Home› Musicians and Gearheads

Wah pedal and/or amp picking up radio stations?

kitfookitfoo Posts: 125
edited August 2008 in Musicians and Gearheads
Ok, this is one I've never encountered.....

I just moved to a new state...got my amp and pedals all set up, and noticed that when I turn on my wah, I hear a freakin radio station through my amp!! The wah in question is a Dunlop Crybaby 535Q. Anyone know how to combat this?
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • FinsburyParkCarrotsFinsburyParkCarrots Posts: 12,223
    "This is a common occurrence because the inductor in the Wah pedal acts as an antenna. When you are in an area with a lot of radio frequency, the pedal can and will pick up radio stations. It is not very easy to troubleshoot and fix, because it differs so greatly due to the different signals and the varying surroundings. What may work in one region might not work in another.

    The first step in troubleshooting is to find out where in your rig the signal is coming from.

    First check to see if it is coming in through the AC Adapter. Use the effect with a battery and see if it is coming in through the wall. If it is, discontinue the use of the AC Adapter. If this doesn't work, then...

    Second, check to see if it is coming in through the guitar. Turn the volume of the guitar down to zero and see if you still get the radio signal. If yes, you might want to try putting a .0068-microfarad capacitor on the input jack between the tip and the shaft. (The capacitor can be a ceramic or polyester type and voltage rating of any size works.) This will also kill the high end of your sound. If this doesn't work, then...

    Third, check the inductor. If you have a metal inductor, you can purchase a shield from us and place it over the inductor with a ground wire that is placed under one of the screws on the PC Board. This acts as both an AC Hum and RF shield. (It is part number ECB99 - and lists for $12.00) If this doesn't work then...

    Fourth, open up the pedal and unsolder the black wire from the pot. Slide some Ferrite beads onto the wire and re-solder it. The size, number and shape of the beads depends upon the signal that you are getting, and we have not found any rhyme or reason as to which beads work with which signals. If this doesn't work then...

    Fifth, wrap the entire wire harness in Mumetal foil, which comes in a tape format, and hope that that works, because after that who knows!

    Getting radio stations on your wah pedal is unfortunately, the nature of the beast, and has been that way since its inception. In some areas it is worse than others. It is especially bad in the great lakes region because the lakes act as large antennas sending out the radio signals to all areas - and all wah pedals."
  • kitfookitfoo Posts: 125
    Thanks for the reply! Hopefully it's something simple. It just seems wierd that it would happen out in the middle of the country. I've lived in big cities with tons of radio stations, and never had a problem. Probably has something to do with the old/crappy wiring in this house.
  • FinsburyParkCarrotsFinsburyParkCarrots Posts: 12,223
    My old Fostex four-track seems to have a thing for Radio Netherlands. No other station will do, even if it moves its frequency. If that isn't weird, I don't know what is!
  • xtremehardy388xtremehardy388 Posts: 2,759
    Yeah, wah used to do that.
    Grand Rapids '04, Detroit '06
    JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
    "Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
  • lucylespianlucylespian Posts: 2,403
    I was having a hell of a time with dirty noise after I put my new Teese Picture wah and a Fulltone trem in my chain.
    I found the trem was worse than the wah, and I now only plug it in when I want to use it. THe difeference between plain humbuckers and EMG actives is remarkable too. I get next to no noise with teh EMG's vs a heap at times from the passives. The power in my room is filthy.
    I just had an MXR Phase 90 arrive in the post today. It will be interesting to see that that does.
    Music is not a competetion.
  • kitfookitfoo Posts: 125
    Well, another twist to the problem.....my wah didn't seem to pick any stations up today....now it's my Keeley Baked mod TS-9!? I wonder if I can get some sort of power conditioner and plug everything into it?
  • StuffnJunkStuffnJunk Posts: 896
    i've told this story before on here, but one time i was giving a guitar lesson, and all of a sudden from out of the amp we hear - "ladies and gentlemen please fasten your seat belts, we are about to land at JFK international airport....."
    "I'll tell you what: If all I had was Pearl Jam, and I didn't have another band in the world, I would not be worried. Because in there is the essence of making great music. You don't have to use it all at once, but it's there." - Neil Young
  • OffHeGoes29OffHeGoes29 Posts: 1,240
    I just got some bible station on my 535Q...it freaked me out to hear it when I stopped playing. It stopped when I turned my DS-1 off.
    BRING BACK THE WHALE
Sign In or Register to comment.