Tips on finding "hum" problems


There have been quite a few posts lately on "hum" problems. For what it is worth, I will try to explain, in as simple terms as possible, how I have learned to solve/find the sources of hum over the years. The techniques are as follows.
mrderrick

Showing 1 response by abecollins

On a very practical note from personal experience... I had a hum problem whenever I attached the cable tv coax cable to the system. If I removed the cable tv connection, the hum was gone. I was able to eliminate the problem by wrapping bare copper wire around the outer conductor of the "F" connector plug from the cable tv coax cable and grounding it to the center screw that holds the cover plate onto the AC wall outlet where my gear was plugged in. This eliminated or greatly reduced a ground-loop problem and the hum was gone.

Also on a practical note... if you can plug all your gear into ONE wall outlet, you're better off than plugging it into different outlets. Plugging into one outlet ensures one point of ground for your gear and minimizes ground-loops which can cause hum.