Power Line Interference Solved--Tip (LONG)
Garry Shapiro
ni6t at scruznet.com
Tue Nov 5 20:03:58 EST 1996
Jerry Boyd wrote:
>
> A few months ago after retiring we moved to a rural area near Redding,
> Ca. Wanted room for antennas (got it!) and an "rf quiet" QTH in the
> country. Had that too until CQWW. It rained here almost all of CQWW
> weekend and all of the sudden an S-9 noise level when the yagis were
> pointed at JA. Forced to work JA's on 15 (which were weak anyhow) with
> beam pointed 60 degrees west of the actual JA heading.
>
> Monday morning after the contest(one week ago) I took a vhf-aircraft
> (AM) handheld and a vhf yagi and went looking. In short order found a
> PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric) power pole with a transformer, various
> insulators, and lightening arrestors which seemed to be the source of the
> problem. Called PG&E and explained the situation and they promised to
> have someone out within a week. This morning (one week) a PG&E
> interference specialist arrived. He was extremely well equipped with a
> variety of receivers (complete with attenuators) and yagis. In short
> order he confirmed the pole I had identified and then using a handheld
> receiver isolated one insulator as the primary source of the "leak".
> Upon later inspection (same day!!) by a repair crew this insultor (which
> I'll describe momentarily) was found to be cracked at the point where one
> end of a HV line fuse was attached.
>
> According to the repair crew this particular type of insulator has been
> the source of MANY MANY problems (not just RFI, but power failures as
> well). This type of insulator has been sold, in his words "to just about
> every electrical utility in the country". He would not identify the
> maufacturer or model number of the insulator because of pending
> litigation between the manufacturer of this defenctive insulator and
> several utility companies which are suing the manufacturer.
>
> The repair supervisor told me that tens of thousands of RFI problems and
> power failures have been attributed to this insulator. For lack of
> better identifying information I'll describe it. It mounts ATOP the
> power transformer (a pair per transformer) and protrudes at a 45 degree
> angle.It is about 10 inches long and about 3 1/2 inch in diameter. It is
> used to hold a long line fuse.
>
> The PG&E crew, which by the way I am commending in writing to their boss,
> not only replaced the faulty insulator and its mate, but re-configured
> the layout of lightening arrestors atop the pole to reduce the number of
> nuts and bolts that could later loosen and cause problems. End result,
> noise is gone and an almost certain power disruption this winter averted.
>
> If you are experiencing a noise problem which you track to a particular
> pole you might look for the type of line fuse insulator I've described.
> The crew that came here was sharp and knowledgable, but not all are.
>
> Jerry
> KG6LF
My good friend Jerry:
Pinch yourself--you are dreaming!
It is hard to believe you are talking about the Pacific Gas and Electric
Company--also known as the Grace L. Ferguson Storm Door and Public
Utility Company, also known as Lay Them All Off--We Don't Need Linemen,
Inc.
This is the same company that allowed most of its poles to rot for over
30 years (it saved maintenance costs), laid off 3000 linemen a few years
ago--and almost laid off another 3000 until stopped by public uproar and
the state PUC, and which overran $3.5 billion on its infamous nuclear
plant at Diablo Canyon, which money--wasted through sheer managerial
incompetence--the state PUC has most generously allowed them to collect
from its ratepayers, making them the recipients of just about the most
expensive electricity in the USA.
First, to get someone out right away in response to your call is
notable--rare, in fact. To get the repair done immediately--unless it
was an "emergency," such as an imminent fire or pole collapse--is
virtually unheard of. Three months to forever is more likely. Either you
had beginner's luck, are annointed by God, or you have fallen into some
forgotten backwater, where PG&E's usual customer credo--"Let the
bastards rot"--has somehow been forgotten. I would have kept that
information to myself!
Whatever you have, Jerry, you should bottle and sell. I am sure you will
work Heard Island on the first call.
--
Garry Shapiro, NI6T
Editor, The DXer
newsletter of the Northern California DX Club
>From bhorn at netcom.com (Bruce Horn) Wed Nov 6 06:12:16 1996
From: bhorn at netcom.com (Bruce Horn) (Bruce Horn)
Date: Tue, 5 Nov 1996 22:12:16 -0800
Subject: Contest Calendar (Vers. 96.11)
Message-ID: <v02140b02aea557052d6c@[206.165.32.5]>
CONTEST CALENDAR
November 5, 1996 Edition (96.11)
Please send corrections and additions directly to me. I will post an
updated calendar on a monthly basis. Thanks to VE2PIJ, N0AX, W9WI, G4BUO,
JE1CKA for contest info.
