Power conditioners

[Joe]

I've been following Snap,crackle,pop thread and I was wondering if anyone uses a power conditioner.

I get wierd noises from my amp in my basement which I minimize with a two prong adapter. I keep the flourescent lights off and use a dedicated circuit but still get some wierd pops.

[DetroitBlues]

I use on all the time now. Furman makes a power strip conditioner that I use. I think you can find them at GC.

[Steiner]

Yes.

[tbonesullivan]

two prong adapter? is there no ground in the basement? I would definitely look into having a proper grounded plug put in. That can really help. Also a power conditioner often will have a little green light that tells you how good the ground is. When I was at the Barn for PSP IV, I plugged in through one splitter, and my ground light was lit weakly. I then ran another extension cord direct to a socket: brignt green. Definitely helps keep down the noise, and also helps avoid shocking yourself if you are near a microphone.

[Blunote]

I bought a Monster Pro 800 Power Center. It claims to provide clean power filters and surge protection.

 

Quieted things down quite a bit for me.

 

Not sure if that's the same thing as a power conditioner. Maybe someone can explain the term.

[tbonesullivan]

The monster pro 800 is what I would consider a power conditioner, or a high end surge protector. I mean, in general a power conditioner is a rack-mounted power conditioner. What separates them from a standard surge protector is usually their current load (usually 15 amps), and AC line noise filter (or more than one) and more rugged construction. The rack-mounted ones also often have pull out lights that can help you see in front and back, and may have front and rear power receptacles. There is quite a bit of variation in features, but the monster that you have would count. The line filter and ground indicator light alone put it far above a standard surge protector.

 

The REALLY high end power rigs can actually handle voltage regulation, and correct over and undervolt conditions, but those are quite expensive.

[H]

Could be wrong (as I'm not in the US and in England all power outlets - aside from those for shavers - are earthed and require three-pin plugs) but don't power conditioners *require* a grounded outlet?

[t0aj15]

I use two. The first one a Furman Power Factor Pro plugs directly into the wall and the second a Furman AR-1215 plugs into the first one so that they operate in-line. The job of the first one (the PFP) is to build and hold a current reserve so that instantaneous power draws by the amps don't find themselves lacking for power. It also filters out all kinds of line noise like clicks, pops, hum & various noises that come from the power line. Once I had that I realized (from the LED readouts) that I also needed a voltage regulator because the voltage in many venues (including my own house) varied from 95v to 128v which can be tough on gear especially if it's digital. The voltage regulator puts out a dead steady 120v as well as further filtering the line noise. All of this came about because I live in an older neighborhood with power lines that have been in place for over 60 yrs, and the elephant in the room is a 400 foot tall 150,000 watt radio antenna one block from my house that used to force WOMC's 'moldy oldies' through every piece of electronic gear in my house. The power to my gear is now clean, stable and dead quiet. It was expensive (approx $1000) for both units, but in my situation it was really necessary and it really solved all my problems.

 

Edit; and yes a good solid ground is absolutely mandatory.

[tbonesullivan]

daang. I have a pretty stable voltage at my house, so the VR stuff isn't necessary, but I do have a voltage readout on my rig, in case it gets really bad.

[DetroitBlues]

daang. I have a pretty stable voltage at my house, so the VR stuff isn't necessary, but I do have a voltage readout on my rig, in case it gets really bad.

 

That was pretty cool. At PSP I noticed the voltage was a little low too on your rig....

[tbonesullivan]

That was pretty cool. At PSP I noticed the voltage was a little low too on your rig....

It was just fine before we had 20 amps plugged in. I did notice it getting a bit low later on. When I first plugged it in the readout was around 118V, but once everyone had all their amps fired up, it got lower.

[Joe]

Thanks for the input everyone. I'll pick one up soon, been a little busy. I do have grounded curcuits in ny house, it was once suggested to me that breaking the ground would help quiet some of the hum. I was doing that when we practiced at my house with positive results. Thanks again.