Shielding components from EMI/RFI... Help please


A recent experiment with a product designed to reduce EMI/RFI left me curious about other ways to reduce EMI/RFI in my system. In the past ten days, I've stepped onto a slippery slope, at the bottom of which is surely some kind of insanity...

I've been experimenting with copper plates in an effort to absorb, deflect, diffract, and block EMI/RFI. I've tried copper plates under components, on top of components, and inside components.

This is the point where you tell me I don't know what I'm doing and I'm likely to short circuit something and/or electrocute myself. Consider me duly warned. This is also the point where you tell me to get some balanced interconnects, or at least to get some shielded interconnects for Chrissake. Consider me duly informed. Moving on...

I'm hoping you can help me make the most of this experiment, and help me avoid killing a component or myself. My strategy so far has been to:

1. Place copper plates at locations that generate a lot of EMI/RFI, e.g., components with switching mode power supplies or high frequency clocks. The system has a total of 3 SMPS and 3 clocks.

2. Place copper plates at locations that are vulnerable to EMI/RFI, e.g., under the amp, near the transformer.

3. Place copper plates inside noisy components -- in particular, my Meridian G68 preamp/processor. I've begun to build 2 partial Faraday cages, one for the SMPS, and one for the analog output stage.

4. Ground the copper plates either to the component chassis (when plates are used inside a component) or to an independent ground point (when plates are used above/below a component).

Has anyone tried this sort of thing?

Bryon
bryoncunningham

Showing 5 responses by rodman99999

Check page 14 of this catalog: (http://percyaudio.com/Catalog.pdf) I, personally, use the TI Shield(between all my components), but- the Stillpoints stuff sounds interesting too. The last page of the catalog has some new products from Bybee, for the power supply.
The TI Shield, that I mentioned earlier, will block all RFI/EMI and is VERY easy to work with(thin enough to cut with scissors, and bendable).
"All three were improvements, but the biggest and most surprising improvement was wrapping the external drive with TI Shield. Don't know what to make of that." TI Shield has supernatural powers. That's why I personally recommend it. =;^)