Eliminating USB noise

[DaveT]

@John_E

Place bass in front of PC (where my desk neck support is, loads of noise, move away, less).

That’s perfect for figuring this out. You have an antenna that tells you when something is radiating noise.

[DaveT]

@DaveT

You have an antenna that tells you when something is radiating noise.

If you are convinced a USB cable is radiating the noise, a ferrite choke on the cable may help.

[ebxx]

I thought GFI (Ground Fault Interrupters) were for only for safety reasons. If they detect the slightest bit of difference in electric current between the two prongs they assume the electricity is going through you, and cut off the electricity instantly to prevent heart defibrillation.

[sshoihet]

@John_E

will do.
I read mixed reviews of the usefulness of those isolators

Ferrite chokes won’t help if the noise issue is power related.

[sshoihet]

@John_E

If you all remember, I also have a fast paced, high pitch, ticking in all my active basses in this room, esp if you turn up the treble knob, and gets minimized when turning treble knob down. This is constant though and have not finished troubleshooting but think its unrelated as it is different, the lead candidate is the wireless router extension in the room. Need to move my rig elsewhere to see if it goes away, haven’t done that yet.

Have you thought about building a faraday cage or just moving to a new house?

[howard]

@sshoihet

Have you thought about building a faraday cage or just moving to a new house?

An agrarian lifestyle would definitely reduce the severity of this issue

[sshoihet]

@howard

An agrarian lifestyle would definitely reduce the severity of this issue

“Recording studio plagued by interference from Rogers cell tower running out of options, clients” Recording studio plagued by interference from Rogers cell tower running out of options, clients

I had an issue with a 3D printer I built where the X axis stepper motor would randomly go off on its own and then reset. I went online and lots of other people were having a similar problem… after checking all the electrical connections, tweaking the driver voltages and putting a fan on it to make sure the driver chips weren’t overheating, I eventually came to the conclusion that it was a noise issue with the unshielded parallel cables. I put a few twists in the cable and it solved the problem

[Wombat-metal]

Oops you’re right, don’t know what I was thinking, though I always used them for fish tanks

[ebxx]

“Ferrite chokes won’t help much if the noise issue is power related.”

Ferrite chokes smaller than Fred Flintstone’s brontosaurs burger won’t attenuate low frequencies all that much anyways. They are more for suppressing radio-frequencies to avoid radio-frequency interference between different electrical devices.

[ebxx]

You, sir, need to spend some time in the Philippines.

[sshoihet]

@ebxx

I thought GFI (Ground Fault Interrupters) were for only for safety reasons. If they detect the slightest bit of difference in electric current between the two prongs they assume the electricity is going through you, and cut off the electricity instantly to prevent heart defibrillation.

Yes, the gfci/rcd looks at the current coming and going on the hot and neutral wires and if it sees and imbalance of 5mA (commonly) it figures the current is leaking off somewhere else.

Although it doesn’t apply here, there is a bit of a connection between noise and gfci breakers… If you have a device that has a variable speed motor controller, it may cause a type of noise (common mode) that can cause nuisance trips of the gfci.

[ebxx]

" If you have a device that has a variable speed motor controller, it may cause a type of noise (common mode) that can cause nuisance trips of the gfci. !"

Sort of like a dishwasher or air conditioner with energy saving DC inverter technology?

[autumnsdad1990]

I’m am electrician, so i have a thought here… Have you had a qualified electrician check the system? Neutral flloat can cause issues like this.

[John_E]

The house wiring is a train wreck for sure in many areas

[autumnsdad1990]

Ok, that being established-Please,please,please never, ever attempt your own repairs! Please! We like you, we like having you around.

Have you considered maybe a power conditioner? They establish clean circuits and can be gotten for relatively low money.
Just a thought, sorry i can’t help more.

[John_E]

1. I’m an electrical engineer.
2. What sort of conditioner are you referring to and on what?

[autumnsdad1990]

Excellency! I’m referring to what you and i would consider a small isolation transformer. Simply to establish your proper neutral bond. After reading this thread, it simply occurred to me this noise may be a bit of a floating neutral issue.
If you were able to completely isolate the circuit you want, this might be viable

Obviously, one cannot diagnose something on a telephone screen, and i dont know that it would help. It’s Just where i went with it.

I hadn’t known you were an engineer- you probably have a lot better insight than i do. I’m Just the guy who installs the stuff youse guys draw.

[John_E]

Hahaha. I’m smart enough to know this 112 year old house with two major renos done poorly has very odd electrical challenges.

I hadn’t thought about isolating the whole circuit to the room. This is a great idea if all else fails.

All great ideas here. Looks like no easy solve so will start by unplugging until issues go away etc.

[autumnsdad1990]

Wish i could help more. Please give an update once you resolve it, id really like to hear what it was.

[sshoihet]

@John_E

I’m an electrical engineer.

There’s the problem