Capped (clipped, whatever) sound with Audigy sound card

[jaclaz]

I would like to know:

1. How EXACTLY you measured the voltage on the TV cable (and determined that it was 220 V and AC).
   
2. Whether you have tested the amount of current you can draw from that TV cable.
   

That thingy there is seemingly a surge protector/ground decoupler/breaker (BTW sold in Italy on e-bay as "lightning protection ):

http://www.ebay.it/itm/CAVO-PROTEZIONE-DA-FULMINI-TEMPORALI-PER-CAVI-ANTENNA-TV-SEPARATORE-GALVANICO-/170729105041

(let's say very, very low power lightnings )

Better descriptions:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/XANTECH-GROUND-BREAKER-FEED-THROUGH-SURGE-PROTECTOR-063400-634-00-/230839719974

http://www.anteipaolucci.it/protezioni-e-separatori-galvanici/7139-protezione-separatore-galvanico.html

This is also very similar:

http://shop.digital-devices.de/094724

Ground breaker Koax-connector/coupling with overvoltage protection

5-1000 MHz, attentuation: >0,7 dB with voltage isolation: 50V DC

For noise removal at Cable TV systems

Separates ground from antenna and receiver devices

impedes buzzing noise

Wijipedia to the rescue:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheath_current_filter

very likely that thingy there is a capacitive coupler, similar to this DIY (German):

http://www.vdr-wiki.de/wiki/index.php/Mantelstromfilter

jaclaz

Edited January 26, 2013 by jaclaz

[Phaenius]

So, that galvanic thingy is not good in my case ?

I would like to know:

1. How EXACTLY you measured the voltage on the TV cable (and determined that it was 220 V and AC).
   
2. Whether you have tested the amount of current you can draw from that TV cable.
   

By how much i jumped up and how bad the released curse.

You get the idea. It was an unpleasant thing to touch.

Edited January 26, 2013 by Phaenius

[dencorso]

Later: I did some search through Romanian forums and it seems that voltage on the cable might be from the neighbours' tv's. But the fact remains, there is high voltage on the cable. I think in any case, cable companies should assure their network and their cables are well isolated from any power drain.

Now, *that* I can believe in, for sure.

Another edit: I found this. Will it work ? It says it cuts low frequencies voltages.

http://www.decibel.bizoo.ro/vanzare/1990407/Separator-galvanic

Of course it might be good for your case. Electric mains voltage is much easier to deal with than lightning bolts (which may be extremely high voltage vs. ground and really very short). If it truly lets 5 - 1000 MHz, it really might be a good idea. It's not secure to keep your whole machine (or part of it, at least) 80 V or more above ground, for sure.

[Phaenius]

Some 5 years ago lightning stroke and blew out the tv. Needless to say, cable company refused to pay the blown equipment, although experts from electric company came in and said the thing that blew the electronic devices wasn't their own fault, but it came through television cable. At that moment, we had CATV from analogue equipment, now we have optical fiber.

[jaclaz]

@dencorso

JFYI, whenever you read "lightning protection" you can be sure that it won't protect anything from an actual lightning.

@Phaenius

As expected , no way to know whether it is AC or DC, let alone the voltage or frequency if AC.

Field telephones have been used as a method of torture :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_telephone

and their ringer generator provided around 90 V AC at 20 Hz:

http://olive-drab.com/od_electronics_ee8.php

jaclaz

[Phaenius]

Yeah right, my home is in the middle of a WWII battle...

[Phaenius]

JFYI, whenever you read "lightning protection" you can be sure that it won't protect anything from an actual lightning.

Isn't the statement also true for cleaning and protection of electronic contacts ?

[jaclaz]

Isn't the statement also true for cleaning and protection of electronic contacts ?

Not really.

I was talking of physics impossibilities.

You see, a lightning is by definition a burst of voltage ranging in the several hundred thousands/millions volts range.

It actually strikes because of this voltage being far superior to the dielectric properties of air.

Electricity (just like water and most natural forces) tend to have an implicit , built in, Occam's Razor and will flow following the easier path.

When something really high voltage is flowing down a conductor (a cable in this case) you cannot stop it UNLESS the length of the whatever you attempt using for stopping it and it's insulation with respect to the media (air) in which it is immersed has so high dielectric properties as to avoid making an arc outside that *whatever* (or there is an easier way to ground).

Will it stop a marginal surge due to a lightning strike in the vicinity?

Possibly yes.

Will it stop an actual lightining strike?

NO, no chance.

Have you ever seen with your own eyes (not in a picture/video) a CAT 777? (or driven it? )

Do you have an idea of how big, heavy, sturdy, tough it is?

Try stopping the lightning that did this to one of them:

http://www.miningmayhem.com/2012/08/lightning-strike-on-777.html

jaclaz

[Phaenius]

I was referring as both could be dust in the eyes of potential buyers so that various companies to make a buck or two.

[nitroshift]

I'm afraid I will have to step in and put a stop to the off-topic messages.

@Phaenius:

I would STRONGLY recommend you to take the PC to a service.

nitroshift

[Phaenius]

Risking responding off topic, but that would be the worst decision on all accounts. They will only advice me to replace the sound card, physically abuse the unit, look in my data on HDDs, keep the PC for weeks in the service and me not been able to use it. And on top of those inconveniences, I will be charged top bucks. And for what ? I build the PC, I definitely know how to replace the card. They won't do more.

[jaclaz]

I was referring as both could be dust in the eyes of potential buyers so that various companies to make a buck or two.

Yep , and I was referring to the fact that they are two completely different examples.

In the case of anything advertised as "contact cleaner", it WILL clean contacts (BUT there may exist more cheap products/chemicals that can clean contacts AS WELL or even BETTER).

In the case of anything advertised as "lightning protection", it WON'T actually protect from an actual lightning strike (AND there is NO way on earth that you can protect something connected to a cable from a lightning strike on the cable).

I hope you can see the differences.

jaclaz

[Phaenius]

Off topic

Bruce Almighty can deflect lightnings.

On topic

OK, did some testings. Card sounds the same as before and this time tested only from the rear, since the front panel isn't working now. But I suspect to be a power related problem of some kind, because I did the following test:

I generated 2 sine wave forms, from 2 different sources. When low frequencies (who I don't know why, but it seems are eating a lot of power compared to mid and/or high frequencies) are generated, medium and high frequencies are proportionally reduced to the amount of bass I am generating. I left white noise on one source and varied the bass on the other source. The lower the frequencies and the bigger the volume, the higher the reduction on white noise. This is true for single sine wave forms generated above 1 KHz. The total dB from the two outputs seem added on the VU-meter, but low frequencies are there, the mid and high ones are heavily reduced. That explains why on "heavy" music passages, with a lot of instruments, channels and powerful bass, the mids and highs are reduces and thus the "capping". It's annoying because it I have a classical guitar with a dude singing, everything is ok. If bass is outputted on top of that, the guitar and voice is greatly reduced. Some music are like that and I can't do nothing to avoid it. In your opinion, why is this happening ? Is it a power problem ?

[bphlpt]

Don't I remember you saying that the sound card had an extra power connector that you have not connected because you felt sure that the card could pull enough power from the main card-edge connector? Try connecting the extra power connector and see what happens.

Good testing by the way.

Cheers and Regards

[Phaenius]

When I will open the computer again (since the surgeon left a tool inside - in this case forgot to plug the front panel power), I will supply the card with an additional line. This is not required, but since it's there, why not take advantage of it ?