burgermeister,
I think I remember reading that your background is in electrical engineering, so if you notice that any of my interpretations of theory are spotty, please correct me. Questions like this are always the most humbling for me, and remind me of the complexity of electrical theory.
Also, I clarified one of my posts above to show I was referring to a ground wire and not the earth.
Dont think for a minute that I was critiqueing you. I agree with Brettski, you did a great job of long distance troubleshooting and Brettski was able to get what he needed done. I learned also, and I thank you for that. My house is 35 yrs. old and only has 1 panel outside with all coppers and whites connected to the bus that the ground rod connects to. I dont deal with house wiring except to keep our appliances going WAY past their prime, much to the wife's chagrin. I just recently condemned the last harvest gold appliance, the gas heater gave it up in the nat. gas drier.
You are right on with the electrical theory. What seems so simple can get confusing. I have worked on shipboard equipment for many yrs. Most circuits are balanced to earth. When someone unknowingly connects up a residential UPS with the earth and common tied together; it gets interesting.
I have been on the RF side for 38 yrs. When something just cannot be explained by practical OR theory, we have a simple explanation.....it's FM, not freq. modulation, but........Magic.
I will have to look at the new electrical panels.
