Tascam M216 ground noise

versusliveact

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Tascam M216
Hi There!

I have one Tascam M216 mixer with ground noise problem.
My problem is,when I connect the output on my M216 to my RME UCX soundcard input I have ground noise,even buzz sound when i touch the bare metal,or screw on the mixer.

As I best I know all outputs are unbalanced in this mixer,and have 2 prong power cord.

Ground loop isolator in the audio cable did not helped.

After a research I found some information about "tascam grounding mod",but nothing - how to - instruction.

Anybody have idea to solve this?

Thank You!


Best wishes!

Lac
 
I have not heard of this mod myself but with isolated products this creates this so I would take a ground from the mixer and ground it to the computer chassis and that should take away the ground differential that is there. This is not really all that hard to do. I used to have a string of alligator jumper leads strung together when we had a hum due to a piece as star grounding to the main mixer is required. Once you find the solution a piece of 18 gauge wire to the chassis would normally take care of this.
I had High school radio stations with several studios with all kinds of equipment and they all worked well when connected right. We did not have this so much in the big studio I put together such as at ESPN or other stations I built.
 
Sorry you are having issues. but the question you asked has been answered in hundreds of books and articles. There is no single answer. Grounding and noise issues are very complex in audio systems.

It's a process of elimination. Start out with nothing connected and work from there. If you have the M216 and soundcard connected and nothing else, but still have the noise, then you know the issue is most likely in the power circuit as there isn't anything audio connected yet. The touching bare metal phenomenon would suggest a power issue to me. Try adding a power ground and see what that does. Also, try changing to separate circuits, or even the same circuit. Normally, broadcast and recording studios have a "star ground" system. Sometimes, the ground potential of 2 pieces of interconnected equipment is not the same, and there may be a residual current flowing on the audio wires as a result. Adding a wire between the chassis of each piece of gear can help because it takes the load off the ground/return audio wiring.

Connect piece by piece, observe the results and work forward until everything is connected.

If you get noise when you start plugging cables in, then try different arrangements, such as changing unbalanced to balanced, grounded/ungrounded power, etc..
 
Computer audio cards and their interfaces are typically ungrounded devices and there is often a difference in the ground from the mixer and the computer. This is one of the hazards of computer involvement with analog machines. If a alligator jumper wire from computer chassis to mixer ground doe snot fix the problem then it is more complex. Unbalanced and balanced connector would only really help if the ground of one of them completes the common ground which an alligator lead would do as well. There is a reason the run 4" copper strap around some studios for Radio and that strap is hooked to a 6 foot rod that goes into the ground and is often copper.
 
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