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Left monitor picking up radio station
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 6:43 pm
by Kit Fysto
Subject says it all. My left, and only left monitor is picking up some random spanish radio station and a very annoying hum to go along with it. Any ideas to get rid of this?
Re: Left monitor picking up radio station
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 7:05 pm
by Trichome
what the actual fuck... how is that even possible? im pretty sure monitors don't have am/fm receivers in them? is this even possible?
Re: Left monitor picking up radio station
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 7:13 pm
by Hircine
I used to work in a studio that had the same problem with a bass amp.
http://www.futureproducers.com/forums/p ... own-10606/
it's because of the crystal. it can be a grounding problem, either with your gear or with your house / studio. try using shielded cables.
Re: Left monitor picking up radio station
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 7:16 pm
by Kit Fysto
Hircine wrote:I used to work in a studio that had the same problem with a bass amp.
http://www.futureproducers.com/forums/p ... own-10606/
it's because of the crystal. it can be a grounding problem, either with your gear or with your house / studio. try using shielded cables.
Oh ya, I was just about to say that I had a guitar amp that would do it too a few years ago. I'll def look into that. Thanks
Re: Left monitor picking up radio station
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 7:19 pm
by Sheff
yeah happens alot with guitar amps, pretty sure its just down to not being grounded right
Re: Left monitor picking up radio station
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 8:13 pm
by mthrfnk
I had this once with some powered headphones connected to my PC, scared the shit out of me when I first heard it.
Re: Left monitor picking up radio station
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:06 pm
by Coolschmid
Whenever I get a call on my cellphone when im sitting at my computer desk my speakers start making those radio static beep things (don't really know how to explain them, but it sounds like triplet beeps) like a second in advance.
Its pretty cool.
Re: Left monitor picking up radio station
Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 9:11 pm
by alphacat
BTW if the signal is strong enough it can occur even with well-grounded setups. My pal moved into a house located ½ a mile from a massive hilltop antenna array that handled all kinds of bands (TV, radio, cell, FAA, gov't, and others) - his monitors instantly started getting field noise.
Solutions if it's this bad are either to use digital connections instead of analog or try and make some kind of
Faraday cage to block it if it seems highly directional. A Faraday cage can be simple: chainlink fence, metal mesh/grid, etc.
Re: Left monitor picking up radio station
Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 2:29 am
by AxeD
Trainrek wrote:what the actual fuck... how is that even possible? im pretty sure monitors don't have am/fm receivers in them? is this even possible?
As other replies in this thread confirm, it's very possible

Radio waves can 'strike' any electrical conductor.
Radio waves at higher frequencies are actually visible as light, so they can reflect back to the source (radio telescope), and produce
images of let's say jupiter.
When jupiter is visible in your speakers, you know you're producing mad pads

Re: Left monitor picking up radio station
Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 5:32 am
by Hircine
AxeD wrote:When jupiter is visible in your speakers, you know you're producing mad pads

too much

best audio joke I ever heard.
Re: Left monitor picking up radio station
Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:12 pm
by RandoRando
Coolschmid wrote:Whenever I get a call on my cellphone when im sitting at my computer desk my speakers start making those radio static beep things (don't really know how to explain them, but it sounds like triplet beeps) like a second in advance.
Its pretty cool.
i describe the sound as a electronic galloping horse. duh d-d-duh d-d-duh d-d-duh
Re: Left monitor picking up radio station
Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 5:35 am
by mks
I used to help run this internet radio station that was two blocks from giant radio towers on top a hill and we used to have to deal with this issue constantly.
Use high quality balanced cables for everything possible, make sure everything is grounded, and if possible as mentioned, build a Faraday Cage.
Re: Left monitor picking up radio station
Posted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 10:01 am
by AxeD
Also, keep cabling as short as possible.
Re: Left monitor picking up radio station
Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 9:02 pm
by alphacat
AxeD wrote:Also, keep cabling as short as possible.
Yes. The longer your cables, the bigger/more frequencies they can act like an antenna with.
Re: Left monitor picking up radio station
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 12:14 pm
by AxeD
Definitely, don't know if it's only unbalanced cables though?
Instrument cables and unbalanced line levels should be as short as possibru anyway.
Otherwise you'll even get a lot of interference when a cellphone goes off etc..
Re: Left monitor picking up radio station
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 1:37 pm
by DrastikMeazures
I used to have a bass amp that every now and again would " catch the holy ghost" and start receiving gospel music. Tin foil can make decent shielding but it will make your studio will look like an Andy Warhol project.
Re: Left monitor picking up radio station
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 2:29 pm
by Trichome
AxeD wrote:Trainrek wrote:what the actual fuck... how is that even possible? im pretty sure monitors don't have am/fm receivers in them? is this even possible?
As other replies in this thread confirm, it's very possible

Radio waves can 'strike' any electrical conductor.
Radio waves at higher frequencies are actually visible as light, so they can reflect back to the source (radio telescope), and produce
images of let's say jupiter.
When jupiter is visible in your speakers, you know you're producing mad pads

is it bad that i'm doing an a-level in physics and i didn't know this?
i mean i knew that waves can strike conductors, but i didnt know that the signal the wave was carrying could actually be reproduced
Re: Left monitor picking up radio station
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 4:01 pm
by Kochari
For the love of God sample it!!
Re: Left monitor picking up radio station
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 4:35 pm
by Kit Fysto
Kochari wrote:For the love of God sample it!!
haha its really not very interesting sounding. It's just like a weak signal of a spanish radio station otherwise I'd be all over it.
Re: Left monitor picking up radio station
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 4:51 pm
by alphacat
Dunno that I've ever heard a Spanish language station with a weak signal: in California, they all seem to have the biggest transmitters and most broadcast compression!
