others should be kept away from the cord. I have tried Coincident, AudioQuest, HomeGrown Audio(2 of them), Tara, Kimber(not sure why - same as HGA, maybe desperation), and Monster. I haven't heard any of the new Audioquest line, but they could be better in this area than their old line. I am not sure, thought they only changed surface quality of their metals, cosmetics, plugs, and PRICES. I would like to stick with the Coincident and Home Grown Audio if at all possible, as they do things I really love. Thought about the grounding connection on my integrated(not using a preamp these days) a long time ago. When I first started having these problems. I should do it right this time, last time I didn't give it much effort. I blamed the HGA products/RFI. RFI blockers helped, but now I realize my problem is AC. Will try the grounding suggestion. A thousand thank yous. Joe. |
Thanks, Cornfed, I thought I might have heard that halogen lamps created problems, but I couldn't really remember. Some of them are so darn cute, I might have wasted some time trying one. |
Sometimes fluorescent noises can be tamed using the Audio Prism wall-warts. Have seen this demo'd & it did work, but have never tried it personally. |
Many thanks to all who responded and to Sugarbrie for going out of his way to get the info. It looks as if is safest to replace the light! Thanks again |
