Conference napalm::commusic_v1

    
    	Dave, being a hardware type, I know you can get that very same
    AC "power controller" *right from* your very own company! The features
    "we" have are :
    
    	1. Rack mountable
    	2. AC surge and EMI filter
    	3. Remote power activation
    	4. Switched and unswitched outlets
    	5. "Main" circuit breaker
    	6. Available in 120vac/60hz or 240vac/50hz models!
    
    	...Check out the HXXX series in your DECdirect catalogue.
    
    	Joe Jas
    

    Look on the backs of all your equipment for the power rating in
    Watts, with a "W" after it.  Add them up.  Divided by a hundred.
    That's roughly the amps you could draw at maximum.
    Compare that to the load rating of one of your house circuits,
    often about 15A.  It is enough?  If not, turn everything off.
    Some houses split a room with different circuits, so you could
    power some equipment off one circuit and other equipment off the
    other circuit.  However, each circuit may go elsewhere in the
    house, such as the microwave and oven and heater fan and washing
    machine (I hope not 8-)  ).  Your synthesis equipment probably
    doesn't take much though.  Tape recorders and amplifiers will
    take the most.  Try not to use extension cords at all.
    	Don't plug socket strips into other socket strips in a
    pyrimid.  Plug them into the wall.  Dont' plug multiple-output
    	extension cords into socket strips or other extension cords.
    plug them into the wall.
    
    Try to avoid little octopi,i.e., little multiple output power
    disttibutors (the ones about 2 inch square on a side) in permanent
    setups.  I encourage you rather to use good quality multiple-outlet
    strips mounted somewhere, and dress the cables so that you 
    can't trip on them (radiating from the outlet to equipment, or
    overhead safely, if the code permits.)  

    Have a fire extinguisher handy.  Really.  Check that your neutral
    is really neutral with a line checker from the hardware store or
    RS.  If it isn't, get the rework appraised by an electrician.
    Make sure you have a good non-power-line ground.  
    Never snip off the ground bus bar on 3-terminal power plugs.
    Never use three-terminal convertors without screwing on the ground
    wire onto the screw on the outlet, and check that the screw is
    grounded.
    Arrange your equipment for safety.
    
    I am not a qualified advisor on power distribution.  When in
    doubt, get an electrician.  I test chips, for pete's sake.
    Don't listen to me.
    Tom

    Until all manufacturers get their collective acts together and decide
    whether audio gear SHALL or SHALL NOT connect chassis ground and
    signal ground (and line ground), we shall be plagued with ground-loop
    problems (except for those things that run on batteries!). <Include
    those locations where various "grounded" sockets float with neutral
    in the above...>
    	
    Using a 3-to-2 adapter with the ground line intentionally insulated
    will often cure a ground loop problem.  For safety, put the (thus
    ungrounded) equipment on a portable GFI box.  ($22 at Channel
    Hardware).  Running EVERYTHING from one outlet also helps groundloop
    considerably (so pyramiding, as long as you don't draw too much
    current, is good).        
    
    Setup looks like:
    
    KBD1-----\                     
    KBD2------\                     
    BOARD------6-way powerstrip--->3-to-2_with_no_ground--->PortaGFI--->Wall 
    DRUM------/
    REV------/
    
    Given the choice of [risking a shock that the GFI won't barf on]
    over [blowing entire sound system from a groundloop problem], I'll
    take the GFI risk.  Sure, electrocution can kill, but so can 
    triple-infuriated nightclub managers! (many of whom pack at LEAST
    a .38 cal :-)  ) 

    I wasn't actually terribly concerned about fire hazards (it wasn't
    in my list of problems).  It was a weak attempt at concocting a 
    humorous illusion of your typical Commusic noters basement studio 
    with glowing cords running everywhere and ganging up in hideous
    tangles and octopi to attack every defenseless outlet.  ;-)
    
    My band used to rehearse where my stuff is, and even with tons of 
    electrical stuff and the lights never even dimmed.  Of course we
    usually saved the lights and lasers for gigs.
    
