DD7 picking up radio?

TTBZ

So my DD7 was picking up some dodgy radio station at the practice room last night. Never had this at home and it's making me want to take it off my board now unless it can be fixed. Happened when it was both on and bypassed. Definitely the DD7 as it stopped when I took it out of the chain. To be fair i never really use delay for anything important so I might just save it for fannying about with at home, but any ideas?

ecc83

If you can positively prove it is the DD7 that is picking up the RFI then I would contact the manfctrs, there might be some mods . In fact there almost certainly are since in this day and age if you DON'T fit RFI filters in sstate gear you are going to get breakthough. I am surprised it got through the EMI testing regime.

You could try some Maplin clip on ferrite cores on input and output patch leads but you will need new leads since you need to put several turns through the ferrites for them to have an effect.

Must be said however that RFI is often very difficult to eradicate unless the filters are fitted inside the gear.

Dave.

TTBZ

Hmm you say solid state gear. The amp I was using at the practice room was the MG100 they had lying around as I was too lazy to bring my head! I normally use my Laney GH50L but this is the first time I've used the MG and played at this particular practice space.  Could that have been anything to do with it and a more likely culprit? It did stop completely when I went tuner > tubescreamer > amp though. 

As a side note, that marshall MG surprised me, sounded half decent for what it was with a bit of tweaking.

EricTheWeary

Was it your own amp? I've picked up radio signals on rehearsal room Marshalls ( Valvestates do it easily but also more recent Marshall valve amps)with certain pedals but it doesn't repeat with my own amp.

Edit - didn't post this then saw it was a borrowed Marshall so it's probably that.

professorben

Could it be something to do with the buffer? 

ICBM

Check that the jack nuts are tight. This is a fairly common problem with Boss pedals - you can tighten them without needing to take the pedal apart because they're square inside and can't turn, although don't put a daft amount of force on them.

Most modern Marshalls have a 'partial ground lift' arrangement to prevent ground loops when using them with other equipment, but this can also cause interference sometimes, depending on what the source is. You could get around it by having your pedalboard DC ground earthed, although you'd need it switchable so it didn't then cause hum when using it with a normally-grounded amp.

sgosden

Cross out DD7 and write " RS1 - random sample generator"

Sell it on to an experimental noise band 

thermionic

My old AC30 sometimes picked up Radio 4 when I had a Crybaby plugged in. Not that surprising really as a wah's resonant circuit is not dissimilar to a radio's tuner circuit.

Surprised it happened with a digital delay though. You must have been picking up a DAB signal.

ICBM

I once recorded a demo with my Fuzz Factory, which briefly picked up some faraway radio station as I rolled the guitar volume up - that typical radio-tuning noise with the odd bit of speech semi-audible in it. It fitted the song brilliantly, but when we came to record the song properly in the studio and tried to get the same effect it just would not do it... so I ended up borrowing a short-wave radio and manually 'playing' the radio effect - took bloody ages to get right .

TTBZ

Haha this was some weird old disco music.

DesVegas

Like This!

Sassafras

I had an old Coloursound Fuzz/wah that picked up everything but my guitar's signal.

jamiexsilver

Back in 2004 I Played a gig in Mansfield and when the support band was on you could hear as plain as day 'you could be mine' by Guns n Roses coming through the guitarists amp! Then in between songs it sounded like some Russians talking. He was using one of those cheap solid state Marshall heads.

ecc83

I am confused! Was the SOLID STATE DD7 in circuit or not? And I did say "if you can prove....."

Valve amplifiers WILL pickup RFI (anything will if the field strength is high enough) but the usual first stage grid stopper, often 68k in combination with the Miller capacitance of the valve plus stray capacitance usually forms an RF stop, a low pass filter.

If an amp design has no stopper or a very low one, worse a pentode front end, RFI is very likely.

I found mobile phone "twitter" broke into just about everything but at a low enough level that it would not be a problem on stage. Recording would be a pain tho!

Dave.

juansolo

RFI happens and can be fixed. Thankfully where I build pedals is 1/2 a mile from the biggest tv/radio transmitter in the country so if it's going to happen, it very much happens. That way when it does we can fit anti-rfi caps to stop it. Older fx tend to be worst for it.

TTBZ

Yeah with the DD7 in the chain I got radio, with it taken out I got nothing

Cabicular

I have to say, I would be sceptical if it hadn't happened to me with a DD7 at the end of the chain
Radio 2 very clearly ... seemed to be from a parked car in the Cul-de-sac. It went away when he moved on but 'teas he strangest thing

richardhomer

A good job it's not picking up telly - you'd only get the repeats....

EricTheWeary

Alt thought  - if you are removing the DD7 from the chain are you removing the patch lead? Faulty patch leads can act as an ariel. 

Cabicular

I think ICBM is correct here

Adji

When I lived at my mams, if I had the gain high enough and coked the wah just right I would get a German radio station. Sorry I can't help,  just a random anecdote.