[ddots-l] Re: getting shocked by equipment in home studio, any suggest ions?

  • From: "Sean A. Cummins" <seanacummins@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sun, 20 Sep 2009 06:43:32 -0700

Cameron,

sounds like your building is definitely not up to code.
However, you can usually resolve this problem by adding a three prong to two prong adapter that has a wire coming off for the ground prong.
Splice at least 14 or 12 gauge wire to the wire on the adaptor using a wire nut.
You want to make this long enough to go to the nearest copper or iron piping like a baseboard heater or old fashion iron radiator . You will need to fasten the bare end of the wire to one of the pipes either by rapping the stripped wire around the copper pipe and twisting it back on to itself, or even an alligator clip, that can be purchased even at Radio Crap, and clipping it to one of the heat fins of the base board.
Using the old radiator, you can even solder the end to the iron pipe, but you need to make sure it is iron. If it is copper, you can cause electrolysis to cause the pipe to begin to brake-down , and eventually leak, or worse, burst. Remember, if it is painted, which most people have ignorantly dun, you will need to remove a little area of paint, or just find an area, like the valve control, that is bare iron or steel to attach the wire.
The concept is that, all heating systems will eventually be touching earth some where in its travels through the building.
The ultimate and safest way of grounding is to drive a rebar stake into real earth and running the wire to this. But not knowing how far you are from actual earth, makes this a sketchy statement at best.
By law, the building owner should have an electrician come and evaluate your need, he/she wont want a lawsuit over such a little matter.
Also, if you haven't already experienced this, what ever you do, don't play your guitar and let your lips touch the mic at the same time, before you have fixed the problem. You will get a very painful shock when your lips ground to the mic, because the lips have vast amount of nerve endings. WATCH OUT! I'm warning you, and I'm not kidding!! 

Sean
----- Original Message ----- From: <albertm13@xxxxxxxx> 
To: <ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, September 20, 2009 5:47 AM
Subject: [ddots-l] Re: getting shocked by equipment in home studio, any suggest ions? 


Cameron,
Is it a static electricity shock? Do you get one short shock and then you can hold the mic? 

Albert

---------- Original Message ----------
From: "Cameron" <cameron@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [ddots-l] Re: getting shocked by equipment in home studio, any suggest ions? 
Date: Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:25:31 -0400

Hi.  it happens with dynamic and condenser mics, and even when the phantom
power is off for the condensers.

plastic mic clips being used since I only have small diafram condensers at
present.

Cameron.





-----Original Message-----
From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Nick Dotson
Sent: Saturday, September 19, 2009 4:31 PM
To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ddots-l] Re: getting shocked by equipment in home studio, any
suggest ions?


Remember static electricity with carpet?  Also, is the mic condenser with
phantom power or dynamic?  In either event is the mic mount a spider mount,
or, just one which you screw onto the boom?  It's probably plastic, but I'm
wondering if there is a grounding problem, if the mic and stand are breaking

or floating the ground?

Nick
----- Original Message ----- From: "Cameron" <cameron@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
To: <ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, September 19, 2009 12:30 PM
Subject: [ddots-l] Re: getting shocked by equipment in home studio, any
suggest ions?



Hi.  No no no, it's not just when you touch a mic.  it's when you touch
anything metal connected to the power conditioner, like the control
surface,
computer, audio interface, and the conditioner itself.

as soon as the mic is unplugged, everything is back to normal.

Cameron.





-----Original Message-----
From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On
Behalf Of D!J!X!
Sent: Saturday, September 19, 2009 2:02 PM
To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ddots-l] Re: getting shocked by equipment in home studio, any
suggest ions?

Interesting, and you get shocked everytime you touch a mic plugged into
the
mixer??? How about when you touch the mixer itself?

D!J!X!


-----Original Message-----
From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On
Behalf Of Cameron
Sent: Saturday, September 19, 2009 12:45 PM
To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ddots-l] Re: getting shocked by equipment in home studio, any
suggest ions?

carpet.





-----Original Message-----
From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On
Behalf Of D!J!X!
Sent: Saturday, September 19, 2009 1:36 PM
To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ddots-l] Re: getting shocked by equipment in home studio, any
suggest ions?

Put on shoes and try it, or wait, are you on carpet?

D!J!X!


-----Original Message-----
From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On
Behalf Of Cameron
Sent: Saturday, September 19, 2009 12:32 PM
To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ddots-l] Re: getting shocked by equipment in home studio, any
suggest ions?

Hi.  not wearing shoes, my desk is not metal, and I am not touching the
mics
when I get shocked.  although, touching the mics will shcok me too if I
do.

they are all 3 prong outlets.

Cameron.





-----Original Message-----
From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On
Behalf Of albertm13@xxxxxxxx
Sent: Saturday, September 19, 2009 9:57 AM
To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ddots-l] Re: getting shocked by equipment in home studio, any
suggest ions?

Hi,

If you have three pronged outlets you could possibly start by going to a
hardware store and buying an outlet tester.  Sorry, I couldn't find one at
homedepot.com.  You can read about them at
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Receptacle_tester and
www.acmehowto.com/howto/homemaintenance/electrical/outlettest.php
Make sure you get one that can be plugged into the outlet and not just put
near the outlet.  You would need sighted help because they only have
lights.
They are not expenssive.

If you have two pronged outlets then it's probably a bad piece of
equipment
on your end but turning the plugs around might help.  I don't know of an
easy way for you to test for the problem without a voltmeter.

If the problem isn't your house wiring then you need someone who could
figure out what piece of your equipment is causing this problem.  Old
pieces
of equipment like a tube amps are notorious for causing this problem.

Whenever you get shocked, electricity flows through you which means it has
to go in one part of you and out another.  Birds on power lines don't get
killed because they are only touching one thing.  You are touching your
mics
but you must be touching something else too.  That's why someone else
recommended a rubber mat.  Using a rubber mat is only hiding the problem
but
the problem is still there.  Are you wearing shoes?  Perhaps your desk is
metal and it is touching something.

Albert

--- Cameron wrote ---
Hi all.  I have a problem, hopefully someone can give me some suggestions
or
shed some light on why this is happening.

The apartment complex I'm living in now was built in the early sixties I
believe.  The outlets are not very good, worn out, you can't plug anything
into the top of any of them because it just falls out.  You can only plug
things into the bottom plug.

Anyways, when I was using my FW1884, I didn't notice any issues with
anything except for noise because I am on a dirty circuit/loop being
shared
by all sorts of appliances and god knows what else.

My current setup is now my ADK rack mount machine, Motu896 MKIII firewire
interface, and BCF2000 control surface, which is all plugged into a power
conditioner.

I started doing some tracking with my new gear for a new job this week and
whenever I used a mic that required phantom power, as soon as the mic was
plugged into the interface, I would get shocked if I touched anything
metal
that was plugged into the conditioner, including the mic itself computer,
control surface, interface, etc, .  It's not enough to cause damage, but
it
is unplesent and is enough of a jolt to make you quickly stop touching
whatever control you're touching.

This happens even when the phantom power is switched off for every channel
on the interface.  I found out this afternoon that it also happens with
dynamic mics too.

As soon as all mics are unplugged, everything is fine.

My power conditioner doesn't appear to have a ground lift switch.  Is this
the issue?  Is there anything I can do to remedy this?  I've got 5 months
of
writing and recording ahead and I really don't want to be freaking shocked
every time I touch my gear!

I'm going to make this issue known to the apartment manager on Monday but
I
really doubt they will understand what I'm talking about, or give a damn
for
that matter.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Cameron.

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