Electronics & Appliances Electrical grounding

My desktop computer has a hum that I can hear when doing recordings and I am sure that it is bad for my clients on Skype. I know that this is because of the lack of electrical grounding here in the Philippines. Is there any way to eliminate this? Will I have to go to using a laptop?

I am losing much of the feeling in my right hand due to an illness and I can’t use the keyboard of a laptop. Any suggestions?

 

If you can pack up your desktop, you are welcome to test it at my house to verify if that is the problem, I have an electrical ground and a 25 kv transformer. (Disclaimer, I know nothing about electrical problems).

For your right hand problem, I use a touch screen iPad (my touchscreen laptop was stolen). I have a mostly paralyzed right hand.

 

I'm not a computer guy but I thought the ground wire just went to the case of a desktop and maybe bonded to the power supply but was not used by the electronic components; I'm sure a computer guy could verify that. Like Pat said, you can test it at a place that has a correctly grounded system or introduce a ground.

Shawn

 

It might be your microphone or the microphone might be too close to something that is emitting. Are you using a USB mic or 3.5mm?

 

I am using a Logitech headset that is connected to the back of my computer by USB. The computer is connected to a back up battery so that I have time to shut down when there is a black out. You have to watch out for a shock from the computer so it is not grounded. Is there a way to ground the computer?

 

Are you getting a shock from the computer when you touch the case? If so, do you still get a shock when it is plugged into an outlet and not the UPS (assuming you have an UPS when you say back up battery)?

Shawn

 

Sure there are way you could ground the computer but they are going to be somewhat complicated. Both are going to involve driving a ground rod into the ground. One, presuming you are on ground floor and have a concrete floor you could have someone with a hammer-drill drill a hole in the floor and drive a ground rod in and a 3X2 prong adapter with a lug on it for ground can be attached to the ground rod by a wire. That would be the quick and dirty way.

The other way, presuming you have an outdoor breaker box you would drive the ground rod in the ground and pull two (possibly 3 if it's romex) new wires to the receptacle you want grounded, two because you will use one of the existing wires to pull the new wires through. Connect the ground wire to the ground rod. If the receptacle was two prong, you may have to replace it with a 3 prong. Then you will have a grounded receptacle.

If you were in an apartment on the second floor, you could drive a ground rod in the ground outside and drill a hole in a wall and feed a wire down to the ground rod and once again attach the wire to a 3X2 prong adapter with ground lug.

That said, have you tried moving the USB mic connection to a front port? If that doesn't work I would invest in a 3.5mm microphone to see if it works better? I mean the 3.5mm jack was made for a microphone while the USB port wasn't. Just suggestions.

 

is hum still there when using an Invertor?

 

Another way to get a ground is your water supply. If your supply is conductive like cast iron then you can put on a strap ground connection. Your battery backup should be providing isolation from incoming line noise.

 

Water pipe ground (metal) is one of the best possible grounds you can get, that is why I spent so much time telling electricians that will not under any circumstances ground any electrical equipment through my water lines. Because there is no anode to prevent electrolysis damage it will create thousands of pinholes over a couple of decades.