An HTML version of the calendar is available on request, or the most recent
calendar may be found at: http://www.primenet.com/~scdxc/contestcal.html
73 de Bruce, WA7BNM (bhorn at netcom.com)
The contest calendar is divided into two sections:
1) CONTEST CALENDAR: Calendar showing dates and times of scheduled
contests.
2) CONTEST LOG SUBMITTAL DEADLINES: Deadlines and addresses for
submitting logs for contests that have
already occurred or whose deadline will pass
before the next issue of the calendar.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTEST CALENDAR:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please note that you may not be able to operate during all of the total
hours of the contests listed below. Total operating time may also vary
by entry category. See individual contest rules for allowed operating
hours.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
November, 1996 (U.S hams should note that CQWW is before Thanksgiving)
Japan Int.DX Contest, Phone 2300Z, Nov 8 to 2300Z, Nov 10
WAE DX Contest, RTTY 0000Z, Nov 9 to 2400Z, Nov 10
OK/OM DX Contest 1200Z, Nov 9 to 1200Z, Nov 10
ARRL Sweepstakes, Phone 2100Z, Nov 16 to 0300Z, Nov 18
RSGB 1.8 MHz Contest, CW 2100Z, Nov 16 to 0100Z, Nov 17
CQ Worldwide Contest, CW 0000Z, Nov 23 to 2400Z, Nov 24
ARRL EME Competition 0000Z, Nov 23 to 2400Z, Nov 24 (2nd half)
December, 1996
ARRL 160-Meter Contest 2200Z,.Dec 6 to 1600Z, Dec 8
ARRL 10-Meter Contest 0000Z, Dec 14 to 2400Z, Dec 15
TARA RTTY Sprint 1800Z, Dec 14 to 0200Z, Dec 15
Stew Perry Dist.Challenge(160) 1500Z, Dec 28 to 1500Z, Dec 29
RAC Canada Winter Contest 0000-2359Z, Dec 29
January, 1997
Japan Int.DX Contest, 160-40m 2200Z, Jan 10 to 2200Z, Jan 12
Midwinter Contest, CW 0700Z-1900Z, Jan 11
Hunting LIONS in the Air 0900Z, Jan 11 to 2100Z, Jan 12
North Amer. QSO Party, CW 1800Z, Jan 11 to 0600Z, Jan 12
Midwinter Contest, Phone 0700Z-1900Z, Jan 12
North Amer. QSO Party, Phone 1800Z, Jan 18 to 0600Z, Jan 19
ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes 1900Z, Jan 18 to 0400Z, Jan 20
CQ 160-Meter Contest, CW 2200Z, Jan 24 to 1600Z, Jan 26
REF Contest, CW 0600Z, Jan 25 to 1800Z, Jan 26
UBA Contest, Phone 1300Z, Jan 25 to 1300Z, Jan 26
February 1997
Delaware QSO Party Feb 1 to Feb 2
Dutch PACC Contest 1200Z, Feb 8 to 1200Z, Feb 9
Asia-Pacific Sprint 1230Z-1430Z, Feb 8
YL-OM Contest, Phone 1400Z, Feb 8 to 0200Z, Feb 10
RSGB 1.8 MHz Contest, CW 2100Z, Feb 8 to 0100Z, Feb 9
North American Sprint, CW 0000Z-0359Z, Feb 9
ARRL Inter. DX Contest, CW 0000Z, Feb 15 to 2400Z, Feb 16
CQ 160-Meter Contest, Phone 2200Z, Feb 21 to 1600Z, Feb 23
North Carolina QSO Party 0000Z, Feb 22 to 2400Z, Feb 23
REF Contest, SSB 0600Z, Feb 22 to 1800Z, Feb 23
UBA Contest, CW 1300Z, Feb 22 to 1300Z, Feb 23
YL-OM Contest, CW 1400Z, Feb 22 to 0200Z, Feb 24
RSGB 7 MHz DX Contest, CW 1500Z, Feb 22 to 0900Z, Feb 23
March 1997
RSGB Commonwealth Contest,CW 1200Z, Mar 8 to 1200Z, Mar 9
Bermuda Contest 0001Z, Mar 15 to 2400Z, Mar 16
BARTG WW RTTY Contest 0200Z, Mar 15 to 0200Z, Mar 17
Russian DX Contest 1200Z, Mar 15 to 1200Z, Mar 16
Virginia QSO Party 1800Z, Mar 15 to 0500Z, Mar 16 and
1100Z, Mar 16 to 0200Z, Mar 17
Alaska QSO Party 0000Z, Mar 22 to 2400Z, Mar 23
CQWW WPX Contest, Phone 0000Z, Mar 29 to 2400Z, Mar 30
April 1997
EA RTTY Contest 1600Z, Apr 5 to 1600Z, Apr 6
Holyland DX Contest 1800Z, Apr 5 to 1800Z, Apr 6
Japan Int.DX Contest, 20-10m 2300Z, Apr 11 to 2300Z, Apr 13
UBA HF 80m Contest 0700Z-1100Z, Apr 13
SP DX RTTY Contest 1200Z, Apr 19 to 2400Z, Apr 20
------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of calendar section
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTEST LOG SUBMITTAL DEADLINES:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please consult the individual contest rules to determine what log
documentation must be submitted (i.e. summary sheet, dupe sheets, etc.).
