I am hearing radio through my system... help!

[terryforsythe]

The power cord, the speaker cord, and all the other source cables.
If we unplug all the sources then we have speaker and power cables.
If there is no RF coming through, then plugging in the sources one by one might shed some light on the subject.

Once one knows where the noise is happening, then the why and the how can be noodled out.

Yes. See post #14.

First, identify the culprit component for sure. Turning off other devices with their cables connected may not be sufficient.

1. Disconnect all cables from the amp except for the speaker cables and power cable. Does the problem go away? If not, then it likely is your amplifier. How long are your speaker cables?

2. If the problem did go away, next plugin your pre-amp, but with nothing else plugged into that. Did the problem come back?

3. If the problem did not come back, plug in one source at a time and identify the one that is the culprit.

Once you have identified the culprit, then you can start taking steps to address it. It may well be the amplifier, but do the above to make sure before you spend too much time/money on it.

 

[Holmz]

Yes. See post #14.

We are in agreement.

 

[Torin Krell]

Running a home recording studio near a big city I have found that using a simple (and inexpensive to implement) star configuration for properly grounded AC power alleviates any EMI / RFI as well as AC hum. The star configuration connects all your gear to one audio outlet through one power strip or for larger setups a series of power strips. It is apparently important to have each "leg" of the star approximately the same length and of course of reasonable quality. I have absolutely no EMI / RFI nor hum despite the use of vintage synthesizers that have rather primitive power supplies.

 

[Speedskater]

Having all the audio components connected together with reasonably short Safety Ground/Protective Earth wires can be a good plan for reducing AC power line related noise.
But no, they don't need to be a "star" or have the same length.
Unfortunately SG/PE wires seldom have anything to do with radio RFI.

 

[Multicore]

Occasionally I can hear radio through my audio system, as in actual programs and/or songs from radio stations.

Not sure what is causing the interference. But the amplifier seems to be the culprit here, as I already tried turning off all other devices in the chain. The problem still occurs even when the amplifier volume is turned all the way down.

What's the make and model of the amp?

Disconnect everything except speakers and power, turn volume down. Still radio there? If yes, try another amp... :/

 

[Saponetto]

If you make yourself your interconnect cables, also check the quality of the soldering points.
Sometimes, bad soldering or poor tin quality seems to behave like diodes (galene effect).

 

[GD Fan]

If you try a little harder maybe you can pick up neighbors' telephone conversations!

 

[Laika2]

Occasionally I can hear radio through my audio system, as in actual programs and/or songs from radio stations.

Not sure what is causing the interference. But the amplifier seems to be the culprit here, as I already tried turning off all other devices in the chain. The problem still occurs even when the amplifier volume is turned all the way down.

Anyone experienced this before? and any advice on the easiest and cheapest way to fix it?

When I lived on the 8th floor of the dorms mine would do that when everything was off, it was not loud but loud enough I could make out every word of songs. It was the speaker wires, cheap 22 gauge at the time acting as a dipoles antenna. The wires picked up just enough power from a nearby station to move the drivers. My solution was to change the speaker wires to not act as a antenna by getting longer heavier wire and moving the speaker cables around to tune out the station. Not sure if this helps but it fixed mine,

Since your speaker wires were connected it may not be the amp.A quick test would be turn it down, get that radio station bleading through and move your speakers around or just wadding up you speaker wires, do you hear a change in the station reception you should be able to tune it out completely.

 

[Andysu]

atmospherics radio interference

 

[Torin Krell]

Having all the audio components connected together with reasonably short Safety Ground/Protective Earth wires can be a good plan for reducing AC power line related noise.
But no, they don't need to be a "star" or have the same length.
Unfortunately SG/PE wires seldom have anything to do with radio RFI.

Actually when the "arms" of the star system are similar in length there is less of a chance that one section will act as an antennae or create a ground differential. A simple configuration of on hand 3 prong AC cords and a few power strips are all that are needed to create an effective "star" configuration rather than the complication of extra "Safety Ground/Protective Earth wires". (I have far too many wires connecting everything in my system already!) At least that is my personal experience in my home project studio that has far more gear connected together than most audiophile systems. YMMV!

 

[xanalog]

What kind of a "radio" do you hear?

I used to live in a house at 5261 feet altitude. Quarter mile away, a ham operator would key his transmitter (with a giant big antenna on the roof) and my speakers would start "singing.
Thru much trials and tribulations, I [wink, wink] asked him what his transmitting power was. few weeks later his giant aerial was trimmed to size.
In the interim and using fatty, snap-on ferrite beads, near the banana plugs of the speakers' inputs had already remedied the problem.

Ever since that episode, I've always added a pair of ferrites, on the end of my speaker cables... if for no other reason than... just because I can!

