There are Ontario Hams Who have reported very bad RFI to 900 MHz and higher
ops. Two I know found it bad enough to interfere with any weak signal reception
(typical for those bands) and that their stations power output also caused the
meter to go defective.Greg
--- On Sun, 1/15/12, rfi-request@contesting.com <rfi-request@contesting.com>
wrote:
From: rfi-request@contesting.com <rfi-request@contesting.com>
Subject: RFI Digest, Vol 108, Issue 7
To: rfi@contesting.com
Date: Sunday, January 15, 2012, 8:00 PM
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: Smart meters (Eric - VE3GSI)
2. Re: Smart meters (Alan NV8A)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:47:31 -0500
From: Eric - VE3GSI <ve3gsi@sympatico.ca>
Subject: Re: [RFI] Smart meters
To: "RFI e-Group" <rfi@contesting.com>
Message-ID: <BLU0-SMTP16CDFA35D4547EC918A581EC820@phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=original
Like Eddy, I also live in Ontario (VE3) and have no problems with RFI from a
smart meter being a problem with my station. My amplifier did not cause the
meter any problems at a previous home. Before our meter was installed, I
did hear from one Ham that his AM broadcast radio became useless after a
smart meter was installed. At the time this fellow Ham neglected to tell me
that his AM radio has a built-in antenna and the radio is sitting on a
buffet on the opposite side of the outside wall where the meter is located.
Sure enough if I take my portable AM radio and hold it with in a couple feet
of the meter I can also hear a buzz, beyond a few feet no noise is heard.
For a low tech description the noise, it is actually less than holding my
portable AM radio near a CFL bulb, so the noise is low.
However, I do have a highly intermitted broadband pulsing noise and/or at
times buzz, that seems to originate about 1 km away from our house. So far I
have narrowed the noise down to an area where a smart meter collector box
used. The power company (Ontario Hydro) have come to check things out, but
since the noise is so random and so infrequent it is makes find the problem
a challenge. The problem may not be the meter collector box, but there is
box located on the pole where the noise seems to come from.
On a side note, our house is the only home located at the end of a single
lane county road 1/2 km from the main feed line. And because of the distance
and terrain the meter collector box on the main line can not read our meter.
So for good or bad, at this the time being we are still on the old billing
system.
The smart meters that are used by Ontario Hyro are from a company called
Trilliant, which I think is a U.S. company.
Eric - VE3GSI.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Eddy Swynar"
> Hi Guys,
>
> Up here in THE LAND OF ON---a.k.a. Ontario, Canada---EVERYONE has been
> converted (FORCED) over to the so-called "smart" meter by the provincial
> power authority...
>
> The reason...? The government has instituted a "...a pay scale" based upon
> time of use: if you use electricity during so-called "prime time" (7:00 AM
> to 7:00 PM, I believe) your rates per kilowatt hour are
> higher---similarly, if you use electricity during off-peak hours, your
> rates are lower.
>
> This applies during weekdays only, too, BTW.
>
> It's all for the sake of "conservation" the authorities tell us, but it's
> more like a cash grab. Watch YOUR utility company do the same thing to you
> in the very near future...
>
> On a different note, before these devices were installed here, I wrote a
> long, scathing letter to the power authority here stating that I was a
> licensed Amateur radio operator, & that I neither expected to interfere
> with the devices, nor receive any RFI in kind, with their installation.
> The respondent was very sympathetic, and assured me repeatedly that there
> would be no RFI issues whatsoever...
>
> And in truth, there haven't been any---but I am rather weary of running
> the dish washer at 5:00 AM, & saving-up all the laundry for the weekend!
> Hi Hi
>
> ~73~ de Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:52:23 -0500
From: Alan NV8A <nv8a@charter.net>
Subject: Re: [RFI] Smart meters
To: "<rfi@contesting.com>" <rfi@contesting.com>
Message-ID: <4F132E77.2070303@charter.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed
40 years ago in Brisbane, Australia, electric water heaters were
normally connected to a circuit with a separate meter and a switch that
could be controlled by audio tones superimposed by the City Council (our
electricity supplier) on the 50Hz supply. This electricity was at a
cheaper rate than the rest, with power usually being uninterrupted
during the night, but possibly available at other times too -- when
loads were not heavy.
There was also a switch to supply the water heater with full-price power
at other times if needed, but we had a 60-gallon system (real gallons,
not the skimpy US ones), and some people even had 80-gallon ones.
I suppose some people had gas water heaters, but I'm not sure that gas
was even available in our part of town.
My point is that time-dependent pricing has been around for a looong time.
73
Alan NV8A
(long-ago VK4NDV. VK4ZDV, VK4AFE)
On 01/15/12 01:56 pm, Eddy Swynar wrote:
> Hi Guys,
>
> Up here in THE LAND OF NO---a.k.a. Ontario, Canada---EVERYONE has been
> converted (FORCED) over to the so-called "smart" meter by the provincial
> power authority...
>
> The reason...? The government has instituted a "...a pay scale" based upon
> time of use: if you use electricity during so-called "prime time" (7:00 AM to
> 7:00 PM, I believe) your rates per kilowatt hour are higher---similarly, if
> you use electricity during off-peak hours, your rates are lower.
>
> This applies during weekdays only, too, BTW.
>
> It's all for the sake of "conservation" the authorities tell us, but it's
> more like a cash grab. Watch YOUR utility company do the same thing to you in
> the very near future...
>
> On a different note, before these devices were installed here, I wrote a
> long, scathing letter to the power authority here stating that I was a
> licensed Amateur radio operator,& that I neither expected to interfere with
> the devices, nor receive any RFI in kind, with their installation. The
> respondent was very sympathetic, and assured me repeatedly that there would
> be no RFI issues whatsoever...
>
> And in truth, there haven't been any---but I am rather weary of running the
> dish washer at 5:00 AM,& saving-up all the laundry for the weekend! Hi Hi
>
> ~73~ de Eddy VE3CUI - VE3XZ
>
>
>
> ***********************************************************************************************************************
>
>
>
> On 2012-01-15, at 1:38 PM, Kim Elmore wrote:
>
>> Oklahoma Gas and Electric installed smart meters in my city as an initial
>> experimental tryout. I can run about a kW (peak) output. Mine works fine,
>> causes me no interference and I don't bother it. Not all smart meters are
>> the same, apparently.
>>
>> N5OP
>>
>>
>> On Jan 15, 2012, at 12:08, Joe<wa6rkn@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Just read in the paper that our local power company is going to install
>>> smart meters in all of Reno/Sparks. If we choose to decline a smart meter
>>> and stay with the old analog meter, there will be a $300.00 charge plus a
>>> $16.00 surcharge on our monthly bill.
>>>
>>> Talk about highway robbery..
>>>
>>> Will be intresting to see what happens at my house..my nxt door neighbor
>>> opted for a smart meter a year ago..My amplifier smoked it...3
>>> times......power company then went after me to pay for the meter(s). Lots
>>> of words until I showed their legal eagle part 15 (??) that said they have
>>> no legal protection from amateur radio interference, but they had best not
>>> interfere with us.
>>>
>>> The neighbor is running an analog meter again..
>>>
>>> Now Sierra Pathetic (Pacific) Power is going to foist smart meters on
>>> everyone...should be interesting if they are to experience the same issues
>>> as before and will they be forced to stay with analog at my house, and will
>>> they try to soak me (us) their illegal (IMHO) fees for having to run analog
>>> meters.
>>>
>>> Stay tuned..this is going to happen over the next year...all conversions
>>> should be done by December, 2012.
>>>
>>> Joe Wolfe
>>> WA6RKN
------------------------------
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