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A recent review in the UK's HiFi News stated that the Russ Andrews Mains Silencer (1-80 uf shunt, clamp, and bleeder resistor depending on model) not only benefitted hi-hi but increased the reviewer's modem speed by 30% repaetedly and consistently.I wrote a letter pointing out that reviewers should stick to their opinions on hifi and not report 'magical myths'. To this, Russ Andrews claims that the packets of data being transferred and recognised is somehow affected by mains quality into the modem and computer.
The idea seems very stretched. What do people think? And does putting in 1-80 uf shunt capacitance really improve the sound of a decent mains/filtered input setup, or is it just modifying the input Z to the transformer though admittedly reducing hf noise into the system?
My own finding based on the Russ Andrews 'junior' filter with 1 uf is that it sometimes improves untreated mains. Introducing it into a regenerated mains system (at input) invariably makes matters worse. I also think that 80 uf may be dangerous if somehow discharged.
Follow Ups:
A new computer at home was connected to the ancient house wiring, in a 3 prong outlet. The modem was connecting at 56 k about 1/3 to 1/2 the time. Then, storm, thunder, war, power outage, blown fuse, and dead motherboard. Replaced motherboard and bought a Belkin UPS and battery backup. The Belkin had a light that said "ground wiring fault.' With or without the Belkin the connection had dropped to 42, 45 46K. So, an electrician friend with the right tools came and determined the 3rd hole ground hole at the plug was not connected-just hanging there. What can I say, I rent! Old house, and evil cheap landlord with funky repairs. We strung a wire to make a ground and just stuck it the ground a few inches. BwalA! 56 k connection everytime! Have since pounded a stake about 2 feet in the ground (I know-it 'should, be 8' but it works.) Oh, while we were at it we also ran a true ground for the music system.
Most surge supression circuits in commercial line conditioners and supressors built into digital electronics simply won't work unless the ground wire is connected back to the power panel and the panel is properly grounded at the service entrance. Most people don't realize this, when they start floating ground connections, until the next lightning storm hits. With lightning surges, common mode currents can reach thousands of amps for just long enough to cause some serious equipment damage.monk
Oh, while we were at it we also ran a true ground for the music system.What's a "true ground"?
se
By 'true ground' I meant we also ran a wire from the third hole of a 3 prong/hole outlet to the stake in the ground. Sorry, I don't know the correct technical terms.
Now you provided another entrance for lightning surges / spikes to enter your ac set up. Multiple grounding rods is not a good idea. When lightning strikes the ground it sends a magnetic field thousands of feet from the strike point to your ac ground. The magnetic field travels up the ac ground bypassing your service panel circuit breaker and enters your a/v system and anything else you have plugged into the wall. Keep in mind your neutral and ground are tied together in the service panel. This connection splits the magnetic field and now it travels up both conductors to your ac outlets. Multiple grounding rods just provide multiple entrances into your house.Alan
Uh oh. I hope that isn't the case. My understanding of electronics is pretty good, but electrical isn't. Here are some more details on my situation. The 1920's house wiring only has 2 wire wiring throughout the house. It has a fuse box, not circuit breakers for example. Some doofus at some point put in some 3 prong outlets, but did not connect the 3rd hole to any wiring at all. What we did was string a wire from the thrid hole of two plugs to one stake. Does that create a new source for lightning to fry stuff?
1920's??? Do you have copper cold water pipes in the basement? If you do, you might want to try the cold water pipe as your ground if all your looking to do is filter some noise from your system. Clean the pipe off with some Caig Progold 100% solution. Apply the Progold and leave it on for a good 5 minutes...then add a second coat. Now take a steel wool pad and scrub the area clean. You should be able to achieve a mirror finish. Now clean wool residue off of the pipe. Place the copper wire (12 AWG stranded is fine) under the ground clamp so the wire is placed in between the clamp and pipe. Tighten the clamp but not to the point that you crack the pipe. The cold water pipe will do a good job for your a/v system. You may also want to consider hiring an electrician to come in and re-wire the house to bring it up to local code.Alan
Alan,Thanks for your tips. In a perfect world I would do just that. But, I rent, and am tired of paying to upgrade someone elses property. No basement, and the crawl space under the house by any water pipes is literaly inches. I wanted to run the speaker wires under the floor, but with no clearance the options were digging a trench (under the house), or trying to snake things with long poles, hooks, magnets or hire midgets. So I put "bandaids" on things.
An external modem with a separate power connection might benefit from a line filter if, there is noise present on the power line AND the modem is operated from the filter. It's well known that the switch mode power supplies in PCs can put unwanted noise on the powerlines. Computer power supplies in Europe must meet EN55022 for conducted emissions.Operating the hi-fi from a sepatate branch circuit than that used for the computer would also help keep some of the noise out.
Putting a 80 uF cap on the powerline is living dangerously- even for me. Depending on the circuit Q, one can generate some very high and potentially damaging transient current peaks. I would strongly advise against it. Besides, the power meter keeps running even if all the equipment is turned off.
monk
80uf is too much. If your looking to improve your pc via filtering then I suggest a professional wire-in filter. Wideband filters offer nice improvement for a/v systems and computers. Check out http://www.elect-spec.com for the spring sale of lab grade wire in filters. These offer excellent performance for the price. The small filters are excellent for digital power upgrades. If your thinking of adding an iec you can wire the filter to the iec and then the filter to the power board.Alan Maher
Mains filtering will make no difference to a PC as it uses a switched mode power supply and hence chops up the input anyway.I'd suggest that the reviewer doesn't know how to operate his PC properly!
To be honest, a well designed PSU be it for a PC or an audio system should be very tolerant of noise/rubbish on the mains and should have it's own RF suppresion system anyway. If a mains conditoner makes a huge difference to your system then I'd suggest the PSU's in the equipment should have been better designed.
Joe
If the bandwidth of the filter dips down to 10Khz it will be able to address a switching power supply.Alan Maher
80uf will draw way too much current. 12uf draws about 1A at 120vac.
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