Tech tip: Console grounding

clarknovak · Post by **clarknovak** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 5:08 am

Saw an email from a client today:

Is it ok to connect the ground to the Element PSU which is grounded via power socket?

Good question. Can you just connect the console to the power supply, since the supply is grounded? The answer is no, you can't take a shortcut here. The console should always have an independent connection direct to a ground point, whether it's station ground or some other ground point. This prevents ground loop generation, as well as the possibility of spiking two devices instead of one.

SEP · Post by **SEP** » Thu Apr 10, 2008 9:37 pm

On the subject of the Element ground, the stud specifically, the way Axia puts that stud on the framework is challenging to work with. It's in an awkward place (not easy to get at) and there is simply a bolt and two nuts. I have tried a couple of different ways to get this to lock down nice and tight, but even lock washers and jam nuts are not proving themselves very effective. A captive stud on the framework somewhere that you don't have to hold the backside of while torqueing down the ground lug nut would be nice. As it is now you have to take out a couple of Element modules to get at the bolt head to hold it in place.

clarknovak · Post by **clarknovak** » Thu Apr 10, 2008 10:23 pm

Good feedback, SEP, thank you. I'll pass it along to our hardware designers.