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.