I've been suffering from what appeared to be two sources. Certainly power line
noise which
I've had on a couple of other occasions in past years at this QTH. The power
company has
always found it and fixed it. Then there was a nearly constant background hash
type noise
which I thought originated with the smart meter or power drop thinking I'd
eliminated every
other source.
A senior tech arrived and placed sensors on the input lines, connected them to
a recording
device, measured harmonics, and over a two week period declared that the power
as delivered
was fine. He pulled the smart meter for a couple of days and still the noise
persisted. He
tried everything I could suggest. He drove with me in my car with the AM radio
tuned off station
and heard the RFI kick up in the spots I'd told them about and then talked to
the crew which is
responsible for power quality. He inspected the cable installation and its
ground, He also helped me
trouble shoot the circuits in the house and we found a CF bulb which seemed to
be part of the problem.
(The bulb in question was "burned out" and but when the light switch was turned
on, the noise diminished,
turned off, it increased. Could someone explain that to me? There are other
CF's on that
circuit which I will be changing out soon. I also have florescent lights in
the kitchen and utility room
besides CF bulbs in several fixtures.
So, it looks like the hash type noise may have originated, at least in part, in
my own house. I really
hate to admit that since I thought I'd checked everything out. The line noise
is quite real, spitting
and sputtering and intermittent. I wish the crew responsible for that issue
was as dedicated as the
senior tech who helped me out. But I now have hope after six months of
fighting the issue and
starting to work on setting up a remote station.
73, Gary W7TEA
> Two utility company techs arrived today to check out the smart meter after I
> described the symptoms. They found that the ground wire behind the meter was
> carrying current. When the current was cut off at the breaker panel, the
> current bled off slowly. RFI was being radiated from the drop and down into
> the ground--underground utilities here. A line crew is coming next week to
> check the transformer
> and the ground at the meter. Any thoughts and relevant experiences surely
> welcome!
>
> 73, Gary W7TEA
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