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Kustom 100 picks up French radio [message #967] Thu, 01 November 2001 17:11 Glomozoid Messages: 1 Registered: November 2001 Junior Member My brother has a Kustom 100 (2-12C) that he bought new in 1968. Although the amp has always worked well, for the entire time that he's owned this amp it will sometimes pick up some radio station that broadcasts in French. We're guessing that the station is somewhere in Quebec (we're in Baltimore). A friend of ours has a similaramp that picks up the same station. Does anybody else have a Kustom amp that does this? Is it a common problem with Kustom amps? Report message to a moderator

Re: Kustom 100 picks up French radio [message #968 is a reply to message #967] Thu, 01 November 2001 20:03 KustomBlues Messages: 490 Registered: June 2001 Location: Michigan Senior Member Geez, I think I can solve your problem! Just sell that Kustom to me! :-) Seriously now, I have not yet experienced Kustoms suffering from radio intereference, but I used to have that problem with Peavey (ugh!) amps and certain guitar combinations... Come on guys, jump in here on this one. Will a 3-wire power cord help this? It's "ask the experts" time. Report message to a moderator

Re: Kustom 100 picks up French radio [message #969 is a reply to message #968] Thu, 01 November 2001 21:52   RoyC Messages: 97 Registered: April 2000 Location: East Central Illinois Member While were waitin' for the experts to find their way here, I thought I'd add my $.02. My 2x12 150SC does that once in a while, only instead of it being a French radio station, I usually hear what sounds like a Mexican station. So far, this has only occurred in rehearsals, and not actually on the stage. I've always thought this phenomenon to be a function of a slightly suspect guitar cord, as I've never had this to happen while playing through the wireless. ymmv. Report message to a moderator

Re: Kustom 100 picks up French radio [message #970 is a reply to message #969] Fri, 02 November 2001 09:06 Anonymous my SC100 1x15 bass combo is the worst.. our local AM talk radio usually nails it at home, and yes it speaks spanish quite well too..and it has done it to me on stage...badly as a matter of fact.. I"ve been told many theories about it..guitar pickups, cables acting as antena, etc...but of my 20 or so amps, some are definitely worse than others...on a good night you can literally sit andlisten to my SC100 rig playing loud and clear as any radio in the house..can't tell you what to do about it..for me its just been a part of life for the last 30 years...ET Report message to a moderator

Re: Kustom 100 picks up French radio [message #972 is a reply to message #970] Fri, 02 November 2001 13:42 Anonymous Hi, I have had Kustom since '70 and it seems to like foreign radio stations. Probibly shortwave station, hence the foreign language. But, I have noticed the quality of your guitar cord is very important. Some shortwave frequencies are in the AM radio band somewhere between 80 and 40 meters. The length of your cable is also important as some lengths are more susceptable than others. If you think that your cord becomes an antenna for your "receiver", then a good quality SHIELDED cable will eliminate the problem. Also, changing your power cord to a 3 wire grounded cord, 16 GA is good enough, well connected in your amp to a large sized screw and nut with a star washer should ground you well. This will also eliminate the screen patterns in your lips while singing into the microphone. The reason for the reception in the first place is that the first amp section in a Kustom is running balls to the wall wide open and will pick up the slightest fart onstage but is calmed down later in the circuits. I hope this helps and if the rest of the Kustom faithful have any other advice or rebuttals they WILL join in. Conrad Report message to a moderator

Re: Kustom 100 picks up French radio [message #973 is a reply to message #967] Fri, 02 November 2001 14:38 Anonymous Indeed, the phenomenon is noticably effected by the cord used to connect the bass to the amp. But it's erratic. Sometimes changing cords cures the problem, sometimes not. The cord that picked up the station the night before might be quiet tonight after changing it for the one you swapped out last night. At least the amp has worked perfectly otherwise for the entire time he's owned it. Report message to a moderator

