Just moved in to a new house. I have a fake Bose table radio (it's actually a decent radio, just doesn't say "Bose" on it) that buzzes when it's on. Didn't used to do this at my last house, so I assume it's coming from the electrical??
Anyway, it's annoying the crap out of me -- any ideas on what I can do to make it go away?
Hmm. Older house, relatively new rehab?
Assuming the radio didn't get damage in transit, I'm guessing the outlet in question has a false ground, designed to fool cheap inspection devices. In that case, what you're getting is likely 60 hz ground hum.
That, or the spirits from the graveyard on which your house is built are displeased by your presence. Could go either way.
In reply to alex:
The house is old (80-90 years??), but I'm in a recently (2009) renovated portion of it; all of the electrical is new. The homeowner did the work himself, but he's an engineer and not likely to have cheaped out or tried to fool anyone.
Hoping it's not a ghost...
Just googled "ground hum eliminator" and found that these things are $50 and up??
Plug a different radio, stereo, etc. into the same outlet. If it hums, it's the outlet. If it doesn't hum, it's the radio. Personally, I'm betting it's the radio.
Don't ask me why it didn't do it before. Maybe the ghost works for Bose?
1988RedT2 wrote: Plug a different radio, stereo, etc. into the same outlet. If it hums, it's the outlet. If it doesn't hum, it's the radio. Personally, I'm betting it's the radio. Don't ask me why it didn't do it before. Maybe the ghost works for Bose?
And try the same radio in a different outlet (on a different circuit).
if the radio uses a three prong plug.. help is under 5 bucks.. just put one of those three to two prong adaptors in. In theatre and A/V world we call them "Ground lifts" and use them to get rid of gound loop hum
Thanks for the suggestions. I plugged the radio into a power strip instead of directly into the wall socket and the hum is gone.
BTW, the radio is a Cambridge Soundworks Model 88, which sounds great considering its size:
Any antennas close? Police, fire, broadcast? Cell shouldn't make a difference. Maybe HAM or CB operators. Depends on how much power they are pushing, but it will only happen when transmitting.
Alex's suggestion sounds more likely.
I have the best luck with old shortwave units, since this is a radio suggestion thread, now.
I've encountered electrical hum from a well pump, you might try flipping some breakers to see if anything else in the house is causing the issue.
mad_machine wrote: if the radio uses a three prong plug.. help is under 5 bucks.. just put one of those three to two prong adaptors in. In theatre and A/V world we call them "Ground lifts" and use them to get rid of gound loop hum
Thanks, I am going to file that one away for later.
Check the radio antenna. Make sure it isn't resting on your cell phone ;)
Check that the outlet is wired correctly. Check the ground.
Look for inductive loads (motors) on the same side of the bus in the box. AC, E36 M3 grinder, well pump... etc. If this is the case and you can't move the load - you may need a capacitor to help balance things.
Make sure the ground bus leads to a rod sunk in the ground and not just hooked to a water pipe. If it is hooked to a pipe - follow the pipes and make sure they get to ground without encountering a piece of PVC that someone repaired it with. Then go buy a grounding rod, 10lb hammer and wire.
Failing all else, google ISOLATION TRANSFORMER
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