Breaker Breaker! Breaker....Breaker........Breaker................Breaker
I promise I'm not going CB on you (not that there's anything wrong with that....)
Okay, now that I have both a teasing jab at CB, and a reference to a very popular 90's sitcom out of the way, I'll get down to the real business at hand - fun with Ham radio!
The real reason for this post being titled "Breaker Breaker" is not because I'm trying to jump in with emergency traffic, or talk to truckers on channel 19 - it's because I just took delivery of a bunch of (6) actual breakers today....
Okay, now that I have both a teasing jab at CB, and a reference to a very popular 90's sitcom out of the way, I'll get down to the real business at hand - fun with Ham radio!
The real reason for this post being titled "Breaker Breaker" is not because I'm trying to jump in with emergency traffic, or talk to truckers on channel 19 - it's because I just took delivery of a bunch of (6) actual breakers today....
Apparently there were a lot arc fault breakers manufactured that were RF sensitive, and they can end up tripping from the RF produced by our Ham radio stations. For a lot of people this is old news, but for new hams like me, it is new old news, if that makes sense. The ARRL has a pretty good write up on it here, which includes contact info for whom to call if you have the variety in question, like I do.
I noticed the issue quite some time ago, because I was tripping breakers in our recently completed addition while operating "portable" in my back yard with a Buddiepole antenna (I'll have to do a post on this antenna sometime - it's pretty slick). Since my operations are primarily mobile however, I hadn't gotten around to following up on it. I finally got around to it though, because while my home shack is under renovation (it still looks like the picture at right) I sometimes operate from my temporary backup station - my desk in the corner of the living room. I had a picture of it in my very first post, but if you need a refresher, here it is:
The station works well considering that the antenna is the downspout and rain gutter, and the ground connection is a piece of steel re-bar (should we take bets on how long it takes to rust out?) The radio is just my mobile rig that I pull out of the car when I want to operate from the house. Anyway, while playing radio this winter, a week or so before Winter Field Day, I tripped the breakers and was reminded about the issue. They even tripped when doing some digital stuff at 20 watts. The big problem was that the breakers it was tripping included one of the circuits that includes one of our two pellet stoves that heat the house. If I am forced to choose between playing radio and having a warm house, the YL will let you know in no uncertain terms that having a warm house is more important (I can't argue with that since we have 2 young kids.....)
So, last week I finally got around to e-mailing the two gentlemen listed in the ARRL article, and within a week I had my new breakers, free of charge, sitting on my doorstep. Now I just have to find time to... *Ahem* Now "my certified electrician" has to find time to replace these breakers (all kidding aside - changing breakers isn't a DIY project if you don't know what you are doing - consider yourself warned!) Once that's done, I'll be good as new, playing radio AND being warm!
So, last week I finally got around to e-mailing the two gentlemen listed in the ARRL article, and within a week I had my new breakers, free of charge, sitting on my doorstep. Now I just have to find time to... *Ahem* Now "my certified electrician" has to find time to replace these breakers (all kidding aside - changing breakers isn't a DIY project if you don't know what you are doing - consider yourself warned!) Once that's done, I'll be good as new, playing radio AND being warm!
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