This is a common issue in electrophysiology as you are dealing with very small signals as well as high impedance and capacitance of electrodes. All of ADInstruments hardware is optimized with high-quality noise specifications, but it is always good to have a few other tricks up your sleeve to help in your setup.
- Ensure all electronic equipment used in recording setup is plugged into the same wall socket by using a fused multibox.
- Ensure all shielding is connected to one grounding point or grounding bar. This will eliminate the risk of a grounding loop when different grounds are at slightly different potentials causing currents to flow in the shielding introducing noise.
- To identify the source of noise, strip back to the bare essentials, like the amplifier and acquisition and then systematically switch on additional equipment.
- Always try to eliminate the source of noise first, but if this isn’t possible then mask with shielding.
- Try and keep lead wires as short as possible and not looped. If they are long, try braiding them to prevent magnetically induced currents.
- Even fluid filled tubing for perfusions can act as antennas. If this is the case, shield with tin foil and connect to the metal grounding bar.