jimport
Senior Member
- Location
- Outside Baltimore Maryland
- Occupation
- Master Electrician
Gfi breakers tripping
- Thread starter jimport
- Start date
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LarryFine
Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
- Location
- Henrico County, VA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
Maybe they hired a new security company that uses different 2-way radio frequencies.
synchro
Senior Member
- Location
- Chicago, IL
- Occupation
- EE
A suggestion is to replace some of the breakers in a given panel (for example 4 of the 6) GFCI breakers with new ones and leave the others as is. Then if any of the breakers trip in this panel you can check if it was: 1.) just the old ones that tripped, 2.) all of them, or 3.) something in between.
Case 1 would point to the old breakers being bad.
Case 2 would suggest that the older breakers weren't damaged because they behave the same as the new ones.
Case 3 would be inconclusive.
Obviously, mark it so you know which breakers were replaced.
By the way are the GFCI breakers mixed on both phases? I assume that they would be, but if not and they're only on one phase that could be relevant information.
jimport
Senior Member
- Location
- Outside Baltimore Maryland
- Occupation
- Master Electrician
They are across both legs of the panel., All 120v single pole.
- Location
- San Francisco Bay Area, CA, USA
- Occupation
- Electrical Engineer
Guy with the Ham radio just moved in...
- Location
- Placerville, CA, USA
- Occupation
- Retired PV System Designer
(Jargon for an RF power amplifier, used by either a legal or illegal operator. Famously used totally illegally back in the heyday of CB radio.)With a foot warmer.
LarryFine
Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
- Location
- Henrico County, VA
- Occupation
- Electrical Contractor
A.k.a a linear amp. I once helped a guy wire one powered by a motor-driven alternator powering a truck battery, using a 6/12v charger to feed the alternator field. He said he could exceed 100 miles of transmission, but reception required a couple of CBers to relay at that distance.
I used to build them for people. 100 miles is nothing. SSB under skip conditions could go 10 times that far or more. High sunspot activity was thought to help.
- Location
- Tennessee NEC:2017
- Occupation
- Semi-Retired Electrician
I used to use one back in the "CB" days. During the high "skip" periods you would hear or talk to people from all over. People would send their cards with their "CB Handle" on them for confirmation of talking with you. I've gotten them from hundreds of miles away.
K8MHZ
Senior Member
- Occupation
- Electrician
Thought to help? It's about the only way you will get 1000 miles out of the 11 meter band. The amps just make you louder than your neighbors and make a bunch of noise. When the sunspots are active, it's very easy to get 1000 miles using 5 watts. That's why 'you can talk across the country, but not across the street'.
K8MHZ
Senior Member
- Occupation
- Electrician
Very possible. And could be more than a block away. If that is the case it will be hard to track down, and if you do, realize the radio operator is probably doing nothing wrong and you will have to do something to the breakers anyway.
No amplifier is needed to make the breakers trip, either. There are several videos on You Tube about this.
Agreed. But I was a broke college kid and people would pay me good money for them.
It’s kind of like how much HP you had in your muscle car - an ego thing.
hillbilly1
Senior Member
- Location
- North Georgia mountains
- Occupation
- Owner/electrical contractor
I quoted a generator install for a ham radio operator, he said he was a relay station or something, and not legally transmitting. He said he was an engineer from Germany. He wanted the generator in his basement so the city wouldn’t know he had it. Quoted it in a fire rated room with external air flow and exhaust. Pretty pricey. Didn’t get it, don’t know if another contractor threw one in there, or he decided it was too expensive. Maybe somebody did that in the subdivision!
Ham enthusiasts don't take kindly to illegal transmitters. Generator or not, city knowing or not.... he'd get rooted out pretty quickly and the FCC would shut him down.
hillbilly1
Senior Member
- Location
- North Georgia mountains
- Occupation
- Owner/electrical contractor
It was probably zoning that made him illegal, thats probably why he didn't want the city to know about it.
He admitted he's transmitting illegally. Most cities don't care about radio transmitters as it's a federal issue.
hillbilly1
Senior Member
- Location
- North Georgia mountains
- Occupation
- Owner/electrical contractor
The long antenna wire in his back yard should have tipped off the city. LOL!
mtnelect
HVAC & Electrical Contractor
- Location
- Southern California
- Occupation
- Contractor, C10 & C20 - Semi Retired
"Phantom Tripping"
This is such a common problem !
The solution:
1. When installing a "GFI/AFI" circuit all the neutrals have to be dedicated to that circuit.
2. That means that at all junction boxes all neutrals need to be identified.
3. Do not mix neutrals !
4. Problem solved !!
This is such a common problem !
The solution:
1. When installing a "GFI/AFI" circuit all the neutrals have to be dedicated to that circuit.
2. That means that at all junction boxes all neutrals need to be identified.
3. Do not mix neutrals !
4. Problem solved !!
Most cities don't care about federal laws.
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