poor mains supply / no earth

[thecuthbert]

My MF X-A2 has let me down twice in as many years, the first time capacitors had failed and I suspect I'm facing the same fault now as the symptoms are much the same. I live overseaes, currently in Jordan and before that in Ukraine. The mains supply isn't very reliable in either country and I only have access to 2 pin sockets.The amp is pretty old, but I wonder if the lack of earth or other factors around the mains supply may be a reason for it's demise?

I'm planning on replacing the amp with an M3i but am worried about my mains supply... is it likely that the lack of an earth could cause components inside to fail? I imagine that it's just there for safety. I've considered connecting the earth wire to the taps or driving a metal post into the ground outside and running a wire up to my flat. Voltage and frequency in Jordan are consistent with the UK, but I wonder if one of these mains purifiers would make any difference?

Cheers, James.

 

[MattSPL]

Hi James

I would think it is possible you are suffering from voltage spikes. A lot of the electronic components like capacitors are usually rated to 250 volts, and it's quite possible that your mains exceeds that voltage at times.
When my parentas lived in Spain in a small village, they were unable to use CFL energy saving light bulbs as they would only last a week or 2. They always had trouble with the mains supply, and it's my guess that the voltage was spiking at times, damaging the electronics in the CFL lamps.

Earthing your equipment would improve safety if something were to go wrong in your system, but it wouldn't stop excessive voltage getting in and causing damage to electronics.

Using a mains regenerator would be the best solution, but also very expensive. Some form of surge protection like an extension lead for a computer/hifi would be better than nothing though.

 

[Crocodile]

This may be a rather crazy notion but how about asking MF?

 

[drummerman]

Get something like a Tacima. Cheap and it will protect against surges (and perhaps even make your system sound better though that, as always, is a subject open to debate).

I have a good quality but temperamental soldering iron which is susceptible to damage by mains spikes and I had one damaged element. I now only use it through a surge protector and have not had problems since.

regards

 

[thecuthbert]

Thanks all, I guess good quality surge protection is a must then. As far as not being earthed is concerned, if it's purely there for safety I'll be happy without it. I put the unit out of reach of my young daughter anyway.

Musical Fidelity say that customers in export markets have no trouble and just get the correct lead for their area from their local distributor and also added that they all used earthed supplies. I have no earthed supply in my flat and i don't think MF have a distributor in Jordan anyway.