    However, I do worry about things like neatness, ground loops,
    ease of use, surge/noise protection, etc.
    
    I'm also frantically searching through my office for an issue of
    DECdirect to check out those DEC power supplies.  The idea of having
    a piece of Digital-made equipment in my rack is somewhat
    intriguing.  

    	db

    
    re: fire extinguishers
    
       get a Halon extinguisher if you like your stuff. Don't use dry
    chemicals on your beloved equipment. If you perchance start a fire
    with your stuff, you don't want to ruin it *all*. 
    
    re: DEC hardware
    
       the power supplies are generally in the +/- 12V @150A variety,
    and +5 at up to 300A. All switchers. Not necessarily what you need.
    You really need a power distribution system or power sequencer.
    
       besides, DEC power supplies are *expensive* even to employees.
    
    /pjh_who_works_where_they_build_em

    Ground isolation may be a danger in basements that tend to flood
    or are exessively damp.  
	DEC also has isolators and filters, probably pretty expensive.
    At a cable TV station, I had to plug into the same power circuit
    as the studio mixing console to stop a hum.
    Tom

    DEC makes (made?  don't have a current price list) a power
    filter/distribution rackmount.  861 power controller.
    

    
    The 861 is a nice unit, a friend has one in his recording studio.
    They have small ones and large ones, the biggest I think is 15A.
    It's three rack spaces, not exactly small. I think it would be overkill
    in an effects rack.
    
    The Furman PL-x units are nice, but not cheap, like $120-140 something
    like that. $240 sounds a bit outrageous for something so simple.
    
    I use a Rat Shack isolated, filtered, surge-protected power strip,
    I mount it in the top effects rack. I daisy chain that to a standard
    power strip mounted in the other rack. The amps plug directly into
    the junction box.
    
    I think you'll have more success troubleshooting the ground loops
    in your interconnects, that's where a lot of noise and hum problems
    manifest themselves. 
    
    Some places just have dirty power. You can see it on the analyzer
    by just plugging it into the wall. I haven't been able to figure
    out how to deal with that problem, short of lugging around a 50
    lb. isolation transformer. With over 200 lbs. of amps alone I'm
    really up on that idea 8^).
    
    CdH
    

    The DEC power controllers are nice, we make them up here at ASO.
    They have a real nice surge/emi filter built into them that can handle
    up to 30 amps. 
    
    In my new home (I may be dreaming but I've made the offer) I'll
    be converting a large section of the basement into studio space.
    I intend to wire it on a seperate 30 amp feed off the main breaker
    box. All the power will feed directly to a line filter 30amp type
    (we scrapped some beacuse of bad attachment hardware....I got them
    for free!). So far I haven't had ground loop problems with my effects
    that I'm currently using...but once a long while ago....did I have
    problems...
    
    dbII

    
    I have a few suggestions for you. I recently purchased a rack mount
    power strip. I looked through Newark Electronic & Gerber Electronics
    catalogues and found listings for "Waber" rack mount power strips.
    I called around to various stores and found one (Couglin Elec,
    Worcester) that was willing to order one for me. It has 6 outlets
    mounted facing the inside of the rack, the on/off switch is mounted
    on the front of the unit. It takes one rack space, and is packaged
    in an attractive black steel box. They have other versions including
    some with all 6 outlets facing the front, and one with 2 facing
    the front, 4 facing the back, etc. They do not have any kind of
    noise protection, just a circuit breaker for surge protection.
    It was rather expensive ($45.oo) considering you can buy a regular
    6 way power strip for about $20.oo, and took about 4 weeks to 
    recieve from the manufacturer, but I am happy with it. It looks
    great in the rack, keeps everything neat and organised inside the
    rack, and saves you from having to plug everything in and turn it
    all on separately. I throw one switch and everything in the rack
    turns on or off instantly.
    
    	If you really need all the noise and surge protection, they
    make some really high tech units for stage lighting systems that
    might interest you, but they are big bucks, and are big and heavy.
    Lets face it, the only way to eliminate line noise is with isolation
    transformers which weigh a ton just by themselves.
                              
