[RFI] Don't ask, "What is it?" Instead, ask, "Where is it?"

[AE5B]

Sam and others,

What electrical company are you dealing with? I think you told me once but I
have forgotten. If it is AEP, they probably have the knowledge and equipment but
it is somewhere else in the system rather then in the San Angelo office. Now if
it is the Concho Valley Co-Op, I can understand your problem. Many of the
posters here live in a world very different from where you and I live in West
Texas. The smaller utility companies seldom have a clue. My local utility has a
RF-sniffing device installed in their one bucket truck. It is called an AM-FM
broadcast radio. They dial up the local country-western station and drive
around. If the noise wipes out Willie Nelson, then there may (?) be a problem.
If a competitor's line crosses their line within 3-4 miles of the noise then the
noise is coming from the other company's line. It is time to retreat to the
coffee shop. Problem solved!  

Please don't think I am exaggerating. Talk to other hams that actually live in
some of the more rural areas. To get something fixed, we often have to find the
source and then explain to the driver what it is doing and why. 

The W5KFT case in Lubbock, Texas is the only case in our part of the state that,
to my knowledge, was actually rectified by the FCC. Bryan had the tenacity of a
bulldog and was eventually able to get results but it took years. The power
company made a serious tactical error by ignoring all FCC communications, taking
the position that the FCC had no authority, refusing to provide information etc.
If you want a good example of what a PO' ed FCC can do, read that file. :-)

John Dyer
AE5B