 

[Speedskater]

Actually when the "arms" of the star system are similar in length there is less of a chance that one section will act as an antennae or create a ground differential.

Doubtful, very doubtful.
The Safety Ground/Protective Earth wires (or conductors) are part of the AC power cords.

 

[Torin Krell]

Doubtful, very doubtful.
The Safety Ground/Protective Earth wires (or conductors) are part of the AC power cords.

As already stated above (but I will add more detail here) after significant iterative configurations it is clear that a "star configuration" with similar length "arms" of grounded AC wiring in my quite complex (numerous and varied gear, vintage and new) project studio setup, did significantly improve resistance to outside interference and noise in my urban location. Some posts from the editors of SOS magazine concur with this approach. Perhaps however there would be a less noticeable difference (or none) in less complex audiophile systems with only new optimally functioning gear.

 

[Holmz]

When I lived on the 8th floor of the dorms mine would do that when everything was off, it was not loud but loud enough I could make out every word of songs. It was the speaker wires, cheap 22 gauge at the time acting as a dipoles antenna. The wires picked up just enough power from a nearby station to move the drivers. My solution was to change the speaker wires to not act as a antenna by getting longer heavier wire and moving the speaker cables around to tune out the station. Not sure if this helps but it fixed mine,

Since your speaker wires were connected it may not be the amp.A quick test would be turn it down, get that radio station bleading through and move your speakers around or just wadding up you speaker wires, do you hear a change in the station reception you should be able to tune it out completely.

The “changed” cables may have been twisted or with less area in between the two conductors.
The gauge being bigger did NOT facilitate the small RF being more easily housed in the smaller wire.

 

[Laika2]

The “changed” cables may have been twisted or with less area in between the two conductors.
The gauge being bigger did NOT facilitate the small RF being more easily housed in the smaller wire.

Not really claiming it did. Just stating what worked for me. Perhaps it was moving the wires around or that and the extra length let me play with more placement variations. I just used heavy lamp cord, moved it around while the whole thing was off and said goodbye to the radio station with 5 minutes of effort tops. Low effort low cost, worked for me.

 

[Holmz]

^Got it^ and yeah - “geometry” and/i.e. fiddling with cables is a thing for sure.


That ferrite bead that was mentioned is always a winner.

What kind of a "radio" do you hear?

I used to live in a house at 5261 feet altitude. Quarter mile away, a ham operator would key his transmitter (with a giant big antenna on the roof) and my speakers would start "singing.
Thru much trials and tribulations, I [wink, wink] asked him what his transmitting power was. few weeks later his giant aerial was trimmed to size.
In the interim and using fatty, snap-on ferrite beads, near the banana plugs of the speakers' inputs had already remedied the problem.

Ever since that episode, I've always added a pair of ferrites, on the end of my speaker cables... if for no other reason than... just because I can!

 

[xanalog]

That ferrite bead that was mentioned is always a winner.

Less than 'always' but similar to hitting the lottery jackpot when you needed to pay the mortgage next month!

One use of diodes are for 'rectification' of RF signals.
A crystal-oscillators is the closest example of rectification w/o diodes; though still relies on a diode-like junction.
No, the above two sentences are not OT:
A 'simple wire' [any wire, but not shielded] may exhibit a very subtle form of 'rectification', when it becomes tuned [think: wavelength] in reference to a transmitting frequency.

At least, in the case of my post#31 reply, you are welcome to call 'rectification' a subjective assessment but I am okay that my Vandersteens (at that time) were witnessing such a 'rectification' problemo... and the ferrite beads were their jackpot.

OP never came back to answer my original post question of:

What kind of a "radio" do you hear?

 

[sceptical1]

Did the OP solve this?

 

[Holmz]

Less than 'always' but similar to hitting the lottery jackpot when you needed to pay the mortgage next month!

One use of diodes are for 'rectification' of RF signals.
A crystal-oscillators is the closest example of rectification w/o diodes; though still relies on a diode-like junction.
No, the above two sentences are not OT:
A 'simple wire' [any wire, but not shielded] may exhibit a very subtle form of 'rectification', when it becomes tuned [think: wavelength] in reference to a transmitting frequency.

At least, in the case of my post#31 reply, you are welcome to call 'rectification' a subjective assessment but I am okay that my Vandersteens (at that time) were witnessing such a 'rectification' problemo... and the ferrite beads were their jackpot.

OP never came back to answer my original post question of:

If it was rectification, then I would assume that would have needed to be AM radio broadcast.

 

[xanalog]

If it was rectification, then I would assume that would have needed to be AM radio broadcast.

...perhaps my amateur neighbor was over-driving his xmtr...