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Thursday, April 04, 2013
PSW Staff
04/04/13 10:55 AM,
SurgeX International has announced the free availability of a new white paper, Power and Grounding for Audio and Video Systems: A White Paper for the Real World - International Edition. Authored by Jim Brown of Chicago’s Audio Systems Group, the 43-page document was commissioned by SurgeX International to serve consultants and IT/AV system integrators as a core guide on the proper implementation of 120/230-volt AC power platforms with correct connection, distribution and grounding practices. The document has been published for…
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Thursday, January 03, 2013
Bill Whitlock
01/03/13 06:29 PM,
After teaching seminars for more than 15 years now, it still amazes me how many otherwise competent professionals don’t understand the importance of proper equipment safety grounding. Even more shocking (pun intended), many routinely and casually disconnect safety grounds to solve noise problems! Generally speaking, the purpose of grounding is to electrically interconnect conductive objects, such as equipment, in order to minimize voltage differences between them. National Electric Code (NEC) requires that 120-volt AC power distribution in homes and other…
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Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Bill Whitlock
10/19/11 09:12 AM,
2 Comments
When a system contains two or more pieces of equipment that are grounded, whether via power cords or other ground connections, a “ground loop” will likely be formed. See Figure 1, below. Although ground loops often involve power line safety ground connections, disabling them is both highly dangerous and illegal. However, devices called “ground isolators” can be inserted in the signal path to break the loop safely. This approach attacks the problem at its fundamental roots, while tampering with safety…
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Monday, May 16, 2011
Bill Whitlock
05/16/11 08:13 AM,
0 Comments
Previously (see here and here), we’ve looked at how unbalanced audio interfaces work, as well as how grounding-related noise can actually couple into the signal path. Of course, under fortuitous conditions, audio systems may be acceptably quiet in spite of poor techniques. But physics will ultimately rule and noises may later appear for no apparent reason – remember, noises that disappear by themselves also tend to re-appear by themselves! Most systems consist of more than two pieces of interconnected equipment,…
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Friday, March 11, 2011
Bill Whitlock
03/11/11 04:05 PM,
0 Comments
While hum and buzz are often blamed on “improper grounding,” actually, this is rarely the case. Properly installed, fully code-compliant AC power distribution systems will develop small, entirely safe voltage differences between the safety grounds of all outlets. These normally insignificant voltages cause problems only when they couple into the signal path at a vulnerable signal interface. Let’s look at why unbalanced interfaces are extremely prone to this coupling and cause noise problems even when no safety ground connections exist.…
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