[RFI] Towers/Antennas Near 138kV Transmission Lines

[Tom Rauch]

> I plan to operate everything from 160-2m with primary 
> interest being DX.
>>From an RFI standpoint I have heard that such lines can 
>>actually be quieter
> than residential distribution. True?

Larry,

In know a few people who live near lines like that and tell 
me they don't have problems. Every time I've been around 
lines like that I've had problems.

In S. Amherst, Ohio I had problems with a 138kV line more 
than a mile from my house. My noise floor was about 10dB 
higher in that direction on dry days, and maybe 30 dB higher 
on wet days. I had a similar problem in Sylvania Ohio with a 
69KV line on steel towers about 1/2 mile away. In Rockdale 
County GA a 345kV line about 3 miles away was a constant 
problem.

I'm not saying they were terrible, just that there was a 
definite noise level increase.

The real problem, IMO, is if you have a problem it takes an 
act of Congress to get something done. It is terribly 
expensive to work on those lines and they never want to take 
them out of service.

I made it a rule to never live within five miles of a line 
like that.

73 Tom