As HK rent is becoming retarded... i recently moved to a bigger apartment soundproofed a room closed my office (just kept the postal address but not the rent bill lol) and moved studio into my house. But my new place is running into the following crazy issues.
1. Only my access virus (61 key with the power supply inside the unit) when put close to my computer usb, is causing a very very scary electrical arc from the usb port to the virus's usb cable. Very visible. Not static.
2. My right speaker humms 50% of the time. If I unplug it my left speaker hums. (tried with different interfaces but all firewire interfaces) using macbook pro btw. 2013 17 inch.
3. Audio cut outs due to CPU spikes that I've nerve seen previously before coming here. (could be unrelated only happened today and maybe due to finder cataloguing)
4. When I was using the bathroom yesterday The light in the bathroom literally exploded. Glass everywhere.
My questions are: (and i just dropped a lot of cash on the deposit so I can't move out) If I bought a very very nice for sure not fake (means order from usa lol) surge protector or some sort of power limiter would that help with the audio issues? Fuck the bathroom light i just mentioned that to show the house has electricity issues. I used the virus frequently before but now i don't ever out of fear for my life due to that lightning bolt. And the speaker hum is so annoying. And also if i don't figure out a way to fix this...am i going to be dealing with a burned up cpu or virus? If theres anyone who is qualified to let me know I would be so happy...I can't find a good electrician here.

 

yes its earthing/grounding issue, better to call an electrician.
You WONT be able to fix this by yourself.

More info here

Code:

http://www.naturesplatform.com/earthing.html

LOL , that has nothing to do with earthing or anything.
Its because of the water drops fallen on the surface of light when it was hot.
Next time please don't dance during your bath..

 

thanks I'm reading this now. The light was in the ceiling. I mentioned that because it didn't die like a normal bulb should. It literally blew up and my fiancé screamed running to me going omg what did u do like its my fault I'm naked and now covered in glass. I was more asking can i get around this with some hardware of some sort? I don't want to rely on an electrician due to this is my experience with them up until this point in this country (china):call a guy to come check where the ohms are not coming through the cable anymore from wires to speakers dangling through the ceilings.... after pulling out his meter (ok looks like he knows what he's doing) he then proceeded to unplug speakers directly from the amps/interfaces while the equipment was all on and touch the male end of the cable directly to the meter and many many many times of this scenario : 2 guys show up to my apartment which depending on what time of my life it was it could have been 12-21floors high and they tie a rope (not a bungie rope. we are talking clint eastwood hang em high old old cheap rope)around their waists then one guy sits on my couch with his new fashionable rope noose belt and watches me play xbox while the other dude climbs out the window to fix my ac unit (in china most of them are outside like a trailer in North America) thinking his rope protection kit is fool proof. No lie... I should upload vids of some shit I've seen to show u guys what china is like.

 

FOR YOUR THOUGHT ONLY, NOT TO TRY:
Many years ago when I had only a few keyboards + drum machine -> mixer -> amplifier.

The simple way avoid I avoided earth hum loops was to only earth one device at it's power plug. I did this by using a multi-plug power board with the earth physicslly cut from all other sockets except for one (I think it was the mixer).

Aditionallly / alternatively one can wire audio cables so the earth/shield wire is only connectrd at one end.
MIDI cables shield wires are only connected at one end (or none) I think.

My guess is that you are using more than one wall power socket (for PC and audio gear)?
And there is probably a potential (voltage) difference between the different power sockets. Maybe one is not wired correctly, or not earthed at all!

You should get an electrician to check things out first.
If anything defective is found - make your Landlord oay the electrician's bill !!

 

Hi deftmonk,

this is far from being a simple hum loop.
If you can see an electrical arc it's really a bad defect. I think of something like grounding connected to current or the liking.
I tend to agree with gompo. Get this fixed by a professional. Maybe your fiance or her family can help you find some electrician with a good reputation?
There is something fundamentally wrong with the wiring/installation in your flat. This is not to be taken lightly! It could seriously damage your hardware, also health.
In my last flat, there was a current on the water coming out of the fountain due to a defective boiler. Funny first shower that was. Plus, a person close to me died of an electrical shock at home.
So this really is serious, it has to get fixed asap and your landlord has to pony up the cash for it.

 

Woah! You have electricity running in you ground? Shit, that's bad. Call an electrician ASAP (or let the landlord, if you have one, do it for you). This shit can be very dangerous.

 

You need this: http://www.furmansound.com/product.php?div=03&id=PL-8CE

or if on a budget: http://www.furmansound.com/product.php?div=03&id=AC-210AE

It's a very good invested money.

But before that you should repair this electrical leakage: "You have electricity running in you ground? Shit, that's bad."

Cheers !

 

be very careful with this
if the light exploded have an electrician check it out
you may have a open or bad connection on the neutral wire going back to the
circuit box causing voltage to float on the neutral wire


Country or Territory Plug type Plug Standard Residential Voltage Frequency
United Kingdom G BS 1363 230 V 50 Hz

look here for wiring colors
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_wiring_in_the_United_Kingdom

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_wiring_in_Hong_Kong

Voltage, Frequency and Plug/Outlet Type in Hong Kong / Xianggang

Electricity information for other places

Electricity in Hong Kong / Xianggang is 220 Volts, alternating at 50 cycles per second. If you travel to Hong Kong / Xianggang with a device that does not accept 220 Volts at 50 Hertz, you will need a voltage converter.

There are three main types of voltage converter. Resistor-network converters will usually be advertised as supporting something like 50-1600 Watts. They are light-weight and support high-wattage electrical appliances like hair dryers and irons. However, they can only be used for short periods of time and are not ideal for digital devices.

Transformers will have a much lower maximum Watt rating, usually 50 or 100. Transformers can often be used continuously and provide better electricity for low wattage appliances like battery chargers, radios, laptop computers, cameras, mp3 players and camcorders. However, they are heavy because they contain large iron rods and lots of copper wire.

Some companies sell combination converters that include both a resistor network and a transformer in the same package. This kind of converter will usually come with a switch that switches between the two modes. If you absolutely need both types of converter, then this is the type to buy.
Hong Kong / Xianggang Plug Adapters and Outlet Shapes
Outlets in Hong Kong / Xianggang generally accept 3 types of plug:
Three round pins arranged in a triangle
Three round pins arranged in a triangle
Two parallel flat pins with ground pin

power or line supplies the power from the generator

Neutral is the return to the generator

Protective earth or ground wire to metal rod in the ground

ground wire is safety if Neutral is damaged sounds like you have a bad Neutral wire

floating Neutral causing voltages to float on your equipment, and these voltages are

finding a path to ground ,,by the ground wires in your equipment

be very careful do not touch the lighting fixtures and the plumbing fixtures at the

same time can go thought you to ground stop your heart

 

Before spending money without knowing what's going on :
you can test polarity and ground of each electrical plug with this simple tool (and not expensive).
http://www.canac.ca/upload/public/ImageCatalogue/1007871788/4110000-v1.jpg
easy to use , not expensive, so if you find problem, then you go to concierge/building owner ... or electrician.

as for the lightbuld, it happens sometime, and may not be related. but it has to be verified of course ...

 

Those testers are a waste of time and will reveal nothing about the issues you are experiencing. Call your landlord or an electrician. The lightbulb explosion could be unrelated and just a freak thing but a loose connection on the neutral somewhere wouldn't cause that to happen. If anything there would be signs of damage at the loose connection itself (burning etc). Just get someone qualified who knows what they're doing and certainly don't attempt anything by yourself.