    Good Luck. If you have problems finding what you are looking for
    give a call.
    
    Mark Jacques
    

    toooo expensive and takes up space.
    
    I use a 6-outlet strip. buy at Zayers or Kmart when on
    sale with a rebate....as low as $5 or so....

    Mount in the back of the rack on one side vertically,
    inside the cab. plug in all units. One wire to plug
    into outside power. On off switch in back. 
    
    No muss no fuss no expense....
    
    

    This is just to confirm a point made elsewhere in the conference:
    
    Is it REALLY O.K. to leave all units switched on, and use a master
    on/off mains switch? (Assuming the master switch has no special
    anti-spike, anti-surge citcuits). 
    
    Only I saw Dr. Frankenstein do this in a film once, and look what 
    happened to him.
    
    Richard. (Whose knowledge of hardware could be inscribed on the
    back of a postage stamp).

    
    
    As long as your amp(s) are switched seperately. You can switch all
    your other electronics on one buss, the power on another (if it
    can take the heat). Big amps should be switched via their own power
    switch.
    
    Amps ON LAST, OFF FIRST. Big amps with big power supplies need at
    least a minute or two to discharge so wait before you switch off
    the effects rack.
    
    CdH
    
    

    If you have a digital electric clock on the line, such as embedded
    in
    a uwave oven or a vcr, then when you power down, it will lose the
    time.  Also, read all your instruction manuals in part about turning
    on the power switch; it is there that it will say whether you may
    turn off the power by unplugging it or with a wall switch.
    I have master switches.
    
    This is an interesting thing to think about.  I think a DEC standard
    requires our AC powwered equipment to have a power swwitch that
    opens BOTH the neutral and hot lines when off, and close both when
    on.  If there is an outlet strip that only open one side, and it's
    the wrong side because your house is wired wrong or the strip is,
    then a hot lead is going into your equipment; if your equipment
    only opens one side of the power line, and it's the wrong side,
    the hot line goes all the way into the equipment.  So don't open
    the equipment lid and poke your fingers in there with it plugge
    d in, even if the unit and the outlet strip are both off. Hm.
    Tom

    I power down from master strip (actually a couple).
    
    Note that the power amp off first is a great idea
    TO SAVE YOUR SPEAKERS.

    Has nothing (really ) to do with the electronic/power
    issue....if ya know what I mean...agree?
    

    I know that if I simutaneously kill 5 synths, the drums, the sequencer
    and the reverbs at once, I get the most delightful little *pop*
    outta both speakers if the board is up.
    
    If I wanted this sound, I'd sample it.
        
    Edd

    
    Re: wockin'
    
    Agreed. I don't run any amps through power strips, mine are garden
    variety 15 amp jobbies. I don't trust them for big power amps.
    
    paranoid chris
    

    
    I just got junk mail from a computer supply company offering a 5-outlet
    mains distributor with anti-surge and noise/interference suppression. 
    But it also includes a neat facility whereby when you switch on the
    gear plugged into socket 1, it also switches on the other outlets in
    a non-surge fashion.
    
    Seemed to me this answered many needs. Costs 120 pounds, though.
    
    Richard.

	I've been wondering for quite a while now - what *really* is necessary
	for protecting my gear from noise, surges, younameit?  And how much
	equipment should I be running off of one cord to the wall (regardless
	of whether or not I'm at home or away somewhere else)?  I expect
	to be getting a 20 space rack within the next year and will probably
	have the need for 10 outlets or so over the next couple years.  How
	harmful is it to chain two 6-outlet strips together with only one
	cord going to the wall?  Can I have a decent-sized amp hooked up to
	one of these strips?  Can I power everything but the amp up all at 
	once?

	I've read all of the previous notes, but it's been two years
	since some of them were entered.  Any other recommendations now?
	Namely: experiences with specific protection strips/multiple outlet
	thingies.

