Help....local radio station coming through my phonotstage!

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by mike catucci, Feb 11, 2018.

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  1. mike catucci

    mike catucci Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    PA
    Using a Black Cube SEII and I've been hearing a radio station in the background during quiet sections and in between tracks. I assumed it was my son or wife leaving an alarm clock unattended and so it was playing. But nope it is coming through my speakers. If I lift the Black Cube off the component shelf the station goes away, if I put it back on the MDF shelf it come back. if I turn it a little to the left or right it gets louder or softer. It is driving me nuts!

    Any ideas what is causing this and how to kill it?
     
  2. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    Which interconnects do you use? RFI is what's causing it, I believe. Some interconnects aren't extreextr well shielded to prevent this.

    There could be other possibilities I'm unfamiliar with but that's the one I'm aware of.
     
    Fishoutofwater and mike catucci like this.
  3. allied333

    allied333 Audiophile

    Location:
    nowhere
    Bad solder joint. A poor solder joint makes diode like rectifiers that are used for radio detection.
     
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  4. George Blair

    George Blair Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    I had this happen with a phono stage, and the only solution I found was moving things around until the interference went away. Try relocating the box, reroute the cables - whatever experimenting you can do to fix it.
     
  5. sublemon

    sublemon Forum Resident

    move the cables around, usually you can find a spot where it goes away. If you have a ground wire attached experiment with that too.
     
    mike catucci likes this.
  6. GroovyGuy

    GroovyGuy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Halifax, NS Canada
     
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  7. mike catucci

    mike catucci Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    PA

    Using Cinnamon cables. Never happened with the other stages. I got it to stop by putting the BCSII on top of 4 Vibrapods.
     
    George Blair likes this.
  8. mike catucci

    mike catucci Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    PA

    Bad joint on the BCSEII? I just got the unit and right out of the box it has a faulty left channel.
     
  9. allied333

    allied333 Audiophile

    Location:
    nowhere
    That is what I think. It would be on the RCA input jack(s).
     
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  10. mike catucci

    mike catucci Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    PA
    That's exactly the connection giving me issues. If I leave it on top of the Vibrapods it seems to have killed the station and the channel is working right now. I'll leave as is until the Decade arrives.
     
    Strat-Mangler likes this.
  11. elaterium

    elaterium Forum Resident

    You don’t like their programming?
     
    sunspot42, Helom, H8SLKC and 3 others like this.
  12. sublemon

    sublemon Forum Resident

    its not the vibrapods imo but maybe a change in position or the stress on the jack, wire positioning, etc.
     
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  13. Benzion

    Benzion "Cogito, ergo sum" Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brooklyn, NY
    Might I suggest plugging pretty much all your gear into a decent power conditioner with EMI and RFI filtering? It doesn't have to be expensive. Works for me, and I have two tube phono's on the same shelf, with an FM tuner and a tube headphone amp directly below them, plus an antenna on the left - no RF cross-bleeding whatsoever. This is what I use:

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00145EVJ6/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
     
  14. mike catucci

    mike catucci Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    PA
    Just placed an order for it. Thank you for the heads up!
     
    Benzion likes this.
  15. curbach

    curbach Some guy on the internet

    Location:
    The ATX
    I had a headphone amp that did this, so I returned it and tried a different model instead. No issues with the second model in the same location with the same equipment. Ironically, that second model was a Lehmann (the one with the RFI issue was a Heed).
     
    mike catucci likes this.
  16. Barry Off EastEnders

    Barry Off EastEnders Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver
    The other option is to have the radio station move their tower further from your house.
     
  17. mike catucci

    mike catucci Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    PA
    Just an update: I purchased the Furman power conditioner and the radio station is still there. It comes in loud and clear when I touch the tonearm. It all started when I got the BCSEII. The Decade should be here soon and hopefully that eliminates it.
     
  18. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    I knew that wouldn't do a damn thing but you had already ordered it. Otherwise, I would've tried to dissuade you.

    Never had any RFI issues with either the Dynavector P75 MK3, Decade, or Chinook.
     
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  19. allied333

    allied333 Audiophile

    Location:
    nowhere
    Re-solder the phono connections, it will go away.
     
  20. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    What a silly post. You can't know with any level of certitude that this is the root of the problem or that following your advice will result in a fix.

    Besides, the OP already stated that he's returning the unit and already bought an upgraded phono stage so why would he do so and void the warranty in the process? I mean, come on...
     
    mike catucci likes this.
  21. mike catucci

    mike catucci Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    PA
    Never did that. I'll wait for the Decade and hope for the best.
     
  22. mike catucci

    mike catucci Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    PA
    I did jump on that pretty fast. To be honest I did need a good surge protector.
     
    Strat-Mangler likes this.
  23. qwerty

    qwerty A resident of the SH_Forums.

    This is what I thought as the first and easiest trouble-shooting. It's easy to check (as with the suggestion a poor solder joint on the cable is the problem) - try some other phono interconnects. Some stores allow you to buy and try with a full refund if not satisfied. If the problem is only on one channel swap the l+r on the interconnect you are using, if the problem goes from one channel to the other the problem will be in on of your leads.
     
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  24. allied333

    allied333 Audiophile

    Location:
    nowhere
    My other hobby is a ham radio operator. I understand radios since age of 10, I am now age 68. A bad solder joint makes for a diode detector. Same used in all AM receivers. Add the high gain of a phono amp and it will receive radio stations. I even had it happen in one of my customers phono. The bad solder joint can be anywhere in the system from the cartridge to the amplifier. It may cure the issue or may be another issue, but this is more common than you may think. Now, why do you think my suggestion is ridiculous?
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2018
    SandAndGlass and TheVinylAddict like this.
  25. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    Absolutely.

    There are far easier tests and possibilities which you're too quick to dismiss or gloss over which don't require the use of a soldering iron. He already mentioned (twice) the newly purchased unit will be returned and has already purchased a higher-end model anyway. So why continue to suggest he void the warranty on a new unit he's returning and risk being out of hundred of dollars?

    While I respect your knowledge of electronics, these "there's no way I'm ever wrong or it could be anything else" posts I often read from you are, IMHO, a pretty big disservice to the person you're trying to guide.
     
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