Thanks Bob! You are correct, it is "arc". I misspell a different word
everyday ever since my craniotomy. ;-) And otto spelczech doesn't always
help me, and sometimes copies my errors. Hey we all make mistakes, right
Bob -K6U?
Responding to Kurt's e-mail:
Kurt perhaps you are working with a smaller co-op utility and not a larger
utility? If I called our electric company's customer call center, they will
not know the difference between an arc and a spark, but the experienced line
tech probably will in many cases. The line tech, in most cases, will not
come out and search for a simple RFI sparking noise that's causing radio
interference until the RFI investigator finds the pole or source of the
noise for them. They don't have time for that. Once they think a ham or
even an RFI tech is trying to pull a fast one with them, good luck getting a
good response out of them in the near future.
RFI definitions of arc and spark might help. The Interference Handbook by
Nelson/Orr refer to power line RFI as a "spark discharge" because the
discharge is very short (milli or microseconds) in length and repeated but
not continuous. "AC Power Interference Handbook" [
http://www.arrl.org/shop/AC-Power-Interference-Handbook ] also uses similar
language. The ARRL RFI Book says "A sustained spark is often called an
'arc'." Then they also refer to power line RFI as "spark-type"
interference.
Electric power systems have hundreds sparking sources nearly everywhere on
power lines, and they are not a safety issue like arcing is. So I agree
arcing should be called in as arcing. But RFI should be called in as TV or
Radio Interference in order to get the proper technician sent out on the
call.
I understand your goal is to get the power company to respond fast to the
phone call so I can see why you might want to try calling it arcing to get a
fast response. If that worked for you, good! With most utilities I still
recommend being honest and open about what the RFI problem really is by
calling it "Radio Interference" if you want to get a good response and
relationship for future calls, and there will be future calls for most
active hams on HF bands.
If you're unlucky enough to have a power company who is not responsive, it
might be because some other ham or hams have already tried some "angle" on
them before so they're a bit tired of that by the time you called it in. Or
in other cases, their new management has cut back on the RFI budget and they
need a letter from the FCC to get them back on track. I've seen both
happen. In either case, playing a new "angle" (new only to you) is not
going to be the best way to proceed in my opinion. But you know what they
say about opinions...
73, de ed -K0iL
-.-. --.- -.. . -.- ----- .. .-.. -.-
Ed Edwards
--... ...-- - --- ..- --- -- ...-.-
-----Original Message-----
From: RFI [mailto:rfi-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Bob K6UJ
It is spelled arcing, not arching.
I was intrigued by your statement that the Utility company handles arcing
and sparking differently.
The dictionary gives the same definition.
I called our utility company today on another matter and while I was on the
phone I asked them if in their terminology there was a difference. They
said no they are the same.
Dictionary Definitions :
Arcing:
A luminous discharge of electricity across a gap between electrodes.
Sparking:
A luminous disruptive electrical discharge of very short duration between
two conductors separated by a gas (as air)
73,
Bob
K6U
On May 24, 2013, at 1:38 PM, EDDIE, K0iL wrote:
> A word of caution: To a utility, there is a difference before "arching"
and "sparking". If you have arching, the ham won't be the only person to
call in the problem because everyone will probably be hearing it too. The
RFI that only hams "hear" on their radios is usually just sparking.
>
> You might get a quick initial response if you call it in as arching, but
they will send the wrong crew out. If you cannot point to the obviously
arching equipment, they will leave and be a little angry you wasted that
crews' time.
>
> You might have trouble after that with getting the correct person to come
out to investigate and locate your sparking problem. Especially if you do
that more than once.
>
> I suggest it's better to be honest, factual and helpful if you want
repeated service rather than trying to angle or trick the call center
people--which is pretty easy to do on this subject.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: RFI [mailto:rfi-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of KD7JYK DM09
> Another angle of attack...
>
> According to several meter installers in my area, an arcing pole is
> "hazardous and may start a fire. It is considered an emergency, call
> the emergency number on the back of your power bill and report it
immediately".
> Since we don't know if the arcing is internal or external and whether
> or not it may cause a fire- if ever, all detected arcing poles should
> be reported so that they may be inspected and maintained as required.
> No more arcing, no more noise, no more RFI, no more potential of
> billions of dollars of liablity for the power company. Everyone is happy!
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