[RFI] Line noise update

[dalej]

Paul,

Thanks for the update on your noise fixes.  It sounds like the power company has finally got to do some basic maintenance of their equipment.

I have one question regarding your Alinco receiver.  How is it for ease of use?  Do you need the manual along to operate it.  The reason I ask is I already have an Alinco DJ-G7 which is a bear to program without the manual.  I've been looking for a wideband receiver, portable, but it has to be easy to use on the fly.  I have considered the Icom, I believe it's a R5 or something.

Appreciate any comments regarding the Alinco rx.  

73
Dale, K9VUJ


On 09, Oct 2012, at 7:16, N1BUG <paul at n1bug.com> wrote:

> Several months ago I posted about my severe power line noise. I honestly wasn't optimistic about a cure and had a very unfavorable opinion of the utility involved (partly due to past experience with issues like this). I am happy to report as of last week 80% of my noise has been eliminated. This is a very abbreviated summary of what took place.
> 
> The company T&D Construction Planner came out in June to investigate my noise complaint. While some of my offending poles were quiet that day he found 9 that were not and the following week wrote a work order to address issues on those.
> 
> Eventually word of slow progress gave way to word the job was complete except for one pole where they were waiting on another company to set a new pole. But nearly 100% of my noise remained!
> 
> The tone of conversations with the utility were going down hill. He had been trying to blame it on devices in homes, etc. which I wasn't buying into. I know that happens a lot but I had done my homework carefully. Reluctantly he agreed to come out and take another look in late September. This time I presented a list of my 6 worst and confirmed poles. He checked all 6 and agreed all were noisy.
> 
> Three working days later the troubleshooter showed up with a line crew. They worked on all 6 of those poles and it made a huge difference. I haven't seen noise levels this "low" in years.
> 
> Here is a summary of what was done last week in case it may be of interest:
> 
> Pole 1 : 3/4 of a mile from me and my worst noise offender. S9+ noise on all bands through 6 meters, also conducted noise from here radiating from many poles for a half mile in either direction. Suspected to be a lightning arrestor, but changing it out did not help. It turned out to be the transformer, which they replaced.
> 
> Pole 2 : 1/2 mile from my house, intermittent but very strong noise. The problem was a burned insulator on the 46 kV transmission line. The insulator was replaced.
> 
> Pole 3 : 150 yards from me. Two insulators on 46 kV line loose on mounting bracket. Replaced.
> 
> Pole 4 : 300 yards from me. Sparking/burning hot-line clamp. Replaced.
> 
> Pole 5 : 3/4 mile from me and my other really bad offender. Lightning arrestor replaced.
> 
> Pole 6 : Over 1 mile from me. Tie wires replaced and or re-tied. This was an area of recent storm damage where hasty repairs had been done on a Sunday to clear the road and restore power to several hundred customers.
> 
> Before leaving the area that day, he told me to monitor and let him know if any problems remained. I assured him I would! I have been monitoring for 6 days since this work was done. I have in that time identified two remaining noise sources. One is from that spot where a new pole has finally been set but shifting everything over still needs to be completed. The other is my "mystery" noise signature that eluded me all summer. I knew there was one I had not located. I could clearly identify the particular signature using very directional antennas from home but could not find an exact match for it in the field. It was near one of my really bad 24/7 offenders and got lost in the din. Now it is the only remaining source in that direction, so it should be easy to find. I haven't had time to investigate yet but I do have a suspect structure from earlier work as a starting point (and of course antenna bearings from home).
> 
> My RFI hunting tool kit has grown since my last report. I never leave home to hunt power line noise without:
> 
> 1) Modified MFJ-856
> 2) Alinco DJ-X11T 50 kHz-1300 MHz all mode receiver with 445 MHz yagi
> 3) 40 kHz ultrasonic locator (Midnight Science new & improved model RX3)
> 4) On-demand ability to retransmit audio from my station receiver via UHF FM so I can listen to it while out hunting noise (VERY useful!)
> 5) digital camera, binoculars, notebook, spare batteries, etc.
> 
> At some point I will probably add HF DF loops and possibly other VHF/UHF directional antennas to the setup. I am now chair of the club RFI committee, so no doubt will have use of these tools beyond my own situation. Here is a link to a picture of my "RFI Mobile".
> 
> http://www.n1bug.com/N1BUG-RFImobile.jpg
> 
> Paul
> 
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