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Can anyone recommend a good minor audio setup?

How can I ground my computer and audio setup?

  • My gear is giving me electric shocks, and I don't know what to do. [more inside] I've got a complicated setup with two computers and lots of external peripherals and audio equipment. Cables run in all directions, with everything connected to everything else. The only high-wattage devices I've got are a very old stereo amp and a monitor. Every once in a while I'll get a small shock from touching something. I've had it happen with a DVD burner, one of the PCs, and an electric guitar (which is plugged through some electronic gear into a PC, not into a guitar amp). It's been going on for about a month. I haven't gotten fried yet, and neither has my equipment. Should I be really worried? I'm completely ignorant about electricity, so can anyone give me an idea about what might be wrong, and recommend things I can do to troubleshoot this?

  • Answer:

    >Any way to figure out which one is bad without bringing them all into a repair shop? Choice #1: Cheap, easy, and painful, probably dangerous. Plug each item in one at a time. Touch the case. See what shocks you and what doesn't. Choice #2: Easy. Not cheap or painful. Get an AC ammeter (part of a decent multimeter). Plug each item in one at a time. Set your meter to measure AC milliamperes. Put a probe on one end of the case (obviously a conductive part, such as the sheild of a connector -- plastic is a waste of your time), the other probe should go through a resistor to limit shorting current (for 120 V, use about 100 ohms, for 220 V try something higher), and the other end of that resistor should go through some wire to an appropriate ground (you'll need to use your three prong plug for this). Ground is the half moon prong at the bottom in the middle of the plug in North America. You should get an extremely low reading on your ammeter. If you get anything over, say, .1 A (100 mA), you could die if you touch the case! Anyways, if you're getting less (you should be!) you can remove the resistor and test the full leakage current straight through the meter to ground. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/electric/shock.html#c3 table will explain the pain and danger zones to you. Anything above 5 mA should be considered dangerous and should be a candidate for a professional to test and repair, if needed. Obviously, while doing all the above you should ensure you are insulated from any of the connections you are making. Use electrical tape on open joints. Insulated alligator jumper clips will make your job easier. Note the neat thing about electricity: If you want to survive an electrical shock, bigger is better. The fatality zone is right in the middle. Of course, too big a shock will take you from rare to well done, so that's bad.

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Ground it?

ParisParamus

Are you cheating by defeating a thre--pronged plug somewhere?

ParisParamus

Yeah, my apartment has only one grounded outlet and two ungrounded ones. I'm using power strips. The stuff that gives me shocks doesn't have grounded plugs, so even if I plugged the power strips into a grounded outlet, wouldn't the equipment not be properly grounded? Should I make sure that all grounded plugs are plugged into grounded outlets?

fuzz

Fuzz, you could do that, or you could buy one of those adapter plugs with the wire which attaches to the outlet plate (and thus the outlet box, which is grounded). That should work. If not, you would probably need to go for attaching ground to the heat pipes. You might also consider installing three-pronged outlets--not that tough, really. Let me guess: you live in Brownstone Brooklyn?

ParisParamus

Spain? 220 volts? I don't know a thing about your electric system (including whether the outlet boxes are grounded)!

ParisParamus

yes, you should make sure that all grounded plugs are plugged into grounded outlets. the other stuff shouldn't matter. is it the equipment, or you? depending on the clothes/shoes i wear, i get a shock when i touch the handle of my office door. it might be that you're getting a static charge and discharging it to earth (in which case, if it really bothers you, get an anti-static bracelet from an electrical supply store, connect the cable it comes with to earth, and touch the bracelet before touching anything else; or wear different clothes/shoes!).

andrew cooke

Fuzz, you could do that, or you could buy one of those adapter plugs with the wire which attaches to the outlet plate (and thus the outlet box, which is grounded). You can't really rely on the outlet box being grounded; sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't. Look for an uninsulated wire screwed directly to the box.

Galvatron

I must second Galvatron: I live in a brand new building in Brooklyn built by the lowest bidder. Not all of the outlets are grounded.

o2b

Heh - fuzz, I living in BCN too and have the same problem. When it comes to wiring, the Spaniards are crap! Most of my sockets aren't grounded, and even the screws on the bottom of my laptop or my guitar strings will shock me sometimes. Either live with it, or get the place re-wired. Fancy a BCN minimeet? ;-)

benzo8

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