How To Find Electrician in My Area That Is Qualified / Experienced With Studio's?

What's Shark Tank? TV show?

He's been the head of engineering for Peavey, most of his professional life. He and his company got sued by the family of a guitar player who died because of a wall socket that had live connected to ground. None of the 3$ tools will "see" that as a fault, while it's deadly.

In most systems here, we no longer have "polarity". Symmetrical. But a hot ground would be noticed immediately, because ground connection protrude from the sockets:
Curiosity got the best of me and I had to see if my $3 tester would see something amiss. The outlet on the right has the hot/live AC wired to the ground lug and the real ground and neutral to the 'blade' connections. Even if hot/live and neutral to the blades were reversed the tester indicates incorrect wiring. Just trying to understand how it could be mis-wired so the tester doesn't properly show incorrect wiring, at least on a typical US outlet.

Perhaps on the type of outlet you posted, having two live conductors (no neutral) and a ground could cause the tester to misread an improper connection(?)
 

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Just trying to understand how it could be mis-wired so the tester doesn't properly show incorrect wiring, at least on a typical US outlet.

Yeah...I'm not understanding it either...my $3 tester shows every possible miswired scenario...and of course, correct wiring.
 
What's Shark Tank? TV show?

Yes...you go on there with your "product" and pitch it to 3-4 very rich entrepreneurs who will individually make offers to help you finance your product, and they get some kind of cut/profit.

AFA what the retail cost would be...if indeed the tester has to cost $15 to be profitable, but it can prove to be more accurate and safer...I don't see that it's all that high-priced for the average homeowner who has some concerns about their wiring and how to test it properly.
I mean...I can't see that a $15 price is what's holding back the manufacturing and selling of that device if it's all that much better. :)
 
Yes, $15 seems a very reasonable sum for such a device to me. This, Martindale Classic Check Plug Socket Tester
Is pretty much the stock carry for electricians over here and I cannot believe peeps in the USA are so cheap as to do worse?

"Symmetrical" mains supplies are rare here outside medical/lab facilities. Such systems can be dangerous to unsuspecting service personnel since a mains fuse can blow but leave 120v 'live' above earth. 55V is not QUITE so lethal!

Dave.
 
"Symmetrical" mains supplies are rare here outside medical/lab facilities. Such systems can be dangerous to unsuspecting service personnel since a mains fuse can blow but leave 120v 'live' above earth. 55V is not QUITE so lethal!

We have coupled fuses on these systems. If one side trips, the other side is disconnected too. Besides, there's always the differential safety (GFCA?).

That's theory, of course. It should be like that in new systems. In old ones, all bets are off. And if people start DIY'ing too.
 
US folks.......

Which do you see predominately?

Ground Pin Up or Ground Pin Down? - archtoolbox.com

Every one I've ever installed has the ground pin down.

There's nothing in the NEC that covers this. However, the logic behind 'ground down' is this: in a situation where something or someone has fallen or knocked a cord connected to the receptacle nearly out of place the LAST thing you want to disconnect is the built-in safety. This something that is the choice of the electrician responsible for the installation. In the early and mid 70's there was a whole discussion about which was more safety oriented, ground up or down. Us old electricians always prefer it down for the reasons I outlined. However....designers have other ideas about these things at times. Even horizontal mounting. In recent years the manufacturers have started building a horizontally oriented recept in all sorts of bright designer colors.

Personally I use hospital grade devices in my studio. Even iso-grounded plugs where required.
 
There's nothing in the NEC that covers this. However, the logic behind 'ground down' is this: in a situation where something or someone has fallen or knocked a cord connected to the receptacle nearly out of place the LAST thing you want to disconnect is the built-in safety. This something that is the choice of the electrician responsible for the installation. In the early and mid 70's there was a whole discussion about which was more safety oriented, ground up or down. Us old electricians always prefer it down for the reasons I outlined. However....designers have other ideas about these things at times. Even horizontal mounting. In recent years the manufacturers have started building a horizontally oriented recept in all sorts of bright designer colors.

Personally I use hospital grade devices in my studio. Even iso-grounded plugs where required.

You could go over to UK 13A fused plugs and shrouded pins!

Dave.
 
My own opinion is you likely won't find a residential 'electrician' that's versed in troubleshooting EMI or other types of 'noise' that is internal to house wiring, particularly if it's related to studio which he/she wouldn't have any experience with (unless a studio owner themselves).

What sort of problem are you having? Is the problem localized to a specific room and isn't present elsewhere in the house?

POWER QUALITY ANALYZER PQ3100 - Hioki

I hear what I could best describe (and what I've seen described from others as EMI. I experience this with my guitar and I just noticed it while recording with an SM57 the other day. If I move to a particular position it goes away but that's a very small window.

I'll double check to see if I experience this in other rooms. If I recall correctly, I did experience it in another room (dinning room upstairs). My studio is in my basement.

How do you know it's EMI...?

Based on other examples I've seen/heard from others on Youtube.

As has been said, it will be easier to advise if you give us a list of the gear and the precise nature of the interference.

Dave.

I'll put that together.

How do you know it's EMI and not RFI, a ground loop, or another cause?

