A Great (Cheap) Turntable/Cartridge

Get help or discuss anything relating to audio/video software & hardware
DVWerks
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Re: A Great (Cheap) Turntable/Cartridge

Post by DVWerks »

Lord Reith wrote: Sat Feb 25, 2023 11:58 pm Can any turntable people help me with my problem?

When i plug the turntable into the laptop via a usb interface, there is a low level buzzing in the background. I have the earth lead connected and that does make it better, because without it it is just Buzz City. But I can still hear the buzz in quiet passages. I don't recall this ever happening before.

I've heard that if your house has a bad earth connection then you can connect the earth wire to a metal stake driven into the soil. I don't have a metal stake, but might this actually work? I've tried two difefrent interfaces and computers and am at a dead end.
Are the laptop and the turntable powered from the same outlet?
I experienced a similar issue and it seemed the audio connection going between two different grounds became a path of least resistance.
When the power cable came off the laptop, the noise went away, but I didn't want to risk trying to record audio on just battery power.
Having the computer and turntable on the same outlet should correct this.
zaval80
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Re: A Great (Cheap) Turntable/Cartridge

Post by zaval80 »

Lord Reith wrote: Sat Feb 25, 2023 11:58 pm I've heard that if your house has a bad earth connection then you can connect the earth wire to a metal stake driven into the soil.
Basically true, but don't rely much on this. I have a water boiler which was grounded like this, a stake into the soil - done by the professional. I've found that it gives me electrocutions :lol: I wrecked my brain out figuring what's wrong with my house electrics, then the same professional was invited, and he haven't found a fault either. My solution was - unplugging it completely, and plugging only for the moments when I need hot water. I cannot afford any risks when a metal wire touching two points, one on my plumbing and the other on the friggin machine, produces sparks.
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Lord Reith
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Re: A Great (Cheap) Turntable/Cartridge

Post by Lord Reith »

zaval80 wrote: Sun Mar 05, 2023 6:28 am
Lord Reith wrote: Sat Feb 25, 2023 11:58 pm I've heard that if your house has a bad earth connection then you can connect the earth wire to a metal stake driven into the soil.
Basically true, but don't rely much on this. I have a water boiler which was grounded like this, a stake into the soil - done by the professional. I've found that it gives me electrocutions :lol: I wrecked my brain out figuring what's wrong with my house electrics, then the same professional was invited, and he haven't found a fault either. My solution was - unplugging it completely, and plugging only for the moments when I need hot water. I cannot afford any risks when a metal wire touching two points, one on my plumbing and the other on the friggin machine, produces sparks.
Hey man, it's none of my business but this sounds like a dangerous and potentially lethal situation! It's possible that your house uses a water pipe as the house earth and one of your other appliances is leaking current into the earth via the plumbing. I had this exact same situation in my childhood home - you would sometimes get a little zap if you touched the tap! An electrician came I think and rewired the earth.

The dangerous thing is that if one of your appliances is faulty and is leaking a small current, that could change at any moment into a large one. Maybe you could switch off all the appliances in your home and then switch them on one by one, checking for the spark with the water boiler each time.
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Re: A Great (Cheap) Turntable/Cartridge

Post by zaval80 »

I don't have any other plugged-in electric appliances. I had a fridge, but it ceased working after 20 years, and I decided I don't need a new one :lol: it was perfectly safe.
Last edited by zaval80 on Fri Mar 10, 2023 8:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
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mojofilter
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Re: A Great (Cheap) Turntable/Cartridge

Post by mojofilter »

If you want to make sure your electric works are grounded, you'd better get an expert in to check it out. I worked at a radio/TV complex that was hit by lightning. It split an oak tree in the side yard in half. It made all our CRT monitors have rainbow colors, and killed dozens of pieces of gear dead. You'd have thought they were protected, but they lost half a million dollars in gear, because the grounding wasn't done properly. So isolate your cartridge, where possible, from the AC line. if you're unsure about your AC, a battery-powered preamp is a good idea, except for, you know, battery replacement. Get lithium batteries.
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Lord Reith
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Re: A Great (Cheap) Turntable/Cartridge

Post by Lord Reith »

Yeah, always a good idea to unplug computers and tvs during an electrical storm.

I've never forgotten the story - was it in William Shatner's Weird Or What? - about the guy who was using the telephone when lightning struck the phone lines and zapped his brain. He lived, but was never the same again.
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Re: A Great (Cheap) Turntable/Cartridge

Post by mojofilter »

You might also consider getting an AC power conditioner. It plugs into your AC and you plug your components into it. It monitors the incoming line frequency and locks onto 50 or 60 Hz, 120/240 Hz, whichever is your standard, and has built-in protections for voltage over 3 numbers either way. I have a sine-wave UPS that protects all of my gear. All those brick ones that i bought before were useless, because they operate on square wave AC. The second it hits an OFF wave, your computer and whatever else dies. With a sine wave UPS, it provides the same kind of electricity as your wall plug. So if the power goes out, it comes on instantly and allows your computer and whatever else is plugged into it to shut down. My OS hasn't been corrupted since i started using one.
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Re: A Great (Cheap) Turntable/Cartridge

Post by zaval80 »

Lord Reith wrote: Fri Mar 10, 2023 8:08 am Yeah, always a good idea to unplug computers and tvs during an electrical storm.

I've never forgotten the story - was it in William Shatner's Weird Or What? - about the guy who was using the telephone when lightning struck the phone lines and zapped his brain. He lived, but was never the same again.
I've had lots of fun, enjoying The Beatles "Anthology" VHS set on my hi-fi stereo VHS player by Sony during a storm :D yes it was perfectly foolish, but the memory of that night lingers on.
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Re: A Great (Cheap) Turntable/Cartridge

Post by bobzilla »

Lord Reith wrote: Fri Mar 10, 2023 8:08 am I've never forgotten the story - was it in William Shatner's Weird Or What? - about the guy who was using the telephone when lightning struck the phone lines and zapped his brain. He lived, but was never the same again.
Was... was that guy William Shatner? Because that would explain a LOT. :lol:
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Lord Reith
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Re: A Great (Cheap) Turntable/Cartridge

Post by Lord Reith »

bobzilla wrote: Wed Mar 15, 2023 11:19 am
Was... was that guy William Shatner? Because that would explain a LOT. :lol:
Ha ha. Actually, Shatner had his hearing wrecked by a "bomb" that detonated too close to him on a Star Trek set. So not too far off.
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