J-station noise

[cstockdale]

I am using a J-station, connected to my Audiophile 2496 card by S/PDIF, when I am not playing anything, even with the guitar volume knob at 0, I am reading a noise level in my meters in Sonar of roughly -45-50 dB, is this typical? It doesn't sound like "amp" noise, it is just straight hiss.

 

[scottboyher]

Could it be monitor noise? I have a real problem with my computer monitor creating uncontrollable noise!

 

[cstockdale]

yeah, it might be monitor noise. I know you can just turn a monitor off to remove the noise, but you know, sometimes you need to see the project as you play....or maybe I just need to rehearse more!

 

[canada-paul]

Let us know if turning off the monitor solves the problem. I would think its kinda strange to be getting noise through the SPDIF, especially that high.

 

[bongolation]

I would think its kinda strange to be getting noise through the SPDIF, especially that high.

You can get a lot of noise if you are not using the right type of cable for a S/PDIF hookup. Just using an audio RCA cable won't cut it. It's essential to use a video-grade cable, at least according to what I've read.

This problem comes up on recording fora all the time.

The J-Station does not come with an S/PDIF cable so people just use whatever fits that's lying around. My video card came with a video-grade cable I didn't need, so I used that for the J-Station hookup and have experienced no noise problems so far.

This may or may not be the answer to the specific problem, but it's something to at least check.

 

[bongolation]

From the J-Station manual:

"Be sure to use a 75 Ohm or RCA video cable to connect from the Digital Output to a recording device."

 

[cstockdale]

I have a real S/PDIF cable (don't know specs off the top of my head, but I know I paid a lot for it). As for noise, yeah, I will check the monitor and see if turning it off makes a difference.

Like I said, with my electric guitar, there is a real hiss, but with my acoustic through it (on the same J-station preset, Fishman Piezo pickup connected to a Fishman Transducer then into the J) it is even worse. Like, really bad!

When I get home I will check a little more, but to my recollection, this hiss is not there when I use the analog outs from the J-station and route those through a mixer into my analog inputs to my Audiophile 2496 card.

 

[bongolation]

I have a real S/PDIF cable...

OK, cool. It was just something to check.

I'm not sure what else to tell you.

Why don't you try The Official J-Station Forum and see what they can do for you?

Good luck!

 

[tomleblanc]

I am using a J-station, connected to my Audiophile 2496 card by S/PDIF, when I am not playing anything, even with the guitar volume knob at 0, I am reading a noise level in my meters in Sonar of roughly -45-50 dB, is this typical? It doesn't sound like "amp" noise, it is just straight hiss.

Just out of curiosity, are you using the factory-included power supply? I ask because I traded some old amps for a used J-Station at Guitar Center, and they didn't have the power supply, so they gave me a different one, that doesn't exactly match the voltage and amperage ratings of the J-Station. And I'm also experiencing lots of noise...I wondered if this was the problem.

 

[cstockdale]

I haven't checked the power supply. In fact, since I posted this, I kind of forgot about it, I have been working on vocals and acoustic stuff mic'd lately, so I haven't tried recording from my J lately.

 

[monty]

I’ve noticed when space aliens get too close to my wiring, I hear a lot more noise. When I record, I wear a pointy hat made of aluminum foil, which seems to block all that noise. Sometimes drawing on the pointy hat with felt-tip pens also helps.

 

[cstockdale]

I've also heard that taking a photo of yourself with a condenser mic (LD) up your ass and posting it as your avatar is a good way to eliminate hummers....i mean hum

 

[djc]

I’ve noticed when space aliens get too close to my wiring, I hear a lot more noise. When I record, I wear a pointy hat made of aluminum foil, which seems to block all that noise. Sometimes drawing on the pointy hat with felt-tip pens also helps.

I'll have what he's having.

 

[monty]

I'll have what he's having.

I'd like to help you out, but the space aliens only give me so much each month.

 

[bongolation]

I haven't checked the power supply. In fact, since I posted this, I kind of forgot about it

I don't know if it's your problem, but the AC adapter that comes with the J-Station is one of the weak links.

The earlier PS0913B power supply was just barely adequate and gives off terrific heat. It was upgraded to a higher capacity PSS3 unit.

In that the unit takes a minimum of 9VAC @ 1300mA (yes, ONE POINT THREE AMPS!), you really need to check the output of any substitute wall-wart a seller palms off on you.

Beware!

 

[riotshield]

Why does the J-Station draw so much juice? I noticed it gets hot after being on for 5 minutes and the power supply is always warm.

 

[bongolation]

Why does the J-Station draw so much juice? I noticed it gets hot after being on for 5 minutes and the power supply is always warm.

That's a good question. I suppose there's just a lot of processing going on (look how immensely current CPUs have to be heatsinked to prevent instant firey meltdown).

The original lower-capacity power supply gets so hot that it feels like it's going to catch fire. It's too hot to touch, really. I wrote to Digi support about this and they assured me it was "normal," though I note that they improved the adaptor on newer J-Stations.

The J-Station unit itself gets pretty hot, as you note. I assumed the whole unit was heatsinked to the metal case, but this is not true. It just gets very hot inside.

As far as I know, there aren't heat-related failures with the unit itself, but it seems like they could have controlled the heat better.

But if it's not a problem and it ain't broke...

 

[tomleblanc]

In that the unit takes a minimum of 9VAC @ 1300mA (yes, ONE POINT THREE AMPS!), you really need to check the output of any substitute wall-wart a seller palms off on you.

Beware!

I just checked my renegade wall-wart...actually it's one of those in-line ones, which I like better than the wart...and it's a 9V 2.1A unit. It's always pretty warm when plugged in, and the J-Station definitely gets warm after only a few minutes of use. Everything seems to be okay using this power supply, although I'm having MIDI problems that I'm trying to sort out (posted in another thread: https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?threadid=90003). I don't know if the MIDI functionality is broken, or if it's my M-Audio Uno USB->MIDI interface, or something else (even the power supply???).

Bongolation, what're the specs of the newer power supply?

 

[bongolation]

I just checked my renegade wall-wart...actually it's one of those in-line ones, which I like better than the wart...and it's a 9V 2.1A unit. It's always pretty warm when plugged in...
Bongolation, what're the specs of the newer power supply?

I don't know as I don't have one, but I don't think that it's quite as meaty as 9VAC/2.1A, so you're probably fine as that's well in excess of what the J-Station is consuming.

I've always found it sort of odd that this is a mere AC stepdown transformer and the rectification to DC and voltage regulation goes on inside the J-Station unit itself.

Now that I think about it, that's probably where a lot of that heat is coming from.

 

[tomleblanc]

ohhhhhhhhh, is THAT how it works?? I always assumed that a power supply putting out more amperage could be damaging to the unit, that's why I was worried mine didn't match the specs of the factory one. Is the voltage the more critical factor for the internal transformer? Sorry, I don't remember my E&M from college Ummm...V=IR, that's all I recall. hahaha