Thread: speakers are possesed!

so i'm sitting hear on the couch in the living room with my laptop and i have a pair of computer speakers i keep out in the living room so that i can plug them in and watch a movie. They are my girlfriends old shitty speakers and they make a hissing sound (like static on the tv or radio) even when you turn them off.

So anyways i'm sitting hear and i hear this very faint music and can't figure out where it's coming from. it disapears as soon as i stand up. I finally discover that the music is coming in the background of the static of the speakers.

Theres just one thing...the speakers aren't even connected to a sound source and the power is off!

Creeps me right the heck out!!

Originally Posted by edk442

so i'm sitting hear on the couch in the living room with my laptop and i have a pair of computer speakers i keep out in the living room so that i can plug them in and watch a movie. They are my girlfriends old shitty speakers and they make a hissing sound (like static on the tv or radio) even when you turn them off.

So anyways i'm sitting hear and i hear this very faint music and can't figure out where it's coming from. it disapears as soon as i stand up. I finally discover that the music is coming in the background of the static of the speakers.

Theres just one thing...the speakers aren't even connected to a sound source and the power is off!

Creeps me right the heck out!!

I use to pick up the BBC on my guitar amp when I was a teenager ---weird .

Justin

My brother once picked up a Spanish station on his guitar. I should have a good explanation for this sort of thing, but I don't, and at 4am local, I'm too tired to go looking for one.

-Michael

I'm no expert, but here's my explanation:

Static = radio waves, which are the remains of the Big Bang. Thus anything which can let you hear static can also let you hear other radio waves. Just has to be radio waves that are tuned to the correct frequency.

If you don't want to hear it, unplug the power cord to the speakers, or wrap them in copper wire mesh (a.k.a. a Faraday cage)? Just turning off the power with the speakers' power switch may not be enough to actually cut the power to them, which is why they hiss even with the power off. Also, if they still draw power when the power is off, they will cost you money even if you don't use them, so pulling the plug on them isn't a bad idea.

My computer speakers hum when I grab the plug which goes in the computer. Pretty neat. I think it's my body's electric field which does that, but as I said I'm no expert.

Well sure, there's probably a rational explanation involving wavelengths, residual power etc. However,








GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!! NOW!!!



James.

Aliens??????





.....they're back???????




OH NO!!! Not the rectal probe AGAIN!!!!


Damn, I HATE the Aliens!!!!

(....you'd think they could at least warm the damn thing up, first!!....)

-whatever

-Lou

**NOTE: Read the whole thing to get an idea of how much material to order

How cheap are the speakers? Depending on the price you can guess if it's due to the grounding or the magnetic shield (or lack of). Proper groundings would mean the only signals coming to the magnetic shields are only from the source. However magnetic shields may be able to pick the frequencies as well. In that case you'd need a better magnetic shield (some speakers don't even have shields). I'm going to venture a guess that it's going to be do to the lack of magnetic shields. Cheaper speakers = no magnetic shield which means you get to pick up radio frequencies. And after dusk you may pick up radio frequencies from the other side of the world since the signals would bounce off the ionosphere.

Most speaker manufacturers provide a good enough grounding for the wires. So the more likely reason for picking up the radio frequencies is do to a poor magnetic shield (or lack of in many cheaper speakers).

Sound is created by vibrations in the air. Speakers create these vibrations using a coil and a magnet. The magnet changes the polarity of the coil so that it goes back and forth. This magnet can also act sort of like an antenna for radio signals. Typically these signals come from the AM bandwidth.

What you need are:

• MagnetShield (you need at least 1 layer of this; 1-2 layers is suggested because once you get more it's pretty useless; you need a 1 inche overlap on the seam)
• JointShield (outer most layer; 1 layer)
• Tape (duct tape works best)

Before doing anything take note to make sure that absolutely, ABSOLUTELY, ABSOLUTELY NONE of the shields touch anythig electrical!!!!!


Take the MagnetShield and wrap it around the magnet with a cylidrincal shape (so don't go inside the hollow part). On the 1 inch overlapped seam, tape it securely. Hopefully you got a wide enough strip so you can create tabs at the bottom of the ring (don't bend them to go inside it). So I suppose the idea is that you're making a cup to go around the ring. Put all the MagnetShield layers you want on it the same way.

Finally put on the JointShield, which will have an adhesive side. Make sure you cut it to the shape you need by fitting it around the MagnetShield. Once you've got the shape, cut away and remove the thing protecting the adhesive side and stick it right on the shields.

If worst comes to worst, I think the radio signals are being picked up by your sound card. SUNY Buffalo published an abstract in 1984 stating certain op amps can pick up AM signals. If that's the case, I suppose you'll need to make a magnetic shield for your computer... Or replace the case with one made of either aluminum or steel. However, considering how old this abstract is, I'm venturing to guess many sound cards provide the necessary steps to prevent this, or sound card manufactueres use different IC's (integrated circuits - those black blocks on the circuits) that prevent this.

Hope this works for you!

see this is why i love this community! no matter what the problem is, theres someone with an answer willing to help you out. in this case the speakers are not worth the effort. i had a bit of fun listening to the beach boys and an add for ticketmaster today

or you could just wallpaper your interior walls in aluminum foil and then paint it so no one would know.
windows too


have fun

The one reason is that it can pick up the stations is because the cord is acting like a antenna. I was talking with someone at my work about this a while ago. My new cell phone comes with headphones to listen to the mp3 player or the radio. You need to have the headphones hooked up if you want to hear the radio, that is because it acts as the antenna.

This is also why all cars had the standard length for the antenna (33 inches I believe b/c the wave were at 33Hz) is what I was told.