Got rid of noisy computer. Well sort of.

[JerryD]

To get rid of the noise from my desktop I've been using my laptop with wireless connect using RealVNC to remote control my desktop which is in another room in the house. When my wife is out I run the snake for the mics and headphones down the hall into my living room which is acoustically treated. The laptop makes almost no sound compared to the desktop and this solved my noise problem. Now if I could keep my fish calm when I turn off his water filter.

Anyone else using this sort of setup?

[tmix]

I am ready to.
I just bought an older laptop, just for that purpose. I have installed vnc viewer on the lap top but not onthe studio computer. I still lack the wireless router too.

A question... do you have any problem with the wireless router making any RF or digital noise to be picked up by the host computer / power amps etc?

The reason I ask is I have a wireless router in the house near my CD player and it makes a freaky noise come out of the speakers. It also shows up on my wireless home phone. It has me a little concerned. I dont want to yank things apart installing network cards and the like only to have the wireless system make blips show up on tracks or cds when I burn them.

Get back....

Tom

[JerryD]

Yeah your right. The wireless is just radio frequency that is going to effect any electronic device it's in close proximity to. I can't really say yet because I"m still ordering equipment and so far I've only recorded an acoustic guitar and vocals. I think the computers are okay because the case actually shields them from the signal. However, I can bet if you get any wireless devices close to any amps or digital equipment is going to be ugly. The only other alternative is to run network connections to your recording area. I know that on the router that you can change the frequencies that is used by your home network. It makes me wonder if you could use a frequency that is more recording-friendly. The reason your CD player is having problems with RF is just the close proximity. The reason your phone has trouble is that most wireless phones and network devices share the same frequency band. 2.4Ghz. So your phone having issues isn't a problem. To test you could move the router over by one of your amps and see what the effect is.

[andyhix]

Originally Posted by JerryD

However, I can bet if you get any wireless devices close to any amps or digital equipment is going to be ugly.

Sorry to hijack, but you guys might know this...would this include a wireless mouse and keyboard? Or don't they work the same way? What's the distance a wireless mouse or leyboard can span? Could I use one with my computer in another room, through a wall? I'm thinking about moving the computer to hide the fan noise too, and I'm just trying to sort out the best/cheapest way.

[mshilarious]

Originally Posted by andyhix

Sorry to hijack, but you guys might know this...would this include a wireless mouse and keyboard? Or don't they work the same way? What's the distance a wireless mouse or leyboard can span? Could I use one with my computer in another room, through a wall? I'm thinking about moving the computer to hide the fan noise too, and I'm just trying to sort out the best/cheapest way.

I have a bluetooth keyboard and mouse, I can use them from a different floor of my house. Yes, they do throw off interference that gets picked up in my headphones, but not in any balanced transmission line. Amps are noisy enough themselves that it doesn't seem to be a problem, especially since the keyboard & mouse are much closer to the headphones than an amp.

[ofajen]

Originally Posted by JerryD

To get rid of the noise from my desktop I've been using my laptop with wireless connect using RealVNC to remote control my desktop which is in another room in the house. When my wife is out I run the snake for the mics and headphones down the hall into my living room which is acoustically treated. The laptop makes almost no sound compared to the desktop and this solved my noise problem. Now if I could keep my fish calm when I turn off his water filter.

Anyone else using this sort of setup?

No, though it sounds like a big improvement over having the desktop in the studio. I record a lot of things that are not real loud (acoustic instruments) and I mike generally at a distance of two to four feet from the instrument and I use sensitive, condenser omni mikes, so I'm pretty fussy about ambient noises from machines. I find even laptops in the studio are way too noisy, so I just use a desktop that is out in the adjoining room behind a concrete wall and sealed, double doors. I run long cables under the doors and out to the CPU. Besides, these days most of my recording starts out without the computer, just running the mikes into a portable preamp and into a compact flash recorder, so the DAW could just as well be off entirely.

Cheers,

Otto