[Elecraft] Update on my progress - Now General RF Issue WAS 160m loop experiment a big failure

[goldtr8 at charter.net]

First, let me say thank you to everyone on the list who has replied via 
the list or directly.   The help has been fantastic and has increased my 
general knowledge as well as helping me with the problem.

Althought I have pointed to the start of the problem with the 
installation of the Loop and the install of the propane tank and 
possible crushed coax, I now believe that I have always had some RF 
issues but it was brought to my attention by the Loop being real bad and 
then I was highly sensitive to the whole system.

First I had made a significant error in the basic grounding of my shack. 
This error I will call the green wire mistake.  What I had done was add 
the chassis ground of all my 12v devices  and tuner to the green wire 
ground of the house electrical system.  This is in fact a signficant 
error and has been corrected.  What I have learned that there is a 
difference for a saftey ground for lightening protection and so on and 
it has nothing to do with an RF ground.  So green wire error fixed, long 
term a total revamp of the system for a safety ground.

Second I did a lot of checking of the coax yesterday.  Checked it with 
nothing attached, checked it with a dummy load, used functions of my MFJ 
259b that I did not even know existed.  Basically the coax checks out 
fine, but I still have RF.   The coax at this point in time is no longer 
buried, I completely unearthed it.

At this point in time I put a choke at the antenna feed up in the air 
with 31 mix ferrites and no improvement.  So if the problem is at the 
antenna feed this should have fixed it.  I remove my lightening arrestor 
from the system just to check it out no change.  So I pull the choke 
down.

Next I put a choke right at the antenna out the same choke that I had 
put on the antenna feed point.  Wow big improvement plus I added more 
snap on 31 ferrites directly on the coax.   So I have a choke in the 
shack and now I can go full power.   So having the choke at the feed 
into the antenna tuner has a dramatic effect.

Now I am thinking ok I will burry the coax again, easy to do in the soft 
grass plus I want to see if the problem turns on again as I have changed 
the system with the coax laying on the ground and the outside is dry not 
directly coupled to the set ground.  After the burry RF is bad real bad. 
So coax is now on laying on the ground again unearthed and the system 
again functions, points again to bad coax.

I am now convenced that this is it so I turn on the shack PC to get some 
more information and so on.  Plus I am talking to some other hams on 
what I have found.  As the PC boots up the RF is back and it is strong. 
Holy Sxxt Batman, now what.   So I ponder this for a moment, since I 
removed my geen wire error the PC is no longer connected to the K3 than 
thru the rs232 so I am assuming Pin1 problem.  I make a ground wire from 
the chassis of the PC to the center of the grounding point (grounding 
star as it is referred to) and fixed.  So I take a critical look at the 
PC installation and the coax runs right next to the PC.  So I disconnect 
everything and move the PC to the other side of the desk to get it as 
far away from the coax as I can plus this eleminates short jumper cables 
for the mouse and so on.  So other than a brief instant when the PC 
boots up and it is a very specfic part of the boot cycle there is no RF.

So in a nutshell

1) fixed green wire problem
2) unearthed coax and it is laying on the ground on the top of the grass
3) build choke with 31 mix at antenna out on the tuner
4) moved PC

I am on the air.

To do when the order shows up from UPS.

Install new coax, I assume the one I have is not happy anymore and test 
the system to see if I can remove the choke at the tuner.

 From my perspective I am on the air, but I do not have a robust 
installation being on the 2nd floor.  I probally can survive this winter 
this way with the simple antenna shield grounding outside as I did last 
winter as there is no lightning normally.  However, I have to determine 
the best way to redo the installation and am considering moving the 
shack to the basement where then it will be signficantly eaiser to have 
the shack properly grounded for safety and then bonded.

Again thanks for the help, as I am on the air but not convinced that I 
have it fully cured.  So there may be more questions in the future when 
I find stuff starts to not work again.

~73
Don
KD8NNU