Mike, I had the same issue when I moved from an apartment in to a revamped
house almost two years ago. My first reaction when I tried to get on the
air on HF was wow, I didn't know my rig drew so much current. Well, it
doesn't. I was tripping four GFI breakers. I even found that grounding
everything and even running my HF rig on a battery, totally off the grid,
still tripped the same four GFI breakers. So, I had a local handi-man
change out the GFI's and put in standard 15 amp breakers and the problem
disappeared. I think the ARRL article sited several brands of GSI breakers
that were sensative to RF. If I can find that article I will forward, but
the solution I came to has certainly solved my issue. Good luck and stop
sticking your fingers in the outlets, smile! Jim WA6EKS
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Ryan
Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2014 5:49 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Ground Falt Circuit Interupt Breaker Sensativity to RF
Hi all:
Up here in Canada, according to the electrical code, circuit breakers for
bedrooms have to be a ground fault circuit interrupt type (GFCI).
They're meant to trip quick enough to prevent shock to children when they
stick there fingers and other objects in the outlet or accidents to persons
using an Electric blanket or waterbeds and so on.
Well when we had our cottage wired, my Uncle in law, who did the electrical,
didn't listen to me with regards to wiring up the spare room as a radio room
but as a spare bedroom and basically put the 2 outlets on the master's
outlets and connected them all up to the GFCI breaker in the Panel.
Each time I'd key my radio on this breaker, I'd trip it and this would occur
on the antenna and not on the dummy load. It got to the point where I had to
have the connection changed.
We now have the bedrooms on a non GFCI and the GFCI hooked up to the dining
room outlet which isn't used and is in fact off.
However, when turned on, this breaker would still trip when I'd transmit on
my antenna and not on the dl. So at the end of the day, we just have it
turned off.
I'm wondering if my electrical's ground wires could be the length of an
antenna and are in fact acting like a receive antenna and is causing that
breaker to trip? How would it behave differently if the antenna was a wire
antenna at 45 feet?
My vertical is probably 40 feet or so away from the electrical grounding
system but is on the same side. . I have all my equipment properly grounded
into 3 5 foot ground rods, driven down to there tops outside the shack.
Funny though, plug an electrical appliance such as a toaster into one of the
outlets on the GFCI, it won't trip. Even though the toaster is an 800W
appliance. My FT-102 only draws 5 amps and makes 200W and will cause this
breaker to trip almost immediately.
73:
Mike VO1AX
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