------------------------------------------------------------------------
FISTS CW Fall Sprint November 12, 1996
E-mail: (none)
Mail: Peter Kozup, K8OUA
5115 N. Park Ave.
Warren, OH 44481
Tennessee QSO Party November 12, 1996
E-mail: desmith at telalink.net
Mail: Doug Smith, W9WI
1385 Old Clarksville Pike
Pleasant View, TN 37146-8098
California QSO Party November 15, 1996
E-mail: cqp at contesting.com
Mail: NCCC
c/o Al Maenchen, AD6E
3330 Farthing Way
San Jose, CA 95132
Pennsylvania QSO Party November 15, 1996
E-mail: (none)
Mail: Douglas Maddox, W3HDH
Nittany ARC
RD 1, Box 760
Petersburg, PA 16669
VK/ZL/Oceania Contest, Phone November 16, 1996
E-mail: (none)
Mail: John Litten, ZL1AAS
Onemana Post
Whangamata
New Zealand
Worked All Germany Contest November 20, 1996
E-mail: (none)
Mail: Klaus Voigt, DL1DTL
P.O. Box 12 09 37
D-01010 Dresden
Germany
QRP ARCI Fall QSO Party, CW Unknown (contest ended Oct 20)
E-mail: (none)
Mail: Cam Hartford, N6GA
1959 Bridgeport Ave.
Claremont, CA 91711
Illinois QSO Party Unknown (contest ended Oct 21)
E-mail: (none)
Mail: RAMS
c/o John Matl
7079 West Ave.
Hanover Park, IL 60103
VK/ZL/Oceania Contest, CW November 23, 1996
E-mail: (none)
Mail: John Litten, ZL1AAS
Onemana Post
Whangamata
New Zealand
Ten-Ten Int. Fall CW Contest Unknown (contest ended Oct 27)
E-mail: (none)
Mail: Don Zielinski, K0PVI
P.O. Box DX
Genoa, CO 80818-0119
All Asian DX Contest, SSB November 30, 1996
E-mail: (none) Logs must arrive by
Mail: JARL this date
P.O. Box 377
Tokyo Central
Japan
CQ Worldwide Contest, RTTY December 1, 1996
E-mail: gould at corpcom-events.com
Mail: Roy Gould, KT1N
CQWW RTTY DX Contest Director
P.O. Box DX
Stow, MA 01775
USA
CQ Worldwide Contest, Phone December 1, 1996
E-mail: (none)
Mail: CQ Magazine (CQWW Phone)
76 North Broadway
Hicksville, NY 11801
Ukranian DX Contest December 3, 1996
E-mail: (none)
Mail: Ukranian Contest Club HQ
P.O. Box 4850
Zaporozhye 330118
Ukraine
ARRL Sweepstakes CW Contest December 3, 1996
E-mail: contest at arrl.org
Mail: ARRL November Sweepstakes (CW)
