SMPS and grounding

[Energy]

Decided to ground my MeanWell GST25A07-P1J that came with the UpTone Audio LPS-1.

 

It has a floating ground unlike with the MeanWell GST40A07-P1J (which should be easier to solder for most folks). I went with using a Canare Star Quad 4S6 cable and cut out the jacket to utilize the internal wires. Two wires combined equals a total effective gauge of 17 gauge and should serve as a good route for the high frequency common-mode noise to exit.

 

 

Added with this NEMA 5-15P to 2 C13s Splitter Power Cord saves space by narrowing both SMPS's to a single plug.

 

 

http://www.signalandpower.com/Splitter-Power-Cords/P-12Y1212-012B-14-5-15P-to-C13s-splitter-15A/

[Energy]

1 hour ago, beautiful music said:

AFAIK i haven't a ground in my home so when i touch any devices in my chain i feel the tingling which is due to earth leakage currents.

 

And here it is my AC Mains (220V) which i use it to feed my devices in the chain:

 

And i'm using this power strip 

 

My Chain contains the following devices;

 

Laptop > tXUSBUltra+LPS-1 > DAC\AMP > Headphone

 

Any advice and thoughts

 

I would recommend saving up and getting your house/listening room grounded. Have a thick ROMEX line from the room going out to the circuit breaker and have some poles planted to the earth in various locations of your home to remove excess currents. I'm not sure about 220V/230V but you can see if hospital grade receptacles are available for you as well as ditching the conventional design power strips and going with a thicker power distributor since a lot of your gear is running one one line.

 

Like the pictures I posted, I would also recommend grounding your LPS-1's SMPS unit even if you currently have no ground/no earth/float. If you are not good at soldering, I believe this one is grounded natively https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/CUI/SDI30-12-UC-P5/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMs1jjUfAXmXyqv86XjbjzLxpWuwymXjUM1WvLoTXq3UsA%3D%3D . I'm not sure how much noise it will if your home is not grounded but worth a shot. 

[Energy]

The wire is soldered to the floating ground on one end while the other end is soldered to the blob of solder on the under side of the PCB. That blob is where the negative output is connected to. By soldering it on there you are shunting the negative output directly to the ground. I used a multi-meter set to continuity mode to find out which solder point the negative output was. If you own a MeanWell GST40A07-P1J then it should look like this instead.

 

 

The ABS plastic case is very easy to open. Underneath it there should be two circular silicone pieces that is flush against the plastic. You will want to pry it out with a small flat-head screwdriver followed by removing the Phillips head screws beneath them. Make sure you push tightly when screwing and unscrewing otherwise you'll end up stripping the screw heads. Pulling off the plastic cap after that should be a cinch. Just make sure to remove the metal clip on the inside corner of the unit before taking out the PCB. The metal clip is used to strap a gray rubber cover that goes over a rectifier/regulator against the case so that the board doesn't move. The rest should be self explanatory. 

 

5 minutes ago, R1200CL said:

 

The best earth you can get i to hammer a copper stick into the soil

 

Cheap, and works great. But maybe not easy to utilize everywhere.

 

 

 

Is that really possible? I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to earthing. At first I thought it needed to be galvanized rods with zinc plating to help with weather proofing or longevity concerns but it seems that even a simple copper rod would do it after searching on google. I think the water pipe grounding trick is a pretty good idea as long as the pipe is continuous and not using plastic insulators that separate them otherwise the ground cable run will have to be connected to whichever pipe area has the most continuous pipe available. Connecting a wire to each one of them would be devastating.  I believe the site you linked recommends there still being at least one more other form of electrode (rod, plate, etc) that needs to be used despite using the pipes as a form of electrode.

 

Anyways, it's fine if your space isn't properly grounded or earth but it poses as a safety hazard. Even my music listening room is not grounded. The grounded receptacle and power distributor I have is all floating. I wonder whether I should just call an electrician and lose a couple grand to have the whole house grounded or just do it myself by plunging some rods into the earth and connect it to my receptacle since I'm the only one who really cares for it.  I need a path for the leakage currents and common-mode noise to escape. 

[Energy]

9 hours ago, R1200CL said:

 

The best earth you can get i to hammer a copper stick into the soil

 

Cheap, and works great. But maybe not easy to utilize everywhere.

You can also connect to the water pipe as an option, if they are copper.

 

http://www.esgroundingsolutions.com/different-types-of-grounding-electrodes/

 

 

 

8 hours ago, BigGuy said:

It may be possible to DIY the grounding but be sure to check building codes to find out what is correct for your town, etc.  When they installed my cable TV service they put in a separate ground from that of the main service panel.  I was later informed by electrician that having the two grounds could cause a delta which could be a problem.

 

I think I'll get one of these and plunge it into the earth just for my room. 

 

NOS Grounding Electrolytic Electrode StraightShaft 10'

 

Seems like the best option out of all earthing/grounding tricks. Digging a small hole 10' to fit this thing on the other hand seems like quite the task... And would having one be enough is the real question.. Maybe for a single room, yes? 

 

@beautiful music I just noticed the dual hot wires into your receptacle/outlet.. fishy..

[Energy]

7 hours ago, Cornan said:

 

We can assume that your lack sufficient grounding. Getting the grounding optimal is one of the key elements to good SQ. The safety ground connection should be present, but as short as possible.

So yes it will most likely affects the SQ, but also keep you safe.

 

I’ve always wondered but why is grounding/earth so beneficial to obtaining good sound quality?

 

is it mainly to offer stray currents a way out so it does not get regulated within the system?

 

i do understand grounding for shielding purposes but that’s about the limit of my knowledge. 

[Energy]

On 1/17/2018 at 1:28 PM, tboooe said:

Just want to say thank you for the pointer.  I just completed this mod.  Its nice to clean up my cable jungle a bit.

 

Can’t let those outlets go to waste! 

[Energy]

About to do another grounding trick soon. Will post photos.