I am wondering if I would benefit from putting my 3 dedicated lines on a separate ground near the breaker panel. I was wondering if any noise makes its way back to these receptacles from the ground bar in the breaker box? And if I do install a grounding rod, how long should it be and what gauge should wire should I use to attach it? Thanks for any help in advance.

If your interested in installing a ground rod just for those outlets and running a seperate ground to them your not supposed to do that. Theory wise, having a seperate ground gives you the potential of having a voltage between the original ground and the ground you added. I have been on a job site and have been shocked in this situation.

If you want to add a ground rod or another to your system go for it. The only reason to add another ground rod to a system is to get a certain amount of resistance, code wise. I don't have my code book on me right now because I'm in the middle of a move so I can't give you specific numbers. I would consult an electrician in your area and see what those code requirements are.

120v power noise, grunge etc., is an overworked fantasy of sales people and publications that appeal to the would be astrologer in us. Forget it.

Your AC power must have a common ground at the panel by any code or local requirement of which I've read. How you achieve the ground does vary, but you want only one ground.

Are the lines already run? Perhaps you were or looking to create an 'isolated ground' setup for your equipment.

Are the lines already run? Perhaps you were or looking to create an 'isolated ground' setup for your equipment.
Yes they are already set up in my home theater and one in the attic for the projector. Each one of the receptacles are "hospital grade" with isolated grounds on them. The only reason I really was wondering about this is because a guy from my work, who claims to know everything said that all my major appliances are on the same ground bar. I thought that if isolating the receptacles was beneficial, than this would further isolate them. I really was not sure about all this, which is why I bring the question to AVS. I did want separate lines to my equipment because the RUBY projector has been said to draw a lot of amps, and it was not that hard to run since walls are only sheet rock.

Each one of the receptacles are "hospital grade" with isolated grounds on them.

Well you know they are only isolated from the metal mounting tabs. Unless you are running metal conduit and use metal in wall boxes and, an isolated ground outlet is a mute point because there is nothing to isolate it from.

Well you know they are only isolated from the metal mounting tabs. Unless you are running metal conduit and use metal in wall boxes and, an isolated ground outlet is a mute point because there is nothing to isolate it from.
I know but they are only a few bucks more and the bright orange color identifies them from the gray ones. At least I didn't fall for the 150.00 gold plated PS AUDIO ones. And I took back all my Monster cables back to BB and ordered them from MONO PRICE instead, talk about bargins.

"I am wondering if I would benefit from putting my 3 dedicated lines on a separate ground near the breaker panel"


Don't do it. Not only is it against code it will not solve anything. You are more likely to create a ground loop than isolate anything. The safety ground on your equipment is not intended, nor will it function, as a noise sink.

"I am wondering if I would benefit from putting my 3 dedicated lines on a separate ground near the breaker panel"


Don't do it. Not only is it against code it will not solve anything. You are more likely to create a ground loop than isolate anything....

Amen.

Residential systems need only one grounding rod. Contact the NEC or a licenced electrician to verify this fact. The biggest thing people miss in system design or retro is stabilizing power amps with a 30 or so amp dedicated circuit.

If you are serious about using separate ground to address a hum problem, go with balanced power (http://www.equitech.com/articles/origin.html).

If you are serious about using separate ground to address a hum problem, go with balanced power (http://www.equitech.com/articles/origin.html).

Don't forget to address the many safety issues that can arise when using balanced power.

BTW: That was an informative artical, but I find it hard to belive that balanced power was not invented until the spring of 1988. ;) :p

I used to work in a few recording studios and we had all our analog gear on orange hospital grade isolated plugs. We used seperate ground stakes in each studio. We also ground lifted everything. It was very tricky trying to get 50 pieces of gear not to hum.

If you are serious about using separate ground to address a hum problem, go with balanced power (http://www.equitech.com/articles/origin.html).


I'm working on a home where we installed one of these guys panels for the A/V guys. They got a 200 amp panel from this company. Pretty trick setup.


Don't forget to address the many safety issues that can arise when using balanced power.

BTW: That was an informative artical, but I find it hard to belive that balanced power was not invented until the spring of 1988. ;) :p

Where would one find info on the safety issues?

Installing a Technical Grounding System (http://www.equitech.com/support/techgrnd.html)

For grounding purposes, can you run a wire from an A/V rack into the third prong on your outlet? What about grounding your a/v equipment with this method? My reciever has the AM and grounding jack near each other and since the AM loop has two wires, I wasn't sure whether or not to combine the wires and plug them into the one AM jack or have one wire to the AM jack and the other to the grounding jack.

I'm really confused/lost about the whole grounding situtation and how to go about doing it in a simple manner.

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/2995/groundingdc5.th.jpg (http://img339.imageshack.us/my.php?image=groundingdc5.jpg)

I mean I know for the FM which is a bit obvious but not sure about the whole AM ANT and then the ground being right next to it. Is the ground for the reciever or just the ground for the AM loop?

For grounding purposes, can you run a wire from an A/V rack into the third prong on your outlet? What about grounding your a/v equipment with this method? My reciever has the AM and grounding jack near each other and since the AM loop has two wires, I wasn't sure whether or not to combine the wires and plug them into the one AM jack or have one wire to the AM jack and the other to the grounding jack.

I'm really confused/lost about the whole grounding situtation and how to go about doing it in a simple manner.

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/2995/groundingdc5.th.jpg (http://img339.imageshack.us/my.php?image=groundingdc5.jpg)

I mean I know for the FM which is a bit obvious but not sure about the whole AM ANT and then the ground being right next to it. Is the ground for the reciever or just the ground for the AM loop?

IMO, as a general rule don't install a ground from the receiver to the power system ground unless the device has a 3-prong grounding cord.

The ground you see by antenna connection is for antenna system, not AC power grounding. You'd connect one lead from the AM loop antenna to the ground jack and the other to the AM ANT jack.

had an electrician do mine he ran the dedicated circuits for my ht and made sure all the
grounds terminated at the breaker box to one 8ft ground rod,i have no noise or hums
and after using an amp clamp i am using only one 20amp circuit with a spare for the
future hope this helps. also he added a surge blast for whole house protection.

So how do you ground a reciever with only a two prong outlet? I've got plenty of "hum" on my soundsystem and would like to eliminate it.

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/2995/groundingdc5.th.jpg (http://img339.imageshack.us/my.php?image=groundingdc5.jpg)

Also if you look at the bottom left corner in that picture, you'll see a place to hookup a ground, can you put that ground on the 3 prong of the electrical outlet?

All Safety Grounds need to be bonded at the main service box.

So how do you ground a reciever with only a two prong outlet? I've got plenty of "hum" on my soundsystem and would like to eliminate it.

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/2995/groundingdc5.th.jpg (http://img339.imageshack.us/my.php?image=groundingdc5.jpg)

Also if you look at the bottom left corner in that picture, you'll see a place to hookup a ground, can you put that ground on the 3 prong of the electrical outlet?

That ground terminal is generally to ground a turntable to the receiver.

Generally, a receiver with 2-prong power cord isn't the source of a hum problem because there is no grounding wire to create the ground loop.

What's all in your system? Is it connected to the cable box?

There is a "Hum FAQ" sticky thread in the Audio Forum - Audio Theory, Setup and Chat area. That would be a good place to start to identify and fix your hum problem.

I'm working on a home where we installed one of these guys panels for the A/V guys. They got a 200 amp panel from this company. Pretty trick setup.




Where would one find info on the safety issues?

200AMPS OMG! :eek: That's enough juice to power the Pepsi Center in Denver...:D