Frank, et al.:
When the sudden appearance of "noise" made use of all the HF frequencies
impossible I naturally did what all able-bodied flexers would do: I sent
panadapter photos of the problem to all the sources I thought could help me
including the ARRL. I received absolutely no help. Then I noticed that the
noise was worst when using antennas closest to the highway---in other words,
closest to the power line. I then "worked my way" into the power company
and while doing this had a visitor to the shack who was a retired
maintenance supervisor. I showed him the noise on the panadapter and I
could tell he didn't know what to do with this information. But he asked
that I let him "listen." He immediately told me that this was noise from
an MOV and "not very far away." A little later I got a phone call from the
power company engineering department. I told him what I had learned and was
told it would be looked into.
A few days later a very large tracked vehicle appeared which was used to
access the steep valley and swampy area. The trouble was gone! No
problem dealing with the utility. I know that most people complain about a
lack of interest/activity from power companies but I certainly didn't find
that to be true.
73
Lee K9WRU
----- Original Message -----
From: "Frank N. Haas KB4T" <k...@arrl.net>
To: <flexradio@flex-radio.biz>
Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 2010 3:23 PM
Subject: Re: [Flexradio] Finding Noise
I work for a large electric utility as an interference investigator. I make
my living finding all sorts of powerline-based and non-powerline based
interference sources. This is the Flex Radio reflector and not an
interference location list so I will try to be brief.
I realize that my comment here won't stop the practice of whacking,
kicking,
bumping or tampering with utility equipment but I am compelled to say
this:
Don't tamper with utility equipment. Resist the urge to take baseball
bats,
sledgehammers, etc to any utility pole. It's both dangerous and illegal.
You do not have the right to do anything to a utility pole. How would you
feel if I, as the utility's interference investigator, came to your house
and whacked your tower with a sledgehammer? I'm sure you wouldn't
appreciate
that nor is it legal for me to do so.
It's dangerous because one good whack could jar something loose and hit
you
or, worse, injure you. I work with line crews quite frequently to correct
problems that cause interference. There is only one circumstance where a
hammer is used on a pole. Staples are hammered in to secure the bond
(ground) wire that runs down most poles to ground rods buried under the
pole. When line crew members hammer a pole they do so only after verifying
that nothing will fall on them. Hydraulic tools are used to tighten nuts
but again only when it is deemed safe to do so.
In my experience, whacking a pole rarely produces any useful result. Real
direction finding yields the fastest results. Transformers are rare
offenders (at least in my area.) Loose hardware, faulty lightning
arrestors
and broken bond (ground) wires are the most frequent offenders. When the
interference can be heard at VHF frequencies, the source is usually easy
to
locate. When the source can't be heard above 7 or 8 MHz, it becomes more
challenging and often indicates a faulty transformer. Still none of my
direction finding techniques include kicking, whacking or jarring
equipment.at least not without a hard hat and a qualified eye.
Seek the assistance of the utility. Try to work with them to DF the
source.
Leave the whacking, shaking, tinkering and other physical effort to
qualified line crews trained in doing such work safely. If the utility is
unresponsive or too sluggish in resolving your issue, contact your state
regulatory agency to "motivate" them to focus their efforts more
effectively.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!
73,
Frank N. Haas KB4T
Utility Interference Investigator
Florida USA
Flex 5Ka Owner
Original message:
Date: Sun, 19 Dec 2010 13:29:14 -0600
From: "Brad A. Steffler" <bsteff at comcast.net
<http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz> >
To: flexradio at flex-radio.biz
<http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz>
Subject: [Flexradio] Waterfall and Power line noise - a secret weapon
Message-ID: <4D0E5D0A.4040700 at comcast.net
<http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz> >
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Thanks to all who have suggested other things to look at for as sources
of noise besides the power line.
<Response> Two winters ago I had some noise that only occured on very cold
nights. I suspected a bad power transformer atop a pole. The problem was
how
to identify the pole it was on. I'd like to share the two tricks I used.
You'll need a baseball bat.
I went down the block listening with an AM radio. When the noise increased
I
whacked each pole with the baseball bat. When I hit the 3rd pole the noise
immediately changed. The vibration caused the pole to vibrate which
transfered into the transformer. A crude microphone! I also noticed a "red
light" atop the transformer which I later learned was an "over-temp"
indicator. When I called the local power company they agreed to check it.
Two days later, no more noise! I received a call from one of their
engineers
who was amazed to hear how I found it. He commented that they had a $10K
instrument for doing what I did with a baseball bat and an AM radio!
_______________________________________________
FlexRadio Systems Mailing List
FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz
http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/
Knowledge Base: http://kc.flexradio.com/ Homepage:
http://www.flexradio.com/
_______________________________________________
FlexRadio Systems Mailing List
FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz
http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz
Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/
Knowledge Base: http://kc.flexradio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flexradio.com/
