"Clean Power" power centers

[snifferlip]

I have a little problem and I am sure hoping that you guys on here can help. I have a Sony Bravia KDL-40V2500 and I have those "hum lines" that scroll from the bottom to the top of the tv over and over. The cable man told me that he did all he could, but that I needed to have my house grounded to the newer codes. I did that, using large copper wire and 2 5/8" grounding rods. Even paid an electrician to do the job for me. But I still have those lines. Will these power centers that claim to clean and condition the power signal help to take those lines away from my tv? How good are they and what should I expect to pay for a decent one? Thanks in advance for any information you can provide.

 

[Rickster71]

Hello snifferlip,
welcome to Audioholics.
One cause is that the source and monitor may not share the same electrical ground – instead, they are plugged into separate electric lines grounded on different circuits, or the cable wire itself is not grounded to the same conductor as the unit’s ground. Sometimes battery-powered images sources (camcorders, laptop computers), which share no common electrical ground with the display, introduce the hum bars. Try using the source device’s A/C adapter instead, plugged into an outlet grounded to the same conductor as the Plasma display's power cord.

Another cause of scrolling hum bars, or hum lines, is signal wires run next to A/C current wires. Take care to separate these two kinds of wires. If they must approach each other, arrange the wires so the signal wire crosses at right angles to the A/C. You may need to contact your installer or qualified electrician to fix this problem.

A third cause of hum bars is a strong motor or other interference-generating, power-hungry device which shares the same electric line as the plasma set or video signal sources.

Good Luck
Rick

 

[Rickster71]

I reread your post and added this:
It sounds like your house didn't have a proper ground system to begin with. With that being the case; the cable guy had nothing to ground to. Now there is something to tie into. Either call him back, or find the grounding block on the cable line; and ground that yourself.

 

[snifferlip]

Thanks Rick

Rick,

Thanks for taking the time to write. I will tell you that I have tried option b, that is keeping the power and signal lines away from one another and that didn't do much. As far as the power hungry motor on the same circuit, could the powered sub that I am using cause that kind of interference? It is plugged into the same existing surge protector as the tv. As far as the cable goes, I am not conviced the cable has much to do with it, as I see the bars on the tv when the cable box is not turned on.

So with all that being said, would those power centers that claim to clean up the power signal and produce a power signal free of interference do anything to resolve this issue?

Thanks again for the advice,

Justin

 

[Rickster71]

Before we deal with the power center issue. Try one other thing that won't cost you anything.
Disconnect the cable box / coax wire from the TV.
Play a DVD; if you still have the lines, the cable box was 'not' the source of the interference.
I would suggest doing this with sub, and each component. One at a time, rule that one out, until the lines go away, and you find the culprit.

 

[fmw]

Also try taking the "surge protector" out of the circuit. Just plug straight into the electrical outlet.

 

[sam's daddy]

Thank you for the information. I know I should have done that in the first place. I am just being lazy I suppose. I will try that when I have a day off. I have tried plugging just the tv into the outlet and get the same problem. But I will remove the sub from the equation to see what happens. I am guessing by the direction your suggestions have taken that you are not a real believer in the power cleaners that are available?