ZIAA ARCHIVE RECORDANOMALY POST-MORTEMS
INC-2026-18failureVERIFIED RECORD
VLF-GRID-HUM: VLF Atmospheric Induction Coil Ground Loop Humming
INC-2026-18HAZARD: SIGNAL_GROUND_LOOP_NOISESTATUS: ISOLATION_INSTALLED_NOISE_REDUCEDINCIDENT DATE:
VLF-GRID-HUM: VLF Atmospheric Induction Coil Ground Loop Humming
Lead Investigator: Rowan Vance
INCIDENT NARRATIVE
Initial recordings at the Joshua Tree Natural Radio Pod showed overwhelming 60 Hz grid interference despite the remote desert location. Ground currents from agricultural pump stations 4 km away were traveling through dry desert soil into the receiver grounding rod.
ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS
Direct galvanic connection between battery charger ground and antenna preamp ground formed an expansive ground loop.
CONTAINMENT PROTOCOL
Installed high-speed optical isolation couplers between antenna preamps and recording digitizers, eliminating all galvanic ground paths.
SALVAGED / REASSIGNED HARDWARE
Orthogonal Loop AntennasJFET Differential PreampSolar Power System