Sound from speakers

Hello Larry
Now that i have my pc sound working again.
I do have a bug that i can't find the surce for.
When my speakers are sitting idle, i can hear our local radio station playing through
How do i get rid of it.

1. Radio Station on PC Speakers
lbyard Jan-31-02 10:31 PM
In response to message 0

Believe it or not, that is an old problem and I have not seen it in quite some time. Something(s) in (or near) your system and speaker wires, etc. is probably acting like a radio antenna and receiver—yes, indeed, that is possible. It is most likely an AM station. To more or less prove it, move the speaker (and other) wires around and see if the reception varies. OK… if it is acting like a receiver, my guess(!) is that you have the thing wired into a pretty powerful amplifier and the wires have a splice somewhere where the wires are joined by twisting them together. Or you house wiring is quite old and not properly grounded. I said it was a guess(!). How good a guess was it? It could be picking something up from the phone lines or other long stretches of wire… TV capture card... Larry

2. RE: Radio Station on PC Speakers
rawleigh Feb-01-02 07:09 PM
In response to message 1

Hi Larry
You hit the nail on the head It does pick up am stations and your right the wiring in this house is more than 75 years old. ( Not much i can do there) and your right again , The speakers were spliced into a long (25ft) speaker wire.
Guess i going to have to just put up with it until my wife and i move out into our new home. Sometime in the next couple of years.
Unless of course you have another suggestion
Thanks Larry
Regards,
Chris Corkum

3. RE: Radio Station on PC Speakers
lbyard Feb-01-02 07:59 PM
In response to message 2

If you have a soldering iron and know how to use it, solder the wire at the splice. I would use shrink-wrap to insulate it. You can get it at radio shack, etc. Shielded speaker wires may fix it. Or, rerouting them may help. Larry

4. RE: Radio Station on PC Speakers
diletante Feb-19-02 01:22 PM
In response to message 2

Chris,
PC speaker systems are definitely susceptable to RF interference, and house wiring can act as an antenna and bring RF into the system. I operate a Ham Radio station right next to a couple of my PCs and have had to RF-proof both systems. The first thing to do is to get some of the RF choke cores that Radio Shack sells. These are rectangular and are sold in packages of 2, I think. They have a plastic jacket that can be openned to make them easier to use. The package has instructions on using them, but the idea is simple. Each of the wires in your speaker system should be wound around at least 1 core. They are stackable. If you think that the RF is coming in on the power wire, be sure to use a couple on the wire from the wall wart to the subwoofer (assuming you have that kind of system). If the wire is stretched out, it is sometimes more effective to puts cores in more than 1 place on the wire. If you only want to put the core in one place, put it right at the back of the subwoofer, which will also contain the amplifier. Don't neglect the speker leads, especially if they are long. Any excess lead should be coiled tightly. Good luck.
Rob

5. RE: Sound from speakers
rabnud Feb-22-02 09:36 AM
In response to message 0

If speakers are amplified speakers, can you eliminate the amplifier, and try regular speakers? Can you shorten the length of the wire, some how?