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Re: [RFI] RF & Ferrites,

To: rfi@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [RFI] RF & Ferrites,
From: Jim Brown <jim@audiosystemsgroup.com>
Reply-to: jim@audiosystemsgroup.com
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2020 11:35:27 -0800
List-post: <mailto:rfi@contesting.com>
On 2/25/2020 11:03 AM, David Eckhardt wrote:
Considering multiple turns through a ferrite 'bead':  Yes, more turns will
yield better isolation.  However, much beyond 3 or 4 turns, and one
approaches a limit of effectiveness.  Cram as many turns as is possible on
a single bead increases capacitive coupling between the turns and
ultimately limits the effectiveness.  The windings should be 'ordered' and
not wound in a hap-hazard manner which also reduces inter-winding
capacitance.

This is VERY oversimplified. One look at the impedance plot for any Fair-Rite core on their data sheet clearly shows that a wire passing through a core, and multiple turns through a core, is a parallel resonant circuit.

https://www.fair-rite.com/product/round-cable-emi-suppression-cores-2631480002/

k9yc.com/RFI-Ham.pdf addresses this, and about ten years ago, these concepts were added to the ARRL Handbook.

Best practice:  Employ shielded cables with the shield terminated on both
ends.

YES, and HOW it is terminated matters a LOT. To function, the shield must be terminated to the shielding enclosure at the point of entry. A common construction error is to terminate the shield to a circuit board rather than to the chassis, with the "return" bus or layer eventually finding its way to the chassis. This error, first observed by a ham working in pro audio, called it "The Pin One Problem" because pin 1 of XLR connectors is the cable shield, and in a landmark paper, observed that it was a major cause of hum, buzz, and RFI. The mechanism is that any current flowing on the cable shield wanders around the "ground" bus until it eventually finds the chassis, with the resulting IR drop injected into signal paths at the whim of the PC board layout artist.

Sadly, nearly all equipment is built with Pin One Problems. The last time I was at Dayton, about four years ago, I looked at the rigs in every booth, and EVERY rig had Pin One Problems at their audio and control connectors. The Elecraft 2M and 220 MHz transverters I bought 20 years have their BNC connectors insulated from the shielding enclosure, and both have stability problems.

Indeed, shielding is useless if the shield is not continuous, and is NOT terminated to the shielding enclosure at both ends.

CAUTION:  Many of the modern "shielded cables" may be rather
compromised due to cost cutting regarding integrity of the shield
installation and type.  When choosing a shielded cable, its best to test a
reasonable length before buying a significant amount of the cable.

Sadly, it has long been common practice by these cost-cutters to use a single wire in place of what the cable definition calls for a shield. We first saw this in audio cables at least 25 years ago.

73, Jim K9YC
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