ok so heres the article ive been working on...im posting it here for everyone to read and if you see anything that seems off then let me know.....appreciate the feedback........
Replies (9)
trunkisloud on 10/15/2007 21:38:05
Many of us audio enthusiasts have experienced "the noise" a time or two. You know, the high pitch sound coming through your speakers that gets higher with the acceleration of the engine. This noise is caused by your engines altenator. The altenator produces A.C. current that is changed into D.C. current. Some of the A.C. oscillation bleeds into the D.C. current and causes the whine. It usually comes unexpected and has no warning signs.
This problem can drive a man insane as it is usually difficult to solve and can cause you to buy items you dont need in order to fix it.
Here are some common causes and solutions....
1.Cause: Poor quality rca's being placed near amplifier power wire. This is called noise induction. The weak oscillations in the power wire are picked up by the RCA and then amplified.
Solution: Use higher quality shielded RCAs. they don't cost much more, and not only will they preserve the quality of your music, but they will insulate the signal wires keeping noise out.
Be sure to run your rca cables on the opposite side of the car from the power wire. Try to keep your power wire on the same side of the car as the battery. If you have to cross power wires and RCA wires, try to cross them at a 90 degree angle. Noise is induced when they are running in parallel with one another. The same goes for speaker wires.
2.Cause: Poor grounding of equipment. This is one source of ground loop noise.
Solution:Give all of your audio equipment an independent ground. Do not link grounds between amplifiers as this could cause the unwanted noise. Use the same size wire as your power wire to ground your amplifier. Keep your ground wires as short as possible. 3 feet is the common guideline. Ground to clean bare metal. Make sure to ground your aftermarket headunit to the chassis instead of using the factory harness ground wire. Be sure that your antenna has a good ground as well.
3.Cause: Some aftermarket headunits can lose ground at the rca preouts. This is caused by poor quality internals on the unit
Solution: Most of the time you can create your own ground for the preouts. Run a ground from a bare metal spot close to the head unit. Solder the other end to the ground terminal on the rca cable. (The ground terminal is the outer ring that surrounds the center post) Try to pull back the sleeve on the cable just a tad and connect it there. Protect the connection with electrical tape to prevent it from coming loose or touching anything else.
4. Cause: Immovable electronics or wires near head unit causing interference. Also known as EMI or Electromagnetic Interference.
Solution: Most of the time these wires are factory wires, and can not be rerouted or moved. In this case, a shield is needed around the head unit to insulate it from interference. A simple sheet of tin or aluminum foil can be used in most cases where the radiated noise is not that bad; lead will block more of the noise, and in severe cases Mu-Metal can be used. Caution should be used when installing any type of shielding. Not only will it slice into your fingers, but it will also cut into the wiring.
If you want to upgrade or add to your car's audio setup, know your electrical system. Make sure all of your power and ground cables from your altenator and battery are in good shape. Find out the specs on your vehicles charging system to ensure that it can keep up with the equipment you are using. This includes your battery, altenator, and the size of wire used to connect it all. It is crucial that you use the proper size wire for your install. If your are upgrading piece by piece, then you should upgrade to larger wire that is able to support future additions.
One more thing. Noise filters are helpful in some cases but try to avoid using them if possible. They can filter the unwanted noise but they can also filter out your music. So use them as a last resort.
Using these important guidelines can prevent a lot of headache and wasted money.
Remember, if you cant figure out the cause of the problem, find an experienced installer to take a look at it.
Special thanks to cplkittle for all the help with my first article....hope you guys like it.
swez on 10/15/2007 23:13:56
Good initial draft here. Covered all the main culprits here too.
1. What are the symtoms?
2. Why it's there?
3. How to remediate the symtoms?
Now, can it be condensed w/o losing key info and still lead the "average reader" to remove noise? (Yes, I believe so)
Can you find ways to re-phrase this rough draft into a 4-6 paragraphs w/o losing the message? THINK about that a bit and then post a revision.
Swez
trunkisloud on 10/15/2007 23:26:48
i could try to work on that....just gotta figure out how...not sure how to zip it up tighter.
swez on 10/16/2007 05:02:35
Here's a condensed version of the opening paragraph:
Many audio enthusiasts have experienced "Alternator Noise" a time or two. (That high pitch sound coming through your speakers that gets higher with the acceleration of the engine) This noise is caused by the engine's alternator. The alternator produces A.C. current that is changed into D.C. current. This problem can cause you to buy items you dont need in order to fix it. Here are some options that work.
See the difference? All key parts are there, but cropped a tad is all.