Re: Kustom 100 picks up French radio [message #977 is a reply to message #973] Sun, 04 November 2001 10:45 Anonymous OK, here are some things to look at. A coiled guitar cord will act as a radio antenna. A new grounded ac mains cable will have many benefits. The time of year will effect radio signals. Summers here in michigan have more skip in the air and reception of radio and tv siginals have more noise. I don't have any problems with all my kustoms I use on stage, as I convert the ac cord to the three prong. The radio station problem we used to have years ago using the old K200 pa was caused mainly by wrapping the mic cable around the mic stand. That acts like a giant ferrite antenna. CB radios can still bleed into a new pa system if close enough to the band. If the problem is quite often I would suggest installing a metal sheild on the the top of the amp chassis. Fender used metal door screen stapled in the top of their amp boxes to eliminate RF interference. The baldwin era kustoms k150s, k250s, k300s etc. housed the amp in a solid metal chassis. This might be the best idea of the baldwin/kustom years. You could just lay a sheet of tin foil over the amp to see if it might help. Keep us all posted if you solve the problem. Don Report message to a moderator

Re: Kustom 100 picks up French radio [message #982 is a reply to message #977] Sun, 04 November 2001 22:14 KustomBlues Messages: 490 Registered: June 2001 Location: Michigan Senior Member Good ideas there Don! I do remember reading something about coiled guitar cords... Oh, and another tip, don't coil the cord up on the floor either--does the same thing, I noticed that years ago. Report message to a moderator

Re: Kustom 100 picks up French radio [message #986 is a reply to message #967] Mon, 05 November 2001 22:44 Anonymous Hi All, I'm new to this site, but I'm glad I found it. My 1971 Kustom 200B Bass amp (w/2x15 cab) picks up what sounds like an Eastern European/ Russian radio station. Especially late at night. I've tried the amp with brand new, high quality, shielded cords - no luck. It only happens on the "Bright" Channel and when I play through my Danelectro EQ pedal - it goes away. I used to play bass through the "Normal" channel, so I never noticed it before. Now that I'm playing guitar (Through the "Bright" Channel - I've noticed the problem. From what I've read on the other posts, it seems like this is something I'll just have to live with(?) Any info would be appreciated. Thanks. Report message to a moderator

Re: Kustom 100 picks up French radio [message #1000 is a reply to message #986] Fri, 09 November 2001 04:33 BC Messages: 583 Registered: March 2000 Location: Kentucky Senior Member I have several Kustoms and it happens to me as well.....nothing I can pinpoint or count on. Sometimes changing the amp position will help....sometimes the cord.....some amps are worse than others.......some do not do it at all. My suggestion would be to buy at least 20 Kustoms and then you should always have one that will be quiet on any day! BC Report message to a moderator

Re: Kustom 100 picks up French radio [message #1165 is a reply to message #977] Fri, 21 December 2001 23:04 KustomBlues Messages: 490 Registered: June 2001 Location: Michigan Senior Member Okay guys, read this! I think this may help with th RF interference thing.... For REAL help on solving the RF interference issue, go to this link and click on the presentation http://www.musicplayer.com/CDA/Player/Main/1,2228,Lessons-Bassist-5000770,00.html Or read this: “Guitar cable connector corrosion may lead to radio frequency (RF) interference because the corrosion can create a crystalline structure that acts like a diode. A diode rectifies radio frequency signals into audio frequency (the principle behind crystal radios). If you are getting RF interference, try cleaning the contacts first with DeOxit, or if you’re desperate, a pencil eraser or anything that can scrape the metal VERY lightly (you don’t want to scratch off any plating). If the interference is cable related, cleaning will almost always fix the problem.” Report message to a moderator

Re: Kustom 100 picks up French radio [message #1172 is a reply to message #967] Sun, 23 December 2001 01:03   Country_Gene Messages: 42 Registered: December 2001 Location: Northwestern New Jersey Member I posted something on this on "Repairs" Board.......Might be worth a shot. Report message to a moderator

Re: Kustom 100 picks up French radio [message #6035 is a reply to message #967] Sun, 31 July 2005 15:08   Wattsyurz Messages: 16 Registered: July 2005 Location: SC Junior Member About this, I always believed that the transistor leads might be the cause. The leads are not supposed to be clipped, but the workers didn't take forever to make sure each end was buried. If they are left loose or heat up and pop up, voila instant antenna feeding the base of a transistor. Maybe if there was a head that was in a highly suceptible place, we could find the source. Report message to a moderator

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