Re: grounding question

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: Jim Lux <jimlux@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

At 05:10 AM 10/10/2006, Tesla list wrote:
> Original poster: "Peter Terren" <pterren@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> I wire my cage to my HV ground and to mains ground.  RF ground 
> current with a good cage should be small .
> Using a RF choke completely disconnects the ground at TC frequencies 
> and should never be used. Try it on a normal TC and see the sparks 
> fly across it.

Well.. that would imply that you're inducing significant RF current 
in places "outside" the cage/TC area.

Maybe the sparks across the choke could be used as a diagnostic.



>  Similarly a counterpoise is a partial cage only so still large 
> currents to ground so shouldn't use a choke. An imperfect Faraday 
> cage should have only small RF currents to ground but should still 
> go somewhere otherwise there is a shock risk. The imperfect bit 
> mainly arises from the way the HV is brought into the cage and 
> filtering / voltage suppression at the point of entry.
> In summary, downunder opinion is that if using a cage then it should 
> be grounded to HV ground and on to mains ground. Counterpoise and 
> standard TC's need a good RF ground and should not be connected to 
> mains unless tiny.
>
> Peter