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Author Topic: Equipment Grounding Conductors and the Radio Amateur  (Read 387 times)

W3TDH

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Equipment Grounding Conductors and the Radio Amateur
« on: August 22, 2021, 07:00:07 PM »

The short version of what follows is that anyone who tells you to break the plug's Ground Pin, cut the Equipment Grounding Conductor (EGC), or open the EGC's connection to the receptacle by inserting a 2 to 3 wire adapter; without connecting it's grounding tab; in the cord to your radio equipment is engaged in a form of Wanton Reckless Endangerment. It will eventually get someone killed. That someone may not be the Amateur Licensee themself but a member of their family instead.

I also want to say that those who advocate such techniques in order to reduce your noise floor or audio artifacts, are also telling you that it is worth your life to accomplish that. But when they suggest it that is the detail that they leave out.

In the last couple of years some people who are very highly respected in the Amateur Radio Community have made some extremely dangerous suggestions about how to eliminate noise on your equipment's audio and  lower the noise floor in your receiver. Because these folks are genuine experts in there respective fields other Amateur Licensees make the mistake that they know what they are talking about when they hold forth on electrical safety grounding being the villain of the piece in audio and receiver noise issues. Sadly that is not only untrue but the advise that they are giving out is deadly dangerous. You may conclude that I’m a bit of a fanatic on this topic and you would be right. I have served as a volunteer Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician for 55 years in everyplace I have lived as an adult up until my retirement in 2015. In that 55 years I responded to several electrical shock injuries and at least 3 electrocutions. Such advice can and has gotten other amateur radio operators killed. One of them was one of the patients I transported to the hospital, doing cardiac compressions and forcing pure oxygen into his lungs, only to hear the doctor's inevitable words "Stop compressions. Time of death is..."  One thing I can assure you is that telling someone that their spouse will never be coming home again is no fun at all.

It is nearly inevitable that a piece of equipment that you will use sometime in your life will come to have an energized exterior at a voltage which will be high enough to supply the 3/100ths of an Ampere that it would take to kill you. The only remaining question is how long that condition will last. With an intact, low impedance Equipment Grounding Conductor it will last less than a second and you will fix the problem or get it fixed. If the EGC has been cut, disconnected, or removed it will last for as long as that equipment is still connected to the energized conductor (Hot). That gives you days or weeks or even months to come in contact with it while you are also in contact with some other conductive object such as any piece of equipment in your station connected to an antenna lead in. Given that you will have a protective device on the lead in and that you will have made sure that is grounded it will  carry that 30 milliamperes that will stall your heart and take your life.

I cannot ask that father of 2 whether it is really worth the risk of death to lower the noise floor on his receiver. But he got that deadly idea from someone and their casual thoughtlessness still makes me angry.

--
Tom Horne W3TDH
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K6AER

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Re: Equipment Grounding Conductors and the Radio Amateur
« Reply #1 on: August 22, 2021, 09:02:12 PM »

In that the common return ground goes to the same place as the safety grounds might be said this is a excessive safety issue. Two common return grounds are good. Would three or four be better? Many house hold devices only use two wire plugs. Should you never buy a two plug plug device. Good luck on that cell phone charger.

In that a lightning strike take place on your home would you be better in an intrinsic faraway safety shielded room 24/7 ?

Life is full of choices. As John Wayne said: " Choose carefully pilgrim".
« Last Edit: August 22, 2021, 09:07:44 PM by K6AER »
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W9FIB

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Re: Equipment Grounding Conductors and the Radio Amateur
« Reply #2 on: August 23, 2021, 03:48:05 AM »

Many house hold devices only use two wire plugs. Should you never buy a two plug plug device. Good luck on that cell phone charger.

They were designed to be safe without needing a ground. Equipment with a ground were designed for a ground to be used to be safe.

To suggest there is no difference is why people add unneeded risk to their lives. Also shows they have no understanding of how and why grounds are used.
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73, Stan
Travelling the world one signal at a time.

KD6VXI

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Re: Equipment Grounding Conductors and the Radio Amateur
« Reply #3 on: August 23, 2021, 10:33:11 AM »

No AER, it cannot be said that the common return and the grounding conductor both return that a chassis ground is unneeded.

A 2 wire corded device, that is to be sold today, has to be double insulated. 

Also, the grounded conductor WILL have voltage impressed upon it when a 120 volt device is running.

Test for yourself.  Run a meter from ground to neutral.  Neutral is rarely, if ever, at ground potential along its run. It carries the return current from the devices plugged in.  Ohms law dictates that it is above ground potential.

Cavalier attitudes like that shown can get you shocked.



--Shane
KD6VXI
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