Author Topic: Like oscilloscopes, can other pieces of bench test equipment create ground loops  (Read 748 times)

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Offline ballsystemlordTopic starter

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Like oscilloscopes, can other pieces of bench test equipment create ground loops?
Like bench-top DMMs, LCR meters, DC power supplies, and load banks?

Thanks!
 

Online tautech

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Bench DMM's, no.
Otherwise pretty much any instrument with a grounded BNC connector one must be wary how they use it.
Some DC supply's need be watched too as outputs are not always isolated.
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Offline David Hess

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Power supplies usually have floating outputs, but not always.

Most other instruments with BNC connectors will create ground loops, but there are some exceptions.  For instance some function generators have a galvanically isolated output.
 
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Offline jonpaul

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Wrong assumptions, so  title makes little sense.

Check your def of "ground loops"

j

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Offline David Hess

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Below shows an example of a pulse generator which makes some attempt to minimize ground loops.  The shell of the output connector is isolated from the chassis.
 


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