225 Main St.
Newington, CT 06111
High Speed Club CW Contest December 15, 1996
E-mail: (none)
Mail: DL8WAA
------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of log submittal deadlines
>From floydjr at Interpath.com (Jimmy R. Floyd) Wed Nov 6 01:06:41 1996
From: floydjr at Interpath.com (Jimmy R. Floyd) (Jimmy R. Floyd)
Date: Tue, 05 Nov 1996 21:06:41 -0400
Subject: ARRL SS CW 96 Scores II
Message-ID: <2.2.16.19961106010641.0ac75c2c at interpath.com>
ARRL SWEEPSTAKES CW 96
RAW SCORES
Compiled by
WA4ZXA
(floydjr at interpath.com)
Date Posted: 11/05/96
CALL OP/SECT SCORE QS0'S SECTS HRS
_______________________________________________________________
S/OP/QRP/Q
AA8U 125,112 802 78 22
K1TR NH 112,050 747 75 24
N0AX 107,464 707 76
K7MM EWA 102,960 660 78 24
K0EJ TN 100,950 673 75 20
KG5U STX 85,644 549 78 20
WB9HRO 85,500 570 75
WB8RUQ MI 71,188 481 74 22
K5SL LA 66,600 450 74 23
KF9PL IN 55,522 391 71 20
WA0RJY 52,500 350 75
WE9V 51,832 341 76
KU7Y NV 49,248 342 72
KA1CZF 49,128 356 69
KC4WQ KY 33,500 250 67 11
KR0U 13,500 125 54
VE6SH/8 NWT 9,588 102 47 14
N1AFC 8,080 101 40 8
S/OP/LP/A
KR0Y/5 211,380 1355 78
K8HVT/KP2 202,972 1318 77
AA7BG 174,040 1145 76
W4WA (AA4GA) GA 169,260 1085 78
NM5M 167,200 1100 76
AC1O/4 162,084 1039 78
KO9Y 158,808 1018 78
W5XX MS 156,000 1000 78 24
KK9W 154,908 993 78
KC6CNV ORG 152,614 991 77 24
AB4RX KY 148,980 955 78
AA8AV MI 148,824 954 78
K4HHG 148,668 953 78 23
N0AT (AA0VQ) 147,288 969 76
VE6EX 143,250 955 75
N4OGW/5 NM 140,752 926 76 23
W9WI TN 139,776 896 78
WA6KUI TN 138,016 908 76 24
KZ8E 134,550 897 75
N4YOS AL 129,012 827 78
WD8IJP 128,700 825 78
K1JKS EMA 128,590 835 77
N9XX 127,296 816 78 24
WT1O EMA 124,024 838 74 24
WA2STM 121,656 822 74 15
KB0IHM MN 121,034 829 73 24
K3SA MD 119,042 773 77 20
NW1S 115,500 755 77
N4YDU 113,616 789 72 23
KI4HN NC 112,500 750 75
K3CR (KB3AFT) WPA 112,200 748 75 24
KX4V VT 96,096 624 77 19
KK7A ID 92,720 610 76 18
K1YRP CT 91,464 618 74 22
NJ1V STX 85,176 546 78 16
NS0B 82,800 552 75 11
K2WK 80,542 523 77 11
AB5SE AR 80,104 527 76 21
K7DBV OR 77,824 512 76 19
WX9E 76,000 500 76 16
W5HUQ NFL 68,640 440 78 23
AC5BR AR 68,400 450 76 18
AA0XZ MO 64,972 439 74 24
KJ1N CO 64,116 411 78 7
WB0OLA IN 52,716 382 69 13
KA8OKH KY 50,978 359 71
K0VBU KS 37,888 256 74 8
WD4AHZ SFL 14,178 139 51 3
AA4LR GA 3,000 50 30 3
KR2J 213 64 5
N9JF 758 78
K3SA 773 76
AD4VH 670 76
KK7A 610 76
N0AXL 605 76
WN6K 591 75
AB5SE 527 76
WA5JWU 342 78
NC7K 239 65
S/OP/HP/B
W0SD (WD0T) 224,994 1461 77
W5WMU (N6TR) 224,952 1442 78
N5RZ 223,236 1431 78
K4VX/0 (WX3N) 217,620 1395 78
W6GO (N6IG) 213,096 1366 78
W5KFT (N5KO) 212,520 1380 77
W7RM (AA7NX) WWA 207,012 1327 78
K7UP (KN5H) NM 206,388 1323 78 24
K0RF 206,206 1339 77
WB0O ND 206,206 1339 77
KM9P (K7GM) 205,296 1316 78