Why don't you simply ask your questions over the phone with them before you hire them? Most electricians are conscientious and fairly intelligent individuals who rely on word of mouth as well as their media coverage to buoy their reputations. At least for the smaller shops. Just because a person has some knowledge of studio work and the gear associated with one doesn't mean they know squat about electrical current and the containment and transmission of such. In my experience with electricians (35 years as a Journeyman) most will NOT raise their hands "just to give it a try" especially with something as specific as what you are experiencing. I have no idea what type of training and schooling is a requirement in Michigan, but most places with a strong union presence in a trade has schooling programs that cover a lot of things even if a person becomes a "residential electrician" as his business.

My suggestion to you, as a truly qualified individual (REAL electrician and studio owner for many years) is to google EMI or RFI however you want to define it and learn about the causal effects from such a thing and apply it to your situation. Real knowledge on a subject can take you a long way towards solving a problem that is more than likely an easy fix and something as simple as having the wrong things on the wrong phase in your building as the studio power.

The BEST and easiest (not the cheapest) is an isolation transformer of the proper voltage and wattage rating for your requirements. IF this is that important. I have no idea whether you are selling time to others or simply funding your own projects, but this would be something to consider.

If you have a lot of rack gear and there is a chassis ground on the frame (the green connector usually on the back marked "chassis ground") you should have all pieces with this feature tied together and sent to an 'earthing ground' separate from the common power. DO NOT tie this to your panel. Two paths to ground through the common grounded buss could mean some serious shock.

To be a studio owner you should always know things like this. What is the difference between 'grounded' and 'grounding'. How does RFI get into your signal chain. How much free air space is required to keep power and signal separate.

It's really simple when you understand how it works.

This is my personal studio. Not using it for clients.
 
I hear what I could best describe (and what I've seen described from others as EMI. I experience this with my guitar and I just noticed it while recording with an SM57 the other day. If I move to a particular position it goes away but that's a very small window.

I'll double check to see if I experience this in other rooms. If I recall correctly, I did experience it in another room (dinning room upstairs). My studio is in my basement.
If the PU's on the guitar are single coil they may tend to pickup 'stuff' floating around in the air and if you move around it may change. Humbucker PU's are less susceptible, but may pickup something if strong enough. If you touch the strings or metal tail piece on the guitar does the 'EMI' change or go away? Was the SM57 micing an amp?
 
I have to go through my house to look, but I remember in previous houses, the upside down outlet would mean it was connected through a wall switch.
That’s the common usage in new construction. The thing that’s not consistent is sometimes only one of the outlets is actually switched!
 
If the PU's on the guitar are single coil they may tend to pickup 'stuff' floating around in the air and if you move around it may change. Humbucker PU's are less susceptible, but may pickup something if strong enough. If you touch the strings or metal tail piece on the guitar does the 'EMI' change or go away? Was the SM57 micing an amp?

Right...^^^

Even humbuckers will get noisy if you get close to a computer or the LCD monitors, or some kind of electronic device with lousy shielding...
...so if that's the real problem, an electrician is not going to be of much use fixing it.

If it's EMI coming form the outside...like if you near an industrial area or lots of high power transmission lines, or radio/TV stations..etc...a home electrician is not going to solve that either, unless he builds you a Faraday cage around your whole house...etc.


That fact that you are in the basement, is actually a good thing AFA any EMI from the outside affecting your gear...but you may have electronics inside with you that are causing it...but if it is with single coil guitars...then yeah, find a spot, rotate until you get the least interference...and then don't move. :D
There's not much more you can do. Minimize it and see if you can find which device (or the lighting) is causing the most of it...then just turn it off or distance yourself from it.

If you have EMI outside that's affecting the electricity coming into your place...you can bitch to the electric company, but they won't be able to do much for you.
That said...most electric companies will send someone out if you complain, and you can have them put a monitor on the house to see what happens over a couple of days, but those monitors are generally to see if there is a lot of fluctuation in power coming in...not really for metering EMI interference.

If you have ground loops in the electric wiring...and you're getting typical 60Hz hum...kinda steady...that's something a home electrician can sort out for you.
 
first thing i would do is go to home depot and buy you one those cheap plug in outlets tester. that'll show you first it is wired correctly, and also check any ground or neutral problems in the wiring. Also certain types of lighting fixtures and light switches will induce some hum, especially if they are on the same circuit . i have three separate circuits in my bedroom studio and have no problems. of course they are dedicated only to studio equipment use. then again i did wire it myself.
 
first thing i would do is go to home depot and buy you one those cheap plug in outlets tester. that'll show you first it is wired correctly, and also check any ground or neutral problems in the wiring. Also certain types of lighting fixtures and light switches will induce some hum, especially if they are on the same circuit . i have three separate circuits in my bedroom studio and have no problems. of course they are dedicated only to studio equipment use. then again i did wire it myself.

Your user name would suggest you have a vast amount of hands on experience with wiring :D
 
It sounds as if you have RFI, because of a ground fault somewhere.

A sound sample would clear up most doubt.

A good electrician should be able to check grounding, Even without considering your interference problem. It could be due to something simple. What I encounter often, over here, is a dried out sandy soil, that isolates the grounding, resulting in weird interference when the weather is dry. Leaving the garden hose running for a day solves it temporarily.

That's another way of trouble-shooting it. :D

Doesn't work for those of us who live in an apartment on the fifth floor, of course.

BTW, are there any industrial activities around? Like a garage, or a welder's workshop?
 
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