Swez
Victor on 10/16/2007 08:30:33
ou sure have got it in you,, that is a decent first draft.
You need to touch the subject in depth and much more precise technically.
Although we understand what you mean to say but when writing such articles... making statements like """This noise is caused by the engine's alternator."""" is not advisable.
This """NOISE""" is not caused by the ALTERNATOR..
even when audio systems don't exhibit an audible alternator whine the alternator still functions and does its job as usual. It is not a mal functioning alternator doing this...
none can blame a healthy alternator for an Alternator Whine.
It is the external elements we add to the circuit that does this to an already stable electrical system of our car.
lemme just give you an idea on how you can put it in a better manner...
Use bullets and points to be precise instead of a paragraph.
•Alternator - A device that is turned by a motor to produce AC voltage, which is then rectified (turned into DC) and used to supply voltage to the vehicle's electrical system.
• Alternator Whine - A siren-like whining that appears when the RPM’s of an engine increase. The noise is usually the result of a voltage differential created by more than one ground path or a poor ground path. This can also be caused due to EMI ( Electro Magnetic Induction )
Let us have an in depth look at these causes and also find easy and cost effective solutions to eliminate the irritating Alternator Whine.
1 - _________________________________
Solution- ______________________________
2 - _________________________________
Solution...
and so on..
along with the causes and solution It would be good if you can write something on how to track down the source of trouble.. in a step by step method...
hope this helps...
Victor...
cplkittle on 10/17/2007 02:38:54
one wants it shorter and one wants it longer lol.
we have some work to do trunk...
I have an idea on reformatting it, I'll email you my suggestions trunk.
As for everyone else.. standby.. this one is going to blow you out of the water.
swez on 10/17/2007 04:05:08
That's what I meant by too many cooks in the kitchen. For now, I'll stand by and observe.
Swez
SQLThump on 10/17/2007 04:49:18
Will it blow me out of the water if I get outta my boat ahead of time??
Looks good Trunk, looking foward to reading the finished article.
Victor on 10/17/2007 05:07:15
GRIN....
this thing is like cooking.. we know all that goes into this particular dish..
if u just wanna cook and eat just putting it all in the pan is ok...
but when ure cookin in a cooking show.. u need to go precise with all ingredients go step by step and indepth. so that the audience can go home and successfully make the dish as good as u ...
Victor...
Replies (9)
trunkisloud on 10/15/2007 21:38:05
Many of us audio enthusiasts have experienced "the noise" a time or two. You know, the high pitch sound coming through your speakers that gets higher with the acceleration of the engine. This noise is caused by your engines altenator. The altenator produces A.C. current that is changed into D.C. current. Some of the A.C. oscillation bleeds into the D.C. current and causes the whine. It usually comes unexpected and has no warning signs.
This problem can drive a man insane as it is usually difficult to solve and can cause you to buy items you dont need in order to fix it.
Here are some common causes and solutions....
1.Cause: Poor quality rca's being placed near amplifier power wire. This is called noise induction. The weak oscillations in the power wire are picked up by the RCA and then amplified.
Solution: Use higher quality shielded RCAs. they don't cost much more, and not only will they preserve the quality of your music, but they will insulate the signal wires keeping noise out.
Be sure to run your rca cables on the opposite side of the car from the power wire. Try to keep your power wire on the same side of the car as the battery. If you have to cross power wires and RCA wires, try to cross them at a 90 degree angle. Noise is induced when they are running in parallel with one another. The same goes for speaker wires.
2.Cause: Poor grounding of equipment. This is one source of ground loop noise.
Solution:Give all of your audio equipment an independent ground. Do not link grounds between amplifiers as this could cause the unwanted noise. Use the same size wire as your power wire to ground your amplifier. Keep your ground wires as short as possible. 3 feet is the common guideline. Ground to clean bare metal. Make sure to ground your aftermarket headunit to the chassis instead of using the factory harness ground wire. Be sure that your antenna has a good ground as well.
3.Cause: Some aftermarket headunits can lose ground at the rca preouts. This is caused by poor quality internals on the unit
Solution: Most of the time you can create your own ground for the preouts. Run a ground from a bare metal spot close to the head unit. Solder the other end to the ground terminal on the rca cable. (The ground terminal is the outer ring that surrounds the center post) Try to pull back the sleeve on the cable just a tad and connect it there. Protect the connection with electrical tape to prevent it from coming loose or touching anything else.
4. Cause: Immovable electronics or wires near head unit causing interference. Also known as EMI or Electromagnetic Interference.
