We had the power company lose the neutral connection in the
service to our house in New Hampshire. This meant that the 110
equipment on one side of the power system was acting as the
return for the 110 equipment on the other side. When my cousin
started using a big shop vac, the power strip on the other side
of the line started smoking as the surge suppressors tried to
handle the overvoltage situation. It didn't help that he has
always been taught that electricity is dangerous and you should
unplug all appliances, including clocks, whenever you leave the
house for any amount of time. Now he unplugs the religiously.
73 Bill AE6JV
On 9/4/17 at 10:32 AM, elecraft@mailman.qth.net (Mel Farrer via
Elecraft) wrote:
Funny you posted this.
I monitor BOTH sides of the 110/220 VAC service and have alarms set to trigger
either line >125 or
250 VAC. Being in the country THINGS happen.
Always expect the unusual.
Mel, K6KBE
From: David Robertson <kd1na...@gmail.com>
To: Elecraft <elecraft@mailman.qth.net> Sent: Monday, September
4, 2017 9:39 AM
Subject: [Elecraft] Items you think you can depend on
Everyone,
Over time we can grow complacent on many service items such as electrical
power, water and other services over time. Well that can be concerning as
many hidden changes can result in damage to your home and equipment.
Late late night I came in to my den and was closing down my ham station
when I notice my fault light on my KPA500 linear was on. I powered it down
and retired for the evening. This morning I powered up the linear (KPA500)
and at once I got a fault light and had a high voltage alert. I powered
down the linear and checked my input line voltage. It was 137 volts RMS! To
be sure it wasn't my imagination I rechecked the voltage with a different
meter with the same result. In checking the 220 volt outlet I measured 274
volts! My linear is set up for 220 volts operation and it was getting over
90 volts HV.
I alerted the neighbors and cut the main breaker to the house. I then
called the power company's service number and reported the problem. A short
time later they called me back and reported that a regulator in the local
sub station had "Stuck" and was reset. In rechecking my line voltage it was
118 volts on the low side and 236 volts on the high side.
In the 12 years we have been at this qth we found that our town's locally
run power company has been very reliable but this experience showed me that
it is not a bad idea to check your line voltage every once in a while.
73
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Frantz | The first thing you need when | Periwinkle
(408)356-8506 | using a perimeter defense is a | 16345
Englewood Ave
www.pwpconsult.com | perimeter. | Los Gatos,
CA 95032
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