[RFI] Pole mounted lightning arresters?

[Charles Plunk]

Long Story but will try to keep it to my point. I have triangulated my 
power line arc to a pole. Fairly typical 3 phase old residential but 
busy pole. Insulators, disconnects, lightning arresters, a transformer, 
etc. Pole is a junction as the 3 phase goes off in 3 directions from 
that pole. Arc is not affected by rain. And I cannot hear it with my 
ultrasonic dish. In the past I have pinpointed bad hardware on other 
poles with the dish.

I suspect the lightning arresters. There are 3 on there, one for each 
phase and I assume very little way I could tell which one. Rural 
utility, knows little about and/or is not concerned about arc rfi other 
than past dealings with me and TVA (power distributor who does have rfi 
location capabilities but is rather difficult to get them out to do).

And now the arc is intermittent. Today its pulsing about every second. 
Next week it may get solid for a while or go away entirely. And of 
course if TVA comes out, it will be gone.

What hardware, other than lightning arresters (arcing internally) would 
not be affected by rain and I could not hear with the dish?

Would it be reasonable enough to ask the util to replace the lightning 
arresters before bugging TVA?

Any thoughts appreciated.

Thanks,
Chuck
AF4O