Hum in my rocket

keith allen

I have an onix rocket ufw10 sub that I purchased recenly,its a great musical sub,especially for its size.One thing that I dont like is it has a constant hum in it,you cant hear it when the music is up,but between tracks or any other time you can,any ideas,could this be just typical,my velodyne never done this

labrat

Sounds like you have a ground loop problem. Try unplugging the line in (RCA) on the sub so that the only connection is the power cord and see if it goes away. If it doesn't then the problem is in the sub itself. If the hum does go away try reconnecting it and disconnecting the video cable to your system as that is often a source.

If you could report back I am sure there are many here with more knowledge that could help further.

Scott

Skynut

I just grounded my hole system to get rid of the hum.
Bottom line labrat is probably right.
Ground all components that hook up to each other and the cable line.
I just ran a ground wire to each of the chassis in my rack and I also have the ability to run my cable/sat coax through my power protector which grounds them also.
This made a huge difference in my system.

keith allen

Everything but the sub runs through my power protector,I'll move it where so that I can plug the sub into it,maybe that wil work.Thanx for all the input fellers

Skynut

Everything in my system went through my power conditioner but not every piece had a grounding plug.
The quick cheater way is to put a cheater plug on the conditioner or power strip so it is not grounded anymore. If the hum goes away then you know it is a ground issue.

Skynut

P.S. I learned that here also.

VR3

I doubt she'll complain...

*mind...exit gutter...now*

I dont know how to fix your problem though..

Early B.

Check the Onix forum at www.av123.com. I found this thread there...

http://av123forum.com/showthread.php?threadid=11277&highlight=hum

There are other threads on the Onix forum that address the same subject, so hopefully you can find a solution that suits your needs. Don't worry, whatever it is, it's a common problem regardless of brand and it is a simple fix.

keith allen

Thanx everybody for all the advice,all I figured out so far is that,the hum goes away when I unplug the rca interconnect,so now I have to figure otu the best cure

VR3

have you tried a different IC?

labrat

I think Skynut is onto your path to a cure. Lift the ground on everything you possibly can and run a ground to all your components and your video feed.

Sid usually has so much good information I am very hesitant to disagree with anything he says, but in this case . . .The IC didn't cause a problem with the other sub and more importantly it is a ground loop issue, not a SQ issue so I wouldn't spend much (if any) time chasing that solution. Sorry Sid - no disrespect intended.

Good luck on finding a fix.

Scott

keith allen

Problem solved,have the sub on a cheater plug,not hum at all!Think I'll leave it this way,thanx to all for the good advice!

Skynut

Personally I would ground everything to be safe.
this stuff ain't cheap to replace and imagine replacing it all.

keith allen

Skynut wrote:

Personally I would ground everything to be safe.
this stuff ain't cheap to replace and imagine replacing it all.

How would you ground the sub?

Skynut

The power cord does not have a ground?
If not check and see if you can chasis ground it with a wire from a screw on the sub amp to the rcvr ground lug.

keith allen

The power cord is 3 prong,if thats what you mean by the power cord having a ground.What is the rcvr?

labrat

+1 for keeping the sub grounded.

The problem is that it isn't double insulated. If a hot wire were to come in contact with the sub's chasis the sub would be charged and you wouldn't know it. It get's even more interesting when you consider the sub's chassis is connected to the rest of your system by the shielding of your interconnects. You could be changing a disk in the player and get zapped because the sub had a malfunction and wasn't grounded.

The video feed seems to be the source of most ground loop issues. Rather than ungrounding (is that a word) the sub I would ground the feed. You can do this with a grounding block sold in most hardware stores for satellite systems, or you can use a small automotive hose clamp to connect a ground wire to the outside of the terminal of the feed. Grounding the AVR isn't going to hurt either.

Don't want to rant on too long. Remember this isn't supposed to be rocket science (or if you are using electrical theory to solve a problem with a rocket is it?), just a couple of simple things to keep anyone from getting hurt.

Scott

labrat

Keith,

our posts crossed and I got called away to strip some antibodies from membranes - so wasn't ignoring the question.

rcvr or avr = reciever

Scott

Skynut

rcvr=Receiver.
Somewhere you have a component that goes to ground in your rack. It could be the rcvr or the amp or the power conditioner, something should be grounded.
Then run a ground wire from that (Chasis or ground lug) to each of your other components that are not grounded by the power plug.
You can run a ground wire to your cable coax this way also. Even with the previously mentioned hose clamp.
I was astounded by how much my system improved this way.

keith allen

OK,The source of my problem is the cablevision,as many said my vidoe source,unplug the cable,no hum.Tomorrow I'm picking up a isolator for the cable,and I'll remove the cheater plug.I really appreciate all the help on this everybody!