K6LL 205,140 1315 78
KY7M 203,580 1305 78
N7DD 203,112 1302 78
K0KR 202,332 1297 78
AI7B 199,680 1280 78
AB6FO LAX 198,744 1274 78
K5GO 196,092 1257 78
KE3Q 195,734 1271 77
VE3EJ (NJ2L) 195,312 1252 78
KC7V AZ 194,844 1249 78 24
W2PV (@K2TR)(WZ1R) 194,688 1248 78 24
W3GH WPA 193,732 1258 77
K1IU RI 191,412 1227 78
NA5Q 191,100 1225 78
N6RO 190,498 1237 77
K5ZD 189,540 1215 78
K5NA 189,112 1228 77
W9RE 188,760 1210 78
N6FU STX 188,650 1225 77
K4PQL NC 186,340 1210 77
KF3P 186,108 1193 78
K3ZO 183,144 1174 78
KT3Y 181,258 1177 77
K7FR EWA 176,748 1133 78 24
NN7L (NL7GP) 173,784 1114 78
W5ASP 172,848 1112 78 22
W2VJN OR 170,664 1094 78
K0IJL MN 168,014 1091 77 24
N4ZR WV 166,452 1067 78 24
K0WA 166,440 1095 76
KM0L MO 166,140 1065 78 24
KY2P TN 163,956 1051 78 24
W1XT AZ 156,408 1029 76 24
K9WIE 155,344 1022 76
W6QHS 145,860 935 78
AA3B 145,650 970 75 24
K0HB MN 143,336 943 76
WA6CTA SF 133,848 858 78
AA0OB MN 129,352 874 74 24
W5GN NTX 120,450 803 76 20
WB4NFS 119,850 799 75 24
W6XR/2 110,760 710 78 15
AA0SQ MN 106,400 700 76 22
KB2UGM NNY 94,848 624 76 20
WB5B NTX 94,050 627 75 14
WA1GUV VT 77,550 517 75 24
N6MZ 73,632 472 78
N1CC ENY 68,400 450 76 10
KJ4VH 44,250 295 75 4
K2ONP ENY 42,344 316 67 6
K8KFJ WV 32,256 252 64
AL7PT WV 31,600 220 72 16
NS8O OH 22,806 181 63 10
N6UR 1278 78
WX0B 1000 78
NJ8M 962 78
KO4EW 761 78
WB4RMJ 759 74
W1IHN NC 740 78 18
W5NN (KB5YVT) 713 75 11
VY1JA 520 77
WB4RDV 459 72
N2KJM 414 76
NO1J 300 76
MULTI/OP
K1ZX 225,420 1445 78
KS9W IL 193,752 1242 78
KY1H 186,420 1195 78
N6KI SDG 176,748 1133 78 24
K6XO/7 175,500 1125 78
K0WA 166,440 1095 76
K6GV SCV 165,672 1062 78 24
K8JM 148,980 995 78
W6BIP 138,624 913 76
KE2VB WNY 135,720 870 78 23
KO4EW TN 118,716 761 78
K3WW 109,200 700 78 14
W5EHM 103,800 692 75
MULTI/STATION
AA4NC S0/HP NC 1000 77 19
KF4APW QRP NC 165 56 4
*********************************************************************
MULTI/OPERATOR List
K1ZX K1ZX,WC4E,K1TO
K6GV AA6WJ,KM6AS,K6GV
KS9W KD5PJ,AA9LX,KS9W
K0WA WA0SXR,W0CEM,K0WA
K6XO/7 K6XO,AB7GM,N5CT
N6KI N6KI,KM6SN,N6AZE,WB6NBU
W6BIP AE0M,N1EE,W6BIP
*********************************************************************
I AM GETTING A LOT OF SCORES WITH NO POWER OR CLASS ON THEM!!!!!!!
THEY ALL GO INTO THE HIGH POWER OR B CLASS !!!!!!!!
This is the first posting and since I got scores off internet and also
off 3830 itself a score may be on here twice. Just let me know if yours
is and I will take the incorrect one off.
73's Jim
**********************************************************
* Jimmy R. Floyd (Jim) Thomasville, NC *
* *
* Amateur Call: >> WA4ZXA << *
* Packet Node: >> N4ZC << *
* Internet Address: >> floydjr at interpath.com << *
**********************************************************
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