	Thanx,
	Dan

    I have one power strip chain that is 4 units long.  Not all 24 sockets
    are used - it allows more convenient routing of line cords, but even if
    they were, the units plugged in typically draw 15 to 30 watts, so the
    *total* draw for the chain would be less than 720 watts, and is
    actually more like 350 watts, i.e, less than what you'd have by
    plugging two 250 watt lamps into the same circuit.
    
    I've sat down and summed the power requirements of *everything* in
    my studio, and, power amps included (500 audio watts worth), the total
    power consumption is about 1600 watts, i.e., about the same as an
    electric iron.  This represents about 12.5 amps, and I've spread it
    over three 15 amp circuits.
    
    I turn everything on in three or four steps.  I suspect I could turn
    everything on at the same time, but using three fused circuits makes
    that impossible.
    
    len.
    
     
    

    RE: .20
    
    I wonder if this would eliminate my ground loop problem (hum) that
    I just asked about in 1066.183?
    
    Also - chaining together like this - would this mean that you only
    need one surge suppressor? It would seem that way - not that it
    would make much difference as far as the cost of a power strip
    that's not a surge suppressor vs. one that is.
    
    Bill

	re: .20,

	Len, I followed you up to this part: 
	
	>This represents about 12.5 amps, and I've spread it over three 
	>15 amp circuits.
  
	I don't know much about being an electrician.  What does this mean?
	How does one 'spread' over three 15 amp circuits?  Please pardon my 
	ignorance. &*}


	re: .21,

	Good point.  Does this eliminate any possible ground loop problems, 
	Len?  Need I only buy one super-surge-and-filter strip if I chain?

	Thanks,
	Dan

    Are *any* of these surge supressor devices really worth it???
    
    I seem to remember reading in Consumer Reports a while back that
    although they provide some protection, it is too minimal to make a
    difference. It seems the response time of the surge supression is
    critical. EMI filtering is a separate issue as well.
    
    Does anyone here know how to check/test the effectivness of these
    things??? (or are we all just buying a high-tech version of snake oil?)
    
    A few responses here seemed to indicate that certain types of problems
    *did* go away when some kind of power protection or conditioning was
    used...
    
    	Mark
    

    re .22 - don't know about ground loop problems - this hasn't caused
    (or cured) any hum problems.
    
    If you look at your fuse or circuit breaker panel, you should have a
    whole bunch of 15 amp breakers that control different sets of outlets.
    Each breaker controls a 15 amp circuit (or whatever the breaker's trip
    current is - it will say on the breaker).  When I moved into my
    apartment, I mapped the outlets onto circuit breakers (it's easy -
    you just carry around a small lamp, plug it into each socket, turn it
    on, then go see which circuit breaker turns it off).  Then when I
    set up my studio, I made sure each power strip chain originated at an
    outlet controlled by a different circuit breaker.  Most homes these
    days are provided with at least 30 (older homes) and typically 60 amp
    service, which is then broken down into multiple 15 amp circuits. 
    There will often be more circuits than 60/15 = 4, because it's highly
    unlikely that all circuits will be drawing maximum current at the same
    time. 
    
    Obviously, "downstream" power strips will be protected by whatever
    surge and filtering protection the first strip in the chain provides.
    My understanding is that most of these "garden variety" power strips
    don't really do a whole lot in this regard.  I've never had any power
    problems, but when I'm paranoid about a major electrical storm I just
    pull the heads of the chains from the wall.
    
    len.
    

But Len, didn't you say that you have *all* (4) of your strips chained together?
Doesn't this mean that they all go to *one* outlet?  Hence, no separating
between breakers (this is what I meant in .22?)

Confused,
Dan

    I have 7 power strips.
    
    4 are on one chain.
    
    2 form another chain.
    
    1 is by itself.
    
    len.
    

