The worst thing that could happen.

[Roozter]

I just moved in to a new house, moved all my recording gear over, starting plugging things in, and when I sat down to play my guitar through an amp (plugged in to a conditioner) I got radio signals coming in to it. Apparently I live about a mile from a radio station.

Im pretty much having a small heart attack about the logistics of how Im going to keep this radio signal out of a whole studio full of equipment in an old house.

Does anyone have some consolation for me? Or am I going to have to shield and ground just about every last little thing?

 

[mjbphotos]

Line the whole room with aluminum foil! But first, try moving around the room with your guitar (which most likely is the 'antenna') and see if there are any null areas.
I remember hearing an AM radio station on our family fridge a long time ago!

 

[polarity]

I don't have an answer but I'd love a picture of you sitting in your room full of gear looking sad wearing a tin foil hat.

I am not sure why but that seems like a funny picture to me. I will do some research on shielding from radio towers

 

[polarity]

One answer I just found that might help was to shield your wires. I would start there but I'll keep reading.

 

[polarity]

i hear the radio through my pc speakers. - Overclockers Forums

A link of some people with the same type of issues and what all they did to resolve it. Hope it helps

 

[mixsit]

Subscribing- and hope to see you get it worked out.

 

[Mr Clean]

I'm moving to a new (old) house soon. Hope I don't get issues like this.

Be sure to post a fix when you solve it

 

[TMS]

I don't have an answer but I'd love a picture of you sitting in your room full of gear looking sad wearing a tin foil hat.

I am not sure why but that seems like a funny picture to me. I will do some research on shielding from radio towers

you drew it well enough for me too ))

 

[Manslick]

A Faraday cage is your only hope.

Well that's what I read.

 

[Armistice]

If it's not a particularly good/popular radio station, some dynamite or fertilizer might solve the problem for you....

 

[Track Rat]

A Faraday cage is your only hope.

Well that's what I read.

This. A friend of mine lived under a radio tower and this is what he had to do. He basically line the entire room with wire screen and grounded the piss out of it.

 

[Thurgood]

Grew up next to a municipal airport. Holy crap, was that a pain when my cranked 200 watt Sunn coliseum Lead amp blasted, " Roger ok for approach" at 140 db. (teenager guitar idiocy).

 

[mjbphotos]

Figuring out what is acting as an antenna is crucial. Try a different guitar, different cables, moving around guitar, moving cables, moving the speaker cable, etc.

 

[mixsit]

Grew up next to a municipal airport. Holy crap, was that a pain when my cranked 200 watt Sunn coliseum Lead amp blasted, " Roger ok for approach" at 140 db. (teenager guitar idiocy).

Visions of that 'Spinal Tap AFB gig

So does this mostly just get into the small signal stuff (guitar level, high gain?

 

[Manslick]

I lived next to a HAM radio guy. He had this Gordon’s Potato Chip truck in his back yard packed full of radio gear. He used to tape fluorescent light bulbs, the big ones, onto his antenna and hit the key and laugh like a demented clown as they lit up his redneck backyard. The guy was a complete jerk and got arrested for threatening the life of Jessie Jackson. But when he would come on with his racist mumbo jumbo OMG it just blasted out of my amp. I used to throw rocks at the truck but he was incorrigible. He was also manic depressive but I digress.

 

[rtbd]

Interesting your planing

 

[Roozter]

Here's the thing, the amp will make this noise without even having a cable plugged in to it. I can put the conditioner in to the wall, the amp in to the conditioner, and just turn it on. I've yet to notice it coming through anything else in the house though.

PS- The radio station also happens to be crappy redneck country music.

 

[jhbrandt]

Here's the thing, the amp will make this noise without even having a cable plugged in to it. I can put the conditioner in to the wall, the amp in to the conditioner, and just turn it on. I've yet to notice it coming through anything else in the house though.

PS- The radio station also happens to be crappy redneck country music.

That's actually Good News, my friend. The amp needs; a. service. b. better shielding c. has a bad connection on the 'shorting' input jack.

Cheers,
John

 

[mjbphotos]

Yeah, I bet the power cord is the culprit. When you move it around, does the radio sound change?

 

[Roozter]

Yes. I also got my 80-8, its DBX, and the speed control up and running last night. No noise from them. Seems like my amp is just a piece of garbage...