Mains conditioner - home made as good as Isotek Aquarius

[Barry]

Nope, most certainly not, as that could potentially be lethal! Simply that, having a dedicated earth for your hi-fi, which is separate from the ring-main earth, is a sonically beneficial thing to do

Marco.

If you mean "in addition to", then so be it (though depending on the earthing arrangement provided by the supplier there might be safety issues). If you mean that your audio system is only earthed via this separate dedicated earth, then that could be dangerous under, albeit rare, fault conditions outside of your property.

[Pharos]

When I was an apprentice with the Min of Tech., about 18 or 19, we all used a Tectronics scope with an I/P max of 1000v to look at the mains. There was never a problem, but things were much 'looser' then, one of us being 'flung' across the lab because his forearm touched a colour TV HT.

I appreciate the improved safety of using a transformer, but it will alter what is seen, particularly the HF end, and it will effectively 'profile' the FR.

Oh, and a last thought, my mains, which still has a certain '60s configuration and is still legal, has the mains -ve shorted to the mains earth with a chunky bit of metal.

I bet there are scopes specifically designed for HV.

[anthonyTD]

Hi Dennis,
I have always used a scope to look at the incoming mains condition, and I totaly agree; using a transformer to isolate the mains is; as you say defeating the object, as the transformer will more than likely filter out any noise that was present on its primary' by the time it comes out of the secondary side. As I stated at least twice now, any measurements taken at the full mains potential, is always a high risk, no matter what type of equipment your using!
And yes, in theory, the neutral should be at the same potential as the earth, however, due to cable lengths, the distance between ones property, and the sub transformers, and ofcourse, the earthing arrangment itself; there is always some voltage potential between neutral and earth, which may be a fraction of a volt, or up to a couple of volts.
At the moment, mine measures around .8v [thats 800mv] between neutral, and earth.
A...

When I was an apprentice with the Min of Tech., about 18 or 19, we all used a Tectronics scope with an I/P max of 1000v to look at the mains. There was never a problem, but things were much 'looser' then, one of us being 'flung' across the lab because his forearm touched a colour TV HT.

I appreciate the improved safety of using a transformer, but it will alter what is seen, particularly the HF end, and it will effectively 'profile' the FR.

Oh, and a last thought, my mains, which still has a certain '60s configuration and is still legal, has the mains -ve shorted to the mains earth with a chunky bit of metal.

I bet there are scopes specifically designed for HV.