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Re: [RFI] Elimination of Treadmill RFI on 160 meters

To: rfi@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [RFI] Elimination of Treadmill RFI on 160 meters
From: Jim Brown <jim@audiosystemsgroup.com>
Reply-to: jim@audiosystemsgroup.com
Date: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 22:01:52 -0800
List-post: <rfi@contesting.com">mailto:rfi@contesting.com>
On Fri,1/9/2015 9:04 PM, Christopher Brown wrote:
I could be wrong, but based on the picture you appear to have neutral
and safety ground on the equipment side connected to the neutral
terminal of the filter.


This can present a serious hazard, as the green wire bonds to the
chassis of the treadmill...  Should there be a neutral fault anywhere
upstream of that filter and the chassis of the treadmill would go hot
with full line voltage.

For exactly this reason, NEC allows only ONE neutral to safety ground
bond AT the primary disconnect.  Otherwise, failure of a neutral
conductor puts voltage on the chassis and creates a shock hazard.

Actually, there are several reasons why NEC requires ONE, AND ONLY ONE, bond between neutral and equipment ground (the green wire) in any system. That bond is required to be at the point where the system is established, which in most premises, is the service entrance or the first panel connected to it. One of the most important (to us) that load current flows on the neutral, the green wire, and all the rest of the grounds in the premises. This raises the voltage on the chassis, increasing the likelyhood of shock. It also causes the magnetic field created by load current to spread out over then entire area of the return path, which can induce hum and buzz into audio systems, and to the audio components of radio systems.

Also, as Chris noted, for Delta filter to be effective, it's enclosure (and the green wire) must have a very short bond to the equipment enclosure, and the phase and neutral conductors must also be quite short.

Another point. What the power industry calls "common mode" is NOT what we call common mode. They are talking about the voltage between neutral and the green wire. We are talking about current that is flowing in the sam direction on three conductors -- that's what causes the cable to act as a random wire antenna. The ferrite choke is the solution for that, because it adds a high resistive impedance in series with the common mode circuit. The Delta filter (and others like it) ONLY acts on the differential voltage between the three conductors. That cable with the choke on it looks reasonably well built, and should work well for the range of 2-20 MHz. Another with fewer turns would help with higher frequencies, and should be closer to the noise source.

73, Jim K9YC
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