Hi people,
quick one again:
Arcam alpha 3,everytime the fridge or the boiler kicks in a loud pop sound comes from the speakers.
Tried all sockets in house but no luck,probably all sockets are on the same line.
Tried an anti surge protector, eliminated it a bit.
Arcam's service said this amp does not have a protection curcuit,it was a common problem.
I say it can't be,there might be a solution.
Please do your magic and help
Cheers
quick one again:
Arcam alpha 3,everytime the fridge or the boiler kicks in a loud pop sound comes from the speakers.
Tried all sockets in house but no luck,probably all sockets are on the same line.
Tried an anti surge protector, eliminated it a bit.
Arcam's service said this amp does not have a protection curcuit,it was a common problem.
I say it can't be,there might be a solution.
Please do your magic and help
Cheers
Ther are some amp designs that are particularly sensitive to AC line impulse noise. Also it might be that the AC switches on your fridge or (and) boiler are arcing. (If the swithes are ok, and properly filtered with snubber caps, they shouldn't....). What you can try, is inserting an appropriate RFI/EMI filter before your audio gear. You can get them in electronics parts stores, or in surplus outlets. Just pay attention of its power handling capacity (for an avearge home Hi-Fi system 3-5A versions are OK)
Test the amp alone and see if it pops. Just amp and speakers and NOTHING else connected to any inputs. You need to find where the problem is before you can fix it or try and eliminate it.
(for anything Farnell, try CPC, they are part of Farnell and have free web delivery)
(for anything Farnell, try CPC, they are part of Farnell and have free web delivery)
hi
i find a contact suppressor fitted across the thermostat in the fridge and freezer cures this problem, same goes for central heating fitted across the thermostat (wall type)
this type of suppressor 100n cap in series with 100R resistor, NOTE THE CAP MUST BE X RATED FOR MAINS TYPE
better still all in one, in coveinient packs of 5 see here
Buy RC Network Capacitors Evox-Rifa 0.1μF 100Ω 250 V ac, 630 V ac RC Network Capacitor Through Hole Evox-Rifa PMZ2081MD6100M100JRIF105TAB online from RS for next day delivery.
or a bit cheaper http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/contact-suppressor-rg22y
hope this helps
i find a contact suppressor fitted across the thermostat in the fridge and freezer cures this problem, same goes for central heating fitted across the thermostat (wall type)
this type of suppressor 100n cap in series with 100R resistor, NOTE THE CAP MUST BE X RATED FOR MAINS TYPE
better still all in one, in coveinient packs of 5 see here
Buy RC Network Capacitors Evox-Rifa 0.1μF 100Ω 250 V ac, 630 V ac RC Network Capacitor Through Hole Evox-Rifa PMZ2081MD6100M100JRIF105TAB online from RS for next day delivery.
or a bit cheaper http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/contact-suppressor-rg22y
hope this helps
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The amp alone pops,just checked it while rotating thermostats (fridge & room temp).
Which solution works best?I don't want to modify the fridge since the house is not mine.
Which solution works best?I don't want to modify the fridge since the house is not mine.
I am in college and have the same problem as you do. Thankfully, my suite has a weird wiring scheme and one half of my room is on a separate circuit from the rest. One half is shared with the room next door, the other with the suite next door. I have my receiver and the fridge on each separate circuit, and that helped, except with my headphone amp which is on my desk, which, due to room arrangement, has to be plugged into the fridge circuit. I built this filter here (about 1/3 of the way down) and it was pretty effective at reducing the pop from the fridge. The fridge is my roommates, so I couldn't modify it. Plus, there is another pop that I have not located the source of that is present on both circuits, but its more faint and intermittent. The filter for the headphone amp takes this out too. Just make sure the choke can handle the power requirements.
If just the amp alone pops then I wouldn't rule out radiated interference. Is the noise affected by volume control setting or which input/s are selected ? Is it possible to try the amp in another location (house).