    Surge supression and EMI filtering are two different things. I use a
    power filter (you can get a 5 amp filter at Rat shack for a few $$) to
    eliminate (or reduce EMI) in both studio and live applications, it
    isn't perfect but it helps. The Rat shack 5 amp filters will fit inside
    a 4 outlet box (those metal ones you get at the hardware store) if
    you're clever with the wiring. Surge suppression requires the use of a
    different device (I want to say variac but I know that's wrong, voltac
    perhaps? any engineers out there?) that looks like an oversized
    capacitor, it essentially becomes a short to ground if the voltage
    rises above a certain level, the main problem being 1. it can burn up
    if the surge is too strong and then is either a permanent short or does
    nothing, and worse yet you may not know it is fried or 2. the trigger
    voltage is too high and it never fires or 3. it rresponds too slowly
    and your gear gets the high voltage quick step before it fires, saving
    the $0.50 fuse....
    
    My personal feeling is that something is better than nothing, I'm using
    them all the time. Has it ever saved me? I don't know, and chances are
    you won't either if you use them.
    
    Our esteemed employer uses both in the power controllers that we sell
    customers (we make some of 'em here at ASO).
    
    If you decide to use them the filter goes in line prior to the outlets,
    the surge supressors go at the outlet accross the hot to neutral. DEC's
    design also uses a capacitor in parallel with the supressor for
    additional filtering (I assume).
    
    dbii

    
    The word you are looking for is *varistor*.  This is what you find in
    most of the cheap "supressor" outlet strips that sell for about $15. 
    You are right about their triggering limitations and the inability to
    tell when they are blown (this cost an earlier employer of mine much
    grief at one customer's site where they kept frying the varistors, and
    then would fry the rest of the box on the next surge).
    
    Has anyone sprung for one of those power conditioners like the Furman
    PL-8, that you see in racks all the time?  You could hook up extra
    strips from its outlets to get all the juice you need (within its
    current capabilities).  Not cheap though (about $100).
    
    								Brian

    I used one of those little Rat Shack cube surge suppressors that
    indeed do have a varistor in them. They respond to a very sharp
    high voltage spike and effectively become a short circuit to the
    spike preventing it from reaching your system (hopefully).
    
    The one I bought has an LED inside that tells you the varistor is
    still good, well, late last year during a thunder storm, the LED
    went out. Did it save my gear? I'll never know but I went out and
    bought another just in case!!
    
    Ken
    

re: Len,

	Ah!  I see, now.  Thanks for clearing the air.

re: Ken,

	FWIW, I've gotten into the habit of unplugging my gear from the walls
during the summer months when I'm not using it.


Dan (who_can_only_dream_of_having_the_need_of_seven_power_strips :^)

	I live in Colorado Springs.  The power out here stinks.
I have lots of problems with power zapping my synths (both
brown outs and spikes).  My ENSONIQ gear seems to be more
susceptible to power fluctuations than any of my other gear.
The end result of this is bizarre crashes, and corruption
of sequencer data. 

	I have been hunting around for something that
filters noise, gives continous voltage during brown outs,
and protects against spikes.  I have found the following:


JUICE GOOSE - Whitenton Industries  
There are various models.  I borrowed the 5AMP model.
I gives all of the protection mentioned above.
It is based on a ferro-resonant transformer.
I have used this successfull at home and in bars,
and heave never had a crash while using it.
Price $500.00 !!!!

TRIPP LITE LS-600B - Trippe Manufacturing
I have not yet used this.  It offers 5AMP with
all of the protection mentioned above. It is based
on tap-switching(step)  transformer.
Price $129.00

EMERSON UPS
1.6 amp (I think) of protection with 10 minut batery
backup.  They do not list the technology used to 
in their brochure.  No local dealers available.
Price $199.00

FURMAN:
I no they have a unit that does this, but I don't know the
details.

There are reviews on AC line-conditioning units in June 89
KEYBOARD mag.  The review indicates that tap-swithing
does not work as well, and that there are some audible
pops when the tripp-lite steps from one voltage to another.


I am wondering if any of you out there have any of these units?
If so:
Do you find tap swithing sufficient, and quiet enough to use live?

Just a personal note, I find it difficult to dish out $500.00 bucks
for a power supply, when I could use that money to buy
some other piece of MIDI rubble that makes noise.  I would
however pay $129 to keep my synth from crashing in a live situation.