Choice of Wire for Dedicated Line


I'm planning on having a dedicated line run directly to the service panel. There is a LOT of RF in this area; as we have an antenna farm within a few miles. Any specific recommendations for wire?
williampowell

Showing 1 response by gs5556

Use MC type cable. This is similar to BX/AC only it provides better EMI noise suppression and uses a dedicated grounding conductor. Run the grounding conductor to the ground bar of the main panel; NOT the neutral bar. If the panel does not have a seperate ground bar, any electrician can install it. It's also a relatively easy DIY. This cable doesn't cost a small fortune.

Low impedance balanced interconnects are a must. RCA's will pick up the electric field radiated by the RF antenna and cause some serious humming.

Consider a power conditioning shielded (isolation) transformer for your dedicated circuit. Use a 2.0 or 3.0 kVA. Your other circuits will pick up the elecric field and infect your system. This adds many degrees of isolation.

Consider MIT power cables such as the Z-1 or Z-II. Yes, they dont have the heavy gage super-duper exotic copper and have molded rubber plugs - but they are probably the best in keeping out EMF/RFI noise, which sounds like your top priority. And, keep the cables (power and IC) as far away from each other as practical. Doubling the distance decreases noise by 6db.

That's how I would go about it. Hope this helps.