"why is this so hard? special radios, special antennas, ultrasonics, etc,
etc, etc... if we needed all that stuff before hunting for something we
would never get it done. I have 2 radios I have used for hunting..."
It's a matter of learning what your equipment can do and how to use it. You
can already hear the noise, now figure out under what conditions and how to
pinpoint it.
I use a Yaesu FT-7900 tuned to 324 MHz with a glide slope antenna. I can
locate poles producing noise with zero ambiguity at speeds up to 85 MPH. No
doubt I could do it faster, but that's the fasted I've tested in a 25
zone...
To pinpoint, I use a radio direction finder built in the 1960's. I can
narrow it down to a single bolt or component from the ground. Next trick is
to connect a green laser and digital camera for documentation.
How'd I come to use these? I noticed the power company using 324 MHz to
track noise with a Yagi. I don't have their multi-Kilobuck RX and Yagi, but
I did have a $150 Ham radio in the car that covered the same frequency range
and a scrap antenna with a directional lobe, similar to a Yagi that points
upward toward the top of a pole when mounted on a car. Problem solved.
I've always used a pocket AM radio to track RFI, whether it's from
electronics or arcing. Something functional found in the trash will work.
Not very fancy, but flawless since the early 80's for me.
While standing in the shop one day, I glanced across a stash of RDF units.
AM, just like my pocket radio, MUCH more directional and with a deeper null,
gain control, a nice case shaped like an old timing light, sights front and
rear, compact, application specific, much more professional looking...
Perfect!
The Yaesu came with a used car I bought, the RDF $14, the special 324 MHz
antenna a Christmas present. So, for a few bucks and bothering to try, I
can find a pole every few seconds and pinpoint the source in a moment at a
glance. I can't complain.
Kurt
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