A Ham Radio friend constantly trips the Kitchen GFI device when he transmits. There is NO interference of any kind with any other electrical/electronic device in the house or any neighbors.
First question: Is there such a thing as a RFI proof GFI device as there are RFI proof dimmers?
Second Question: Can a GFI line be bypassed to ground? Like a high current .01mf cap from the hot to neutral?
please and thank you.
Not that I know of, I would try replacing the GFI with the best one you could find. I had a GFI start tripping with my perfectly normal treadmill (DC motor) I replaced the GFI and it never happened again.
A capacitor bypassing hot to neutral would not be considered a bypass to ground. This is ok, most guitar amps and old tube equipment (like ham transmitters) have a .01mfd 1600v bypass capacitor before the power transformer like this, and my amps work fine with GFI outlets. I'm not sure if it were a true bypass to ground however, but neutral to hot is ok as long as the ground stays intact, which is what a GFI is monitoring.
Hi, I am a ham and in my house there are multiple dimmers and GFI outlets inside and outside. Nothing happens to them when I am on the air. Your ham friend has to help you to solve the problem. I'd try ferrite chokes first. Tony, VE6CGX
Possible cure by installing ferrite core on to extension that what ever you are plug-in or perhaps roll the cord in about 3" loop tape it together and see if that is going to do the job problems like that are unpredictable also you could have floating ground some place in your electrical grounding circuit. Tony
If you haven't talked to your neighbor, please do so.
Hams LOVE to diagnose errant radio stuff. They LIVE for it! He'll be over to your house in a heartbeat with enough gear to make your kitchen look like Dr Frankenstein's lab.
Besides which, if it's his gear that's at fault he can have his license yanked.
I think that there may be better groups for this question. Have you tried some ham radio groups?
1) I have not heard of a rfi resistant GFCI, but I think your problem is really not there but around the transmitter. Your friend needs to clean up the transmitter and stop dumping some much RF into the power lines.Is the Kitchen GFCI in your kitchen or his?
You have not said anything about what is connected to this GFCI. Is it a single outlet, or are there other outlets connected to the load side? What is plugged into these outlets? Not the transmitter, I hope? If you unplug the appliances from the GFCI, does it still trip?
The simplest thing is to just change the GFI receptacle. They came out with new standards for them a year or two ago so a new one may not have the same problem.
In the early 1970's I was working for an electrical supplier when GFCI units first came to the domestic market. Those early devices were very sensitive to RFI and this was the era of the CB radio craze where every time a CBer keyed a mic, something gronked. The newer GFCI devices are much more resistant to to RFI unless those devices are very cheaply made. Since a single GFCI outlet can be wired to protect a string of standard receptacles, it's possible that the wiring to the other outlets could act as an antennae picking up enough extra RFI that it could overwhelm the filter circuitry of the GFCI. If your friend has a number of other receptacles tied into the GFCI outlet that is tripping, the cure may be to install a separate GFCI receptacle at each location. On the other hand, if there is just one outlet, it could be that it's resistance to RFI is not up to par.
[8~{} Uncle Monster
Clean up his transmitter? What do you mean by that?
The GFCI is hardly a frequency sensitive device. The problem almost certainly has nothing to do with the transmitter putting out harmonic radiation or any other such "uncleanliness".
It's simply a matter that the GFCI and its circuit is acting as an antenna, picking up the RF.
The ham is legally allowed to transmit as much as 1500 watts output power - more than some broadcast stations. Any device within the near field of that RF signal can be susceptible to overload.
As another poster mentioned, I'd try wrapping any AC cord of a device plugged into that GFCI circuit into a ferrite core that may suppress enough of the RF signal to reduce the problem. Ferrite cores are often available at Radio Shack and other electronic suppliers.
My next step would be to check and tighten the ground connections at the service panel and any ground rod connections. The next step would be to replace that GFCI.
Doug
Starting in 2003, UL required some immunity to RFI for GFCIs. I suggest replacing the GFCI.
-- bud--
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