Protecting equipment from bad power.

[Honch]

Actually the swedish PTS (Post och Telestyrelsen, Post and Telephone authority) came in and measured with their equipment. This started some two years ago, and it's all tenants with windows facing towards that mast. Everyone had problems with their DECT telephones and wireless. I've even heard that that guy who took measures had found tenants in other areas who've bought mobile phone chargers in China, brought them here, and those little suckers spread high frequent disturbance. They're not regulated but cheap. They DID found stray frequencies that wasn't supposed to come from that mast. I have shielded studio monitors from the days of tube-ray computer displays, and they seem to buck that noise.

It started some 2 years ago, when they set up that mast and crowded it with transmitters, repeaters to whatever cellular phone vendor there is. And I've read that the strongest signal is within 2-300 meters. I can make a phone call though, and has coverage. There's even one staple more in the "coverage" on the phone. There used to be five but now, even the sixth have shown up (ha ha, there's only five...but they hit the roof, they have each reach and went through the headroom!)

Of course, NO processor, surge, or conditioner will ever take care of this, as well as they never take care of lightning (nearby) since it "fluxes" through the air.

 

[Honch]

Speakers aren't inputs they are outputs. And if you got noise coming out the speaker with the amps powered off or disconnected then you better get out of there and call the FCC!
Link Removed

Well it does, and I did! Powered off though but not disconnected. The power cable picks things up. ONE small combo amp (solid state) picked up with everything unplugged. When I go to bed at night and turn off the lights, When I watch under my blanket there's a slight luminiscence surrounding my torso and legs, is this normal, mr doctor?

 

[Honch]

We all tried to bargain on the rent, but to no avail. But enough of this, back to OT now, before it's hijacked. Well, it already is, but back to OT anyway.

 

[David Jayne]

Well it does, and I did! Powered off though but not disconnected. The power cable picks things up. ONE small combo amp (solid state) picked up with everything unplugged. When I go to bed at night and turn off the lights, When I watch under my blanket there's a slight luminiscence surrounding my torso and legs, is this normal, mr doctor?

Some amps keep the primary of the power transformer powered up even with the power switch off. This may help to explain it. Betcha it goes away if you unplug it.

 

[OliverTwist]

For that kind of money you are most of the way to an inverter generator. Honda's inverter line is also MUCH quieter than their regular generators, like in the 55db range.

Check out the EU3000IS in that price range, a bit down on power but substantially better featured (basically the RV industry standard generator). I have an EU6500is and it's fantastic, FWIW.

What the max.power of yours?

I've got Generac iQ2000 it does about 5K W.

 

[40Hz]

Surge supressors are a no brainer. Get a real one from TrippLite or APC and skip the store brands.

As far as UPS devices go, there's probably none that would be adequate to the task i.e. (continuous sine wave models) that I could easily afford or comfortably lug around with me. Most affordable consumer-grade UPS units also garbage up the power a bit. And they're overkill anyway because you don't need to remain on if the power fails. So there's no need to lug something with a very heavy battery along.

What you do want is a power conditioner that continuously regulates the voltage feeding into your amp. Unlike a surge suppressor, it can correct for surges, spikes, and both under-voltage and over-voltage conditions, as well as provide a high degree of noise filtering. Those "power conditioners" that actually can do that (and there are a lot of devices that claim they can but really can't) don't come cheap. But if you're really worried about your gear (and your life in some cases) they're definitely the way to go.

 

[mjmeche]

IMO the real culprit is undervoltage or brownout that will do a lot of damage. Surges don't really occur that often. Brownouts quite often especially if the stage power is shared like so many places.

 

[s0c9]

IMO the real culprit is undervoltage or brownout that will do a lot of damage. Surges don't really occur that often. Brownouts quite often especially if the stage power is shared like so many places.

And digital gear LIKES stable power levels... brownout's will cause digital stuff to malfunction way before analog gear will..

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

And digital gear LIKES stable power levels... brownout's will cause digital stuff to malfunction way before analog gear will..

A lot of modern digital gear, though, have power supplies that adapt automatically to a wide range of AC mains voltage,

 

[mjmeche]

And digital gear LIKES stable power levels... brownout's will cause digital stuff to malfunction way before analog gear will..

Analog power amps can burn up out put transistors trying to keep up for lack of a better word.

 

[s0c9]

Analog power amps can burn up out put transistors trying to keep up for lack of a better word.

LOL, NOTHING is immune under the right circumstances!

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Analog power amps can burn up out put transistors trying to keep up for lack of a better word.

???

I've never heard of a power amp (practically all of them are analog) burning up transistors trying to "keep up."

