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Re: [RFI] Arc-fault breakers

To: rfi@contesting.com, Dennis Monticelli <dennis.monticelli@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [RFI] Arc-fault breakers
From: "Kenneth G. Gordon" <kgordon2006@frontier.com>
Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2020 10:14:25 -0800
List-post: <mailto:rfi@contesting.com>
On 21 Feb 2020 at 23:31, Dennis Monticelli wrote:

> I am remodeling kitchen and bath.  The new electrical code here in CA
> requires a number of things that are potentially harmful to our hobby.  For
> example the use of arc-fault breakers.  I know that one of the techniques
> for identifying arcs involves detecting broadband RF.  Does anyone have any
> experience with transmissions false triggering these devices?

Yes. I have. 

When we had an addition added to our home, I (and our youngest son) did all the 
wiring. 
We were "required" by city code to have arc-fault breakers in our bedroom 
circuits. 

I bought and installed the damned things (I cannot now remember the brand, but 
if it is 
important, I'll go look at them.). They were very expensive, something like 
$70.00 each.

(The city electrical inspector complimented me on the quality of our work, BTW.)

My main antenna, a 55' vertical, is only about 10 feet from our bedroom window.

Every time I was on 40 meters, the stupid things would trip off, and I would 
have to go reset 
them.

After calling the maker and talking with their tech support for some time, I 
was told that they 
should not trip on RF.

Wrong.

After putting up with them for about a month, I decided that since this was our 
home, and I 
did the wiring, I could do what I darned well wanted to and yanked the stupid 
pieces of junk 
out and replaced them with standard breakers, leaving the AFCIs lying in the 
box.

Also, some years prior to this, I had also replaced our original 100 amp panel 
with a new 
200 amp panel and had rewired almost the entire house.

After I had done this, for some time, whenever I was on 40 meters CW with an 
amp, an 
SB-200 (600 watts output), one of the breakers involved with the basement 
washing 
machine would trip.

Eventually, I found that the original incompetent people who had added some 
circuts to the 
OLD panel, had run a #8 ground wire from the panel, exactly 33' long (1/4 wave 
on 40) clear 
around the basement to a clamp.....on a PLASTIC cold water pipe!!!

I then drove three 8' copper-clad steel ground rods, 8" apart, outside the 
house where the 
panel was located, tied them all together, shortened up the #8 ground wire to 
about 10 feet, 
and clamped it securely to those ground rods.

No more problem.

Ken W7EKB
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