equipment placement and grounding

[smartel]

is their some good rules to follow concerning equipment placement ?
( VCR, TBc ,capture card)

i know a little about sheilding ; good cables (gold plated and strongest feel)
cable routing must be important also
i know i should keep away from transformers

maybe i shouls get a better powerbar

and how about grounding ?
my stuff doesn't have ground pins on their plugs (just the basic +/-) no grounds
adapters or grounding from the casing (or chassis) how do i do that ? is it just for static ?

sorry if all of this has already been answered somewhere ,
but i'm just searching for a dummies' DIY ; kinda simple how to guide

and again thank you for your time

[redwudz]

The first thing I always check is the AC line itself, from the power meter to the outlet. There should be a stout ground rod at the meter, with a ground wire held tightly by a clamp. Then check your outlets to see if they are truely grounded. It's not uncommon in older houses for someone to replace two wire outlets with three wire ones with no ground wire attached just so they can use grounded type plugs.

Usually best practice is to use a single common outlet for all devices that are connected together. The next outlet down the wall may be on a separate circuit and that might cause some hum. Also see what's on the circuit you are using. Florescent lights and electric motors can cause noise on the line, along with relays from a heating/cooling unit.

With most two wire devices the power goes through a transformer or power supply and they don't use a ground wire.

Gold plating doesn't do much, but it is a bit more corrosion resistant. As long as you don't use the cheapest cables around or make very long runs with your cables, not likely to have hum problems. Keeping your cables short as necessary is always a good idea. Most cables up to about six feet (1.8M) should be short enough.

Power distribution blocks usually just have a surge suppressor in them in case of high voltage surges. They don't do any filtering. Real line filters can be expensive but are rarely needed.

If you do have hum, try to trace down the source, moving and unplugging cables till you isolate it. Sometimes a loose socket or something internal on the device may have a poor connection.