 

[acid bass]

Amazon.com: Monster HTS 1000 MKIII 8-Outlet Power Center with Clean Power Stage 2 (Discontinued by Manufacturer): Home Audio & Theater

I think that thing has saved me several times when playing with the generator or at older venues where power can be up and down.
It basically shuts down when the power goes above or below threshold. Which kinda sucks when you are in the middle of a song and the amps shut down for a few seconds.
But hey, better than having your amp destroyed.

I highly recommend one of these things. about $100 USD and worth every penny.

We plug everything into it on every gig.

Apologies for bringing this back, but it's an issue I have some questions on. My band has been dealing with some unwanted noise from our PA and amps that we think is related to spotty power. I was considering getting a voltage regulator, but wanted to check on the wisdom of this before spending the money. I'm assuming we'd want to plug all amps (2 guitar + bass) and the PA into it, just want to see if we can realistically do that or if we need more than one regulator and have each one on a different circuit so they don't overload.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

Apologies for bringing this back, but it's an issue I have some questions on. My band has been dealing with some unwanted noise from our PA and amps that we think is related to spotty power. I was considering getting a voltage regulator, but wanted to check on the wisdom of this before spending the money. I'm assuming we'd want to plug all amps (2 guitar + bass) and the PA into it, just want to see if we can realistically do that or if we need more than one regulator and have each one on a different circuit so they don't overload.

Find out where the noise is getting in before you spend (and most likely, waste) any money on chasing a solution.

 

[Slough Feg Bass]

voltage regulator is gonna be way more expensive than a protected power strip.
I gotta reiterate though, that Monster thing has saved me on more than one occasion.
Last summer we were on a generator gig with multiple bands, outdoor fest kinda thing, and had all our stuff plugged into that thing.
About 1/2 through our set, the sound started dropping out, and drummer dude starts pointing at the Monster strip.
The thing was putting out smoke like a fog machine!
It burned out but saved our amps from disaster!
Next band plugged right into regular power strip, and about 10 min into their set, the amps started cutting out, and guitar guy's tube amp started smoking.
Our amps were fine the next day, and I bought another one of those things.

I also bought a couple of these things:
Amazon.com: Tripp Lite Isobar 6 Outlet Surge Protector Power Strip, 6ft Cord Right Angle Plug, & $50K INSURANCE (ISOBAR6ULTRA): Home Audio & Theater
and they seem to provide some great protection but don't have the volt meter on there. just a green light or red light.

 

[acid bass]

Find out where the noise is getting in before you spend (and most likely, waste) any money on chasing a solution.

Any suggestions where to start? I have no idea how to begin vetting this out.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

voltage regulator is gonna be way more expensive than a protected power strip.
I gotta reiterate though, that Monster thing has saved me on more than one occasion.
Last summer we were on a generator gig with multiple bands, outdoor fest kinda thing, and had all our stuff plugged into that thing.
About 1/2 through our set, the sound started dropping out, and drummer dude starts pointing at the Monster strip.
The thing was putting out smoke like a fog machine!
It burned out but saved our amps from disaster!
Next band plugged right into regular power strip, and about 10 min into their set, the amps started cutting out, and guitar guy's tube amp started smoking.
Our amps were fine the next day, and I bought another one of those things.

I also bought a couple of these things:
Amazon.com: Tripp Lite Isobar 6 Outlet Surge Protector Power Strip, 6ft Cord Right Angle Plug, & $50K INSURANCE (ISOBAR6ULTRA): Home Audio & Theater
and they seem to provide some great protection but don't have the volt meter on there. just a green light or red light.

Are you sure that was a desirable thing for it to do?

 

[seamonkey]

I'm assuming we'd want to plug all amps (2 guitar + bass) and the PA into it

If you do that, you may solving a grounding problem. If everything is plugged into the same power strip they all share the same ground. If there is a ground.

What do you call "noise"? If you post a recording many good ears around here can help identify the noise type.

 

[acid bass]

If you do that, you may solving a grounding problem. If everything is plugged into the same power strip they all share the same ground. If there is a ground.

What do you call "noise"? If you post a recording many good ears around here can help identify the noise type.

Good call. I've attached a very short clip that captures it. You can hear the sound all over the female vocal. The mic is plugged straight into the board and has no effects on it. A similar sound tracks through with the guitars, but not my bass. The guitars are mic'ed, I direct line into the PA.

 

[tonybassman]

My band gigs at several outdoor venues here on the Gulf Coast. Salt water air and sketchy power is always a concern. We use decent quality Belkin power strips.

More importantly, we only take our "beach gear" to these gigs. I have an old Bass cab, a used Acoustic bass head, and a Frankenbass that I use. Total spent on that rig is $160. We NEVER take our good gear to these gigs.