[RFI] Pole mounted lightning arresters?

[Charles Plunk]

Update;

After logging weather conditions related to the noise. The first few 
hours of a rain, I can still hear it although its not as constant. After 
that and a good rain it stops. Then it takes >36 hours of rain free 
weather for it to return. Lower humidity also makes it return more in 
force. Last 3 rains this has happened.

I did something today I have never done before in years past or this 
time. Taking advice from one on this excellent reflector. I listened to 
the noise on one HT on UHF being re transmitted with mic at my hf rigs 
speaker (30 meters, low noise level but strong arc rfi). RF gain turned 
down and volume up on hf to maximize the arc