Solution: Most of the time these wires are factory wires, and can not be rerouted or moved. In this case, a shield is needed around the head unit to insulate it from interference. A simple sheet of tin or aluminum foil can be used in most cases where the radiated noise is not that bad; lead will block more of the noise, and in severe cases Mu-Metal can be used. Caution should be used when installing any type of shielding. Not only will it slice into your fingers, but it will also cut into the wiring.
If you want to upgrade or add to your car's audio setup, know your electrical system. Make sure all of your power and ground cables from your altenator and battery are in good shape. Find out the specs on your vehicles charging system to ensure that it can keep up with the equipment you are using. This includes your battery, altenator, and the size of wire used to connect it all. It is crucial that you use the proper size wire for your install. If your are upgrading piece by piece, then you should upgrade to larger wire that is able to support future additions.
One more thing. Noise filters are helpful in some cases but try to avoid using them if possible. They can filter the unwanted noise but they can also filter out your music. So use them as a last resort.
Using these important guidelines can prevent a lot of headache and wasted money.
Remember, if you cant figure out the cause of the problem, find an experienced installer to take a look at it.
Special thanks to cplkittle for all the help with my first article....hope you guys like it.
swez on 10/15/2007 23:13:56
Good initial draft here. Covered all the main culprits here too.
1. What are the symtoms?
2. Why it's there?
3. How to remediate the symtoms?
Now, can it be condensed w/o losing key info and still lead the "average reader" to remove noise? (Yes, I believe so)
Can you find ways to re-phrase this rough draft into a 4-6 paragraphs w/o losing the message? THINK about that a bit and then post a revision.
Swez
trunkisloud on 10/15/2007 23:26:48
i could try to work on that....just gotta figure out how...not sure how to zip it up tighter.
swez on 10/16/2007 05:02:35
Here's a condensed version of the opening paragraph:
Many audio enthusiasts have experienced "Alternator Noise" a time or two. (That high pitch sound coming through your speakers that gets higher with the acceleration of the engine) This noise is caused by the engine's alternator. The alternator produces A.C. current that is changed into D.C. current. This problem can cause you to buy items you dont need in order to fix it. Here are some options that work.
See the difference? All key parts are there, but cropped a tad is all.
Swez
Victor on 10/16/2007 08:30:33
ou sure have got it in you,, that is a decent first draft.
You need to touch the subject in depth and much more precise technically.
Although we understand what you mean to say but when writing such articles... making statements like """This noise is caused by the engine's alternator."""" is not advisable.
This """NOISE""" is not caused by the ALTERNATOR..
even when audio systems don't exhibit an audible alternator whine the alternator still functions and does its job as usual. It is not a mal functioning alternator doing this...
none can blame a healthy alternator for an Alternator Whine.
It is the external elements we add to the circuit that does this to an already stable electrical system of our car.
lemme just give you an idea on how you can put it in a better manner...
Use bullets and points to be precise instead of a paragraph.
•Alternator - A device that is turned by a motor to produce AC voltage, which is then rectified (turned into DC) and used to supply voltage to the vehicle's electrical system.
• Alternator Whine - A siren-like whining that appears when the RPM’s of an engine increase. The noise is usually the result of a voltage differential created by more than one ground path or a poor ground path. This can also be caused due to EMI ( Electro Magnetic Induction )
Let us have an in depth look at these causes and also find easy and cost effective solutions to eliminate the irritating Alternator Whine.
1 - _________________________________
Solution- ______________________________
2 - _________________________________
Solution...
and so on..
along with the causes and solution It would be good if you can write something on how to track down the source of trouble.. in a step by step method...
hope this helps...
Victor...
cplkittle on 10/17/2007 02:38:54
one wants it shorter and one wants it longer lol.
we have some work to do trunk...
I have an idea on reformatting it, I'll email you my suggestions trunk.
As for everyone else.. standby.. this one is going to blow you out of the water.
swez on 10/17/2007 04:05:08
That's what I meant by too many cooks in the kitchen. For now, I'll stand by and observe.
Swez
SQLThump on 10/17/2007 04:49:18
Will it blow me out of the water if I get outta my boat ahead of time??
Looks good Trunk, looking foward to reading the finished article.
Victor on 10/17/2007 05:07:15
GRIN....
this thing is like cooking.. we know all that goes into this particular dish..
if u just wanna cook and eat just putting it all in the pan is ok...
but when ure cookin in a cooking show.. u need to go precise with all ingredients go step by step and indepth. so that the audience can go home and successfully make the dish as good as u ...
Victor...
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