Put a power line filter on the offending appliance, not just on your amp. I mean a real multi-pi section power line filter, not a big box store power strip with a 5 cent MOV in it. You can usually find them on e-bay. All are not equal in their application, so look up the part numbers and go to the manufactures web pages to read about them.
dvv is the real expert on power line filters around here.
dvv is the real expert on power line filters around here.
I got the Maplin's one, contact suppressor.
I was thinking of soldering it inside the amplifier and not adding seperately one per thermostat (fridge and central heating).
Straight on power switch between phase and neutral or transformer's primary.
Is it a bad idea?
A contact suppressor, if that's what you want to attempt, damps the arcing of a switch. The switch you need to damp is the one in the refrigerator, the thermostat switch. That's nothing to do with fitting it to your amplifier. Fitting it to the amplifier power switch can do nothing about the source of the external noise. Yes, bad idea.
The possibilities for just your amplifier, are based on filtering the mains power to it or shielding the amplifier and leads (with an earthed metal shroud or cover) from the radiated energy of the switching flash. As others have said, some amplifiers respond too well to RF energy and it enters the amp. via the speaker or headphone leads, signal leads and mains leads too - everything is an entry point and the amplifier can detect (render audible) and amplify that like any input. As you are probably close to the refrigerator, the most efficient way to deal with it is to replace and/or fit an appropriate cap across the thermostat switch terminals. Then fit a line filter to the refrigerator power lead and so on.
As you counted out these best options though, you won't get best solutions, unfortunately. You are left with adding the line filter to your power amp mains lead, since shrouding everything will be too inconvenient and in my experience, less likely worthwhile.
The possibilities for just your amplifier, are based on filtering the mains power to it or shielding the amplifier and leads (with an earthed metal shroud or cover) from the radiated energy of the switching flash. As others have said, some amplifiers respond too well to RF energy and it enters the amp. via the speaker or headphone leads, signal leads and mains leads too - everything is an entry point and the amplifier can detect (render audible) and amplify that like any input. As you are probably close to the refrigerator, the most efficient way to deal with it is to replace and/or fit an appropriate cap across the thermostat switch terminals. Then fit a line filter to the refrigerator power lead and so on.
As you counted out these best options though, you won't get best solutions, unfortunately. You are left with adding the line filter to your power amp mains lead, since shrouding everything will be too inconvenient and in my experience, less likely worthwhile.
There is not enough space inside the casing of the fridge's thermostat that's why i went with that option.
According to this:
Fitting a Contact Suppressor
i have to use a transient suppressor along with the contact one.
I've got both, but i dont know if that suits my case.
Contact,transient or both?
I will not spend any more money, if it doesn't work i'll get a new amp.
Just to confirm,is it between line and neutral, no polarity check, simple as that?
Cheers
According to this:
Fitting a Contact Suppressor
i have to use a transient suppressor along with the contact one.
I've got both, but i dont know if that suits my case.
Contact,transient or both?
I will not spend any more money, if it doesn't work i'll get a new amp.
Just to confirm,is it between line and neutral, no polarity check, simple as that?
Cheers
The contact suppressor capacitor should stop the noise. The transient suppressor VDR is just there to lengthen the useful service life of the capacitor, as the self-healing feature of an X-rated cap means that it gradually loses capacitance every time a mains spike comes along. If you only have room for one fit the cap and omit the VDR. You may then need to replace the cap after 5 years or so.
There is no polarity check.
There is no polarity check.
Just added only the cap in the fridge's thermostat.
I tried it, motor starts ok, no spikes, no noticeable clicks from the speakers, i'll wait a little more.
Since i'm renting the house, is there any chance in a million to affect the fridge's operation and cause any damage in other appliances in the house?
I tried it, motor starts ok, no spikes, no noticeable clicks from the speakers, i'll wait a little more.
Since i'm renting the house, is there any chance in a million to affect the fridge's operation and cause any damage in other appliances in the house?
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