Perhaps you should have told him you could not hear the 1800 AM farm report,
hi hi .... Glad you have this issue found and the fix in the works :)
73's Bill
On Dec 13, 2007 8:56 AM, n0rq-lists <n0rq-lists@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> Indeed, a great story! Although it started in what must have seemed
> near hopelessness, it now looks like you'll have an answer soon. Super.
>
> If the ham can find the pole for the utility (assuming it is not on
> private
> property),
> he has done two-thirds of the work. THAT task is largely incomprehensible
> to most utility folks -- but IF you can find the pole, they truly are
> experts
> on the stuff on the pole, and more often than not, they'll be able to find
> and fix the problem on the pole.
>
> Dave N0RQ
> www.powerlinenoise.com
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Dennis OConnor" <ad4hk2004@yahoo.com>
> To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
> Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2007 7:33 AM
> Subject: [TowerTalk] Line Noise
>
>
> > As I have commented on several of these forums, I have developed a
> severe
> > line noise problem that especially plagues my 160 operations.. During
> the
> > ARRL 160 it wiped us out on the NE Beverage being 30 over almost
> > continuously... I had a call in to the power company now for some
> > weeks... Monday I got a call from their noise complaint guy and we made
> an
> > appointment for 1PM Wednesday...
> >
> > Tuesday nite I got home and checked the noise during a wet snow fall...
> > It was dead silent - just like it is after a good rain...
> > I thought that was just my luck with Consumers coming out the next
> day...
> > But Wednesday AM at a crisp 25 degrees the 'insulator' had dried and
> was
> > back to it's usual roaring-snapping self...
> >
> > Anyway, during the phone call with their trouble shooter I was
> > disheartened as the guy asked which radio station was getting the
> > interference... So I gently explained about ham radio..
> > He then asked if that was channel 19 <my heart plummeted into my
> > shoes>...
> > Finally he asked what frequency... I said 1.8 megacycles was the
> worst...
> > A long silence and he asks, politely, what is a megacycle... ahhh
> > jeeez....
> >
> > Anyway, he gets there promptly (actually 15 minutes early) on
> > Wednesday... We talk it over and he listens as I switch the Beverages to
> > show the noise direction is Northeast.. I ask (with anticipation) what
> > kind of noise finding equipment the power company has... He looks at me,
> > shuffles his feet, and says, "I use the AM radio in my truck as I'm
> > driving around."
> > Now it's my turn to shuffle my feet... I tell him I can get him within
> a
> > 1000 feet of the noise source on the road, but that the high tension
> lines
> > are way back off the road on private property(s) and he can't get his
> > truck in there...
> >
> > I bring out the MFJ noise receiver (highly recommended by me) and show
> > him how to use it and off we go... He likes the MFJ... Finally parked
> at
> > the point of maximum noise on the road a half mile from my place we get
> > out... There are no trepassing signs visible... I mention to him that
> as
> > the power company, doesn't he have the legal authority to inspect his
> > power lines... His instant answer is, "Absolutely.", and off he goes...
> He
> > is a real go getter... If I were hiring I would recruit him...
> >
> > He hikes through the snow, crawls over a fence and goes back in the
> > woods... I see him sniffing around the pole holding up the 4800 volt
> line
> > A few minutes later he is trotting back towards the road underneath a
> drop
> > coming out and crossing the road to my side and going towards a
> neighbors
> > spread... He says the signal strength drops as he gets closer to the HV
> > pole but seems to rise as he comes back towards the road... We go down
> the
> > road and back up into the neighbors drive... He gets out and starts
> > walking through the woods...
> >
> > "Here it is.", he calls.. I decide they can only shoot me, and I go
> > through the woods to meet him... Right there, he says pointing... I
> look
> > up the pole at the transformer and the fuse, etc. and see nothing
> amiss...
> > He says, look at the stand off bracket for the fuse, there is a crack
> in
> > the fuse holder and the wood on the pole is starting to char... Notice
> > how dark the wood is right at the base of the bracket... I peer at the
> > pole... I don't see the crack, but I do see the ring of darker wood
> around
> > the base of the bracket...
> > He says the fuse holder is shorted to the metal bracket and there is
> high
> > voltage on the metal bracket and the current is charring the wood... He
> > also points out that the back guy for the pole is touching the neutral
> > line running to the buildings.. I notice that he does not touch the back
> > guy, but simply leans close and listens to it (it has a fiberglass
> > cover)..
> >
> > He says he will enter a work order to have them replace all the
> hardware
> > on the pole except for the transformer... I ask him about the back guy
> > touching the neutral... He comments they will have the township pull the
> > electrical inspection and see who signed it off...
> >
> > So that is it this morning... I still have noise, but hopefully not for
> > long...
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > denny / k8do
> >
> > ---------------------------------
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> >
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