Martin Ewing wrote:
Yes, but... It's still worth trying to establish a local RF "ground" --
ensuring that everything in your shack is bonded together. No antenna
system is perfect, and many of us have some RF in our shacks. Fortunately,
the same bonding is needed for lightning and AC safety reasons, although
inductance is not a worry at 60 Hz.
The ideal is a Faraday Cage - enclosing your shack in a (nearly) solid
conducting box.
But a Faraday cage is NOT a solution to the fundamental problem -- RF
CURRENT flowing where we don't want it. A Faraday cage addresses the E
field (capacitive coupling) and poor shielding. The E-field is rarely an
issue with ham gear.
The E-field and poor shielding IS a common problem with consumer gear,
but usually 10-20dB less problematic than pin 1 problems excited by RF
current. If you're going to build a Faraday cage, build it in your
living room or office where your computers are, not your ham shack. :)
73,
Jim Brown K9YC
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