I would blow the arc fault breakers even running my Hf rig off of 
a battery.  Jim WA6EKS

 ----- Original Message -----
From: John Miller <[log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Date sent: Wed, 27 Nov 2013 07:13:30 -0500
Subject: Re: Arc Fault circuit breakers

I've had a GFCI pop with RF, once in a place I stayed on 
vacation, and once
at a special event setup.  The vacation place I had to find 
another outlet,
the other time  I ended up going to a battery.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Colin McDonald" <[log in to unmask]
To: <[log in to unmask]
Sent: Wednesday, November 27, 2013 1:20 AM
Subject: Re: Arc Fault circuit breakers


 wow, that is very interesting.
 I've never had a GFCI pop in the presence of RF, but it's a 
really good
 thing to be aware of.
 I haven't been around AFCI breakers with rf yet.
 I wonder if new automobiles have similar systems and if they are 
prone to
 being tripped by RF...might prove rather interesting if they do 
start
 using
 similar devices.

 73
 Colin, V A6BKX

 --------------------------------------------------
 From: "Jim Gammon" <[log in to unmask]
 Sent: Tuesday, November 26, 2013 8:44 PM
 To: <[log in to unmask]
 Subject: Arc Fault circuit breakers

 We moved into our house a little over a year ago.  It took me
 several months before trying my Hf station on a temporary Alpha 
1
 antenna.  The first day I did, I blew 4 Arc Fault breakers in 
the
 main panel.  It took me about 4 months to figure it out then a
 few days ago I got this info from a friend from the ARRL.  This
 may also help some of you guys.  The upshot was that I changed
 out 4 arc fault breakers replacing them with regular ones and 
the
 problems went away.  Here's what the ARRL said about it.  You
 might find this interesting.
  From today's ARRL newsletter
  Your League: ARRL Helps Manufacturer to Resolve Arc Fault
 Circuit Interrupter RFI Problems
 The ARRL Lab has worked with a manufacturer of arc fault circuit
 interrupter (AFCI) breakers to resolve complaints that Amateur
 Radio RF was causing certain breaker models to trip
 unnecessarily.  Like the more common ground fault circuit
 interrupter (GFCI), the AFCI is a safety device.  Primarily
 designed to detect problems that could result in a fire, AFCIs
 detect potentially hazardous arc faults that result from often
 unseen damage or poor connections in wiring and in extension
 cords and cord sets.
 "Several months ago we started receiving reports from amateurs
 that when they transmitted, their AFCI breakers were tripping,"
 said Mike Gruber, W1MG, the ARRL Lab's EMC specialist.  He noted
 that the issue has been a topic of online ham radio discussions
 as well as on homeowner sites; it seems that stray RF is not the
 only thing that can cause a "nuisance trip" of an AFCI.  Gruber
 pointed out that the National Electrical Code (NEC) already
 requires AFCIs in some household circuits, but not all US
 jurisdictions have adopted the requirement.
  W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, with the AFCI test
 stand.  [Mike Gruber, W1MG, photo]
 Gruber said that as AFCIs became more common in new construction
 in the US, reports started coming in that AFCIs in the vicinity 
-
 not just in the radio amateur's home - would trip in the 
presence
 of RF from an Amateur Radio transmitter.  While each
 manufacturer's design is proprietary, most AFCIs detect arcs by
 monitoring the shape of the alternating current waveform, 
changes
 in current levels, voltage irregularities, and the presence of
 high frequency emissions or "noise." The ARRL Lab dug into the
 problem.
 "Last summer we built a test fixture in which we could test any
 type of circuit breaker," Gruber said.  It involved using W1AW 
as
 an RF source.  Gruber said he bought one of "every AFCI that I
 could get my hands on," but when the Lab began testing them
 during W1AW transmissions, none of the devices tripped..
 A ham in New Mexico who had reported AFCI problems sent some of
 his breakers to the ARRL Lab, "and those tripped when we tested
 them," Gruber said.  The problematic breakers were certain 
models
 made by Eaton Corporation.  "We already had an Eaton breaker, an
 older model, but it did not trip," he noted, adding that the
 breaker had a yellow button.  The newer model, which had a white
 button, did trip in the presence of RF, however, even at power
 levels down to about 50 W on 17 meters.
 Gruber contacted Eaton, and two of the manufacturer's engineers
 visited ARRL Headquarters in August.  "Eaton was extremely
 cooperative and eager to resolve this," Gruber recounted.  "They
 spent the day with us, going over our test methods and took some
 of the problematic breakers back with them, eventually 
developing
 a modified version.
 "We have just finished testing the new version of the breaker,
 and it did not trip during W1AW transmissions and in other
 tests," Gruber reported.  He said the new breaker is still in 
the
 queue for UL approval.
 Eaton Engineering Director Andy Foerster said arc fault 
detection
 is challenging, in part because so many common household devices
 - such as vacuum cleaners and power tools that use motors with
 brushes - create arcing.  In information provided to ARRL Eaton
 engineer Lanson Relyea said that because AFCIs rely on HF
 emission detection to verify arcing, "any signal that conducts 
or
 radiates a signal within the detection band of the AFCI can 
cause
 interference and cause the device to trip without the presence 
of
 a true arcing condition."
 Eaton and ARRL agreed that when the manufacturer comes out with
 any new models of breakers, it will ask the League to test them
 at W1AW.  "It's a win-win situation," Gruber said.  Eaton also
 has agreed to work with anyone having a problem with RF tripping
 its AFCIs.
 Hams experiencing unwanted tripping problems with their or their
 neighbors' AFCIs should first contact the manufacturer.  In the
 case of Eaton breakers, contact Bob Handickgg412-893-3746) or 
Joe
 Fello (412-893-3745).  Read more.