[RFI] Shielding a ground wire

[Jim Brown]

On 4/25/2013 7:54 PM, Aaron Kreider wrote:
> Does it ever make sense to shield a ground wire?

NO

> Or is this a silly idea?

Yes.

>
> I'm thinking of trying running coax to my ground rod instead of copper 
> wire.  The copper wire is picking up tons of RFI.

That suggests that something is seriously wrong with the power wiring 
and/or grounding in your home, and probably with your antenna system.

Are all the grounds in your home bonded together? Are you sure that your 
power system is properly grounded? Properly wired?  Is the power system 
ground bonded to the station ground, the cable TV system ground, the 
telephone ground, the satellite dish ground? They MUST be.

What sort of antenna are you using?  A long wire or vertical? Do you 
have radials or a counterpoise for these antennas?  You should.  Do you 
have effective common mode chokes at the feedpoint on all coax 
feedlines?  You should.

There's a tutorial on the fundamentals of power system wiring on my 
website, and there's excellent material in the last few annual editions 
of the ARRL Handbook on station grounding. http://k9yc.com/publish.htm

73, Jim K9YC