Members wheresgrant3 Posted June 8, 2004 Members Share Posted June 8, 2004 This has little to do with sound & production, however, I am becoming more interested with power and how it affects electronics. I have a small issue where I live and I would like some insight as to why it's happening. I live in a private apartment complex, in a basement two bedroom apartment. The complex is a single building and has 14 units... I have one of the largest apartments (1100 sq feet). We frequent have alot of flickering lights and there seems to be a power drag somewhere in our apartment, although it might affect our building (I've never asked). Since we've moved in last fall we've had alot of freaky electrical things happening. It started with a 3-way touch lamp we have sitting on a night stand. After plugging it in for the first time, the lamp would turn on and off in a sequence until we would unplug it. At first we joked about ghosts but we noticed that at the same time the lamp would go off, our cable reception in our living room would be affected with a notable waveness in the picture. For months we noticed it. It didn't seem to harm anything and it is just an annoyance. Now it seems that sometimes while running an air conditioner (the compressor kicks in) or running a vaccum will draw enough power to kick off the power supply in my PC off and cause it to reboot. This usually happens on days when it rains or is very wet outside. I bought a UPS unit to prevent it from happening and again put it out of mind but last night again, I noticed something very strange. In the dark I turned off a small fan plugged into our bedroom wall, adjacent to the wall where the 3-way touch lamp is plugged in. As I turned it off I saw what looked light a brief flash of lightning from out the window. After truning the fan on and off again I realized the "lightning" was a flash from the outlet that lamp is plugged into. The flash was similar to something being plugged in and the being ripped out of the outlet. Does anyone know what is going on.... lamps that control themselves,... a PC that keeps rebooting,... flashs sparks from outlets when appliances are turned off? I have lots of electronic equipment that I'm a little worried about (computers, synths...etc).The common thread to this issue is that both the outlet my PC is plugged into and the bedroom wall that this is affecting are part of the same wall... different rooms along the same wall. That wall is half underground and is facing outside the building. Could moisture be a problem. Should I call an electrician? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members devolition Posted June 8, 2004 Members Share Posted June 8, 2004 Is it an older building? It could have a grounding problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted June 8, 2004 Author Members Share Posted June 8, 2004 Yep... built in 1951. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members keanu reeves Posted June 8, 2004 Members Share Posted June 8, 2004 have you told the super? if the super neglects your problems then call an electrician. it could be a bad breaker box. ask around the complex. see if anybody else is having those problems. and if they are it could be the transformer not supplying enough juice to the complex. then complain like mad to the electric company and ask them to upgrade the transformer(s) supplying the apt.. im no pro. if anybody more in the know about this has anything to correct me on please feel free to. i have only been working dispatch at my local electic company for 3 years now. i have picked up a few things but am still sketchy about a lot of details. because my job isnt to necessarily diagnose problems. only to send crews out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GlassPrisoner Posted June 8, 2004 Members Share Posted June 8, 2004 Get yourself a good surge protector, and maybe an UPS. We lost 3 or 4 Macs at my company to a power surge.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zone_ahead Posted June 8, 2004 Members Share Posted June 8, 2004 maybe the apartment building was built on top of an indian burial ground. same thing happened in this movie i saw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Symbiotic Posted June 8, 2004 Members Share Posted June 8, 2004 A good quality UPS will do wonders to keep your high-value electronics safe. And as cheap as they are now (600Volt for less than $100) there is no excuse not to have one in your studio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scubyfan Posted June 8, 2004 Members Share Posted June 8, 2004 Call these guys: Or get an UPS. I've got an APC that filters and provides UP when lights go out or something odd happens with the electricity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members D'Traveler Posted June 9, 2004 Members Share Posted June 9, 2004 It's obvious your apartment has been invaded by some sort of paranormal beings, such as ghosts or aliens [as seen on tv]. I'm here to tell you there's no need to panic. The absolute safest thing to do in cases such as these, is to pack up all your gear and ship it to me. For safekeeping, you understand. I'll make sure nobody lays a finger on your valuable property, besides me. Oh, and if you foot the bill on the shipping, I'll forego my usual storage fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MRkeys Posted June 9, 2004 Members Share Posted June 9, 2004 In the dark I turned off a small fan plugged into our bedroom wall, adjacent to the wall where the 3-way touch lamp is plugged in. As I turned it off I saw what looked light a brief flash of lightning from out the window. After truning the fan on and off again I realized the "lightning" was a flash from the outlet that lamp is plugged into. The flash was similar to something being plugged in and the being ripped out of the outlet Sounds like it is time for at least one new receptacle. A lot of residental housing has the outlets looped from one to the other so a high resistant or intermitant connection can affect everything on that circuit. I just replaced all the recepts and switches on a rental house a few months ago. About $50 and 2 hours is all it took, but it wasnt that old. But maybe I should have called ghost busters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Array Posted June 9, 2004 Members Share Posted June 9, 2004 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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