[TVARC] Eaton AFCI Circuit breakers- the continuing saga

[Cal Fuhrman]

I get my “kicks” in my Ham Radio hobby through restoration of hollow state (tube) vintage equipment.  I live south of 466A.  This past Spring, while prepping for an alignment of a Collins 32S-3, I went key down for just a minute at 50% power and heard multiple snapping sounds.  My workbench and shack are in my garage just a few feet from the breaker panel but I didn’t need to go look for popped breakers because my XYL appeared within seconds to let me know the TV, lights and clocks had all gone out.  6 of my 7 AFCIs had dropped.  

A few days later I discussed this occurrence with John, NP2B.  He advised that I call The Villages Warranty department which I did.  They directed me to the original electrical installer, Pike Electric.  When I called them and explained the issue they wasted no time in arranging a visit by their technician who appeared 2 days later with a box of breakers.  He told me the new breakers “solved the RF susceptibility problem”.  He replaced all of the old AFCIs in 20 minutes.  When he left I brought up the 32S3 and hit it with full power.  Problem solved.  Kudos to Pike Electric.

73
Cal – WA3CTZ

From: K2PS Pete Stafford
Sent: Monday, July 17, 2017 4:43 PM
To: TVARC at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [TVARC] Eaton AFCI Circuit breakers- the continuing saga

I would also add that the smoke alarm company will also replace (your labor) those in your house if RF gets them to sound.  I forget who the manufacturer is, but they swapped out mine with no charge and no aggravation.

Good luck,
Pete, K2PS

From: tvarc-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:tvarc-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Rich Erlichman
Sent: Monday, July 17, 2017 5:39 PM
To: TVARC at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [TVARC] Eaton AFCI Circuit breakers- the continuing saga

John,

John (NP2B) is the champion of this project. But if you contact the electrical contractor as listed on your breaker box, they “should” respond and change out the breakers at no cost.
If not, then you can contact Eaton corporation directly. Here is a link to the article on the ARRL web site when ARRL was working and sharing their lab to assist Eaton in developing the RFI proof breakers.
http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-helps-manufacturer-to-resolve-arc-fault-circuit-interrupter-rfi-problems
Contact Joe Fello at Eaton. His number is at the bottom of the article. Once you identify yourself, and that you are with our radio club, and it probably wouldn’t hurt to mention John Ellis’s name, he will ask “How many do you want?” This is of course with you doing the replacement/install yourself.
If you have any issues or difficulties doing it yourself, there are some of us (including myself) that can help you with it.

BTW – the homes built south of 466A not only have the AFCI issue, but they build the roofs with an aluminum underlay, intended as a heat shield, But for us hams, this heat shield also acts as an RFI shield making any attic antennas pretty useless.

73,
Rich, ND4G

From: tvarc-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:tvarc-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of John Spoonhower
Sent: Monday, July 17, 2017 5:07 PM
To: TVARC at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [TVARC] Eaton AFCI Circuit breakers- the continuing saga

All,
I just thought I'd update the group on my recent experiences in trying to get operational antennas in a Villa community setting. There is also a plea for help in the following.
First the "good news":
After some few months experimenting with attic-placed antennas for UHF/VHF, I have settled on a dual band J pole attached to a palm tree about 10 ft. from the house. The same antenna placed in the attic, activated the smoke alarms throughout the house. Rather than replacing the smoke detectors, I opted to use the antenna placed outside and have not seen it necessary to replace the smoke alarm components. Performance of the external antenna is better anyway. I can run up to 50 w on VHF and UHF without any issues. This is good enough to access most ( maybe all) of the local repeaters.
Now for the"bad news", the HF story:
I have had some decent luck with a number of (non attic) "stealth" antennas on HF, my primary interest is 40-10 meters,; a number of remote tuner-fed long wire types work OK. I can make contacts, even a few dx contacts mostly on CW. However all these antennas trip my original Eaton AFCI breakers at 20 W or more RF power. I recall that the club raised this issue with the villages. I am just wondering about the current status. Are replacement circuit breakers still available? I am looking for guidance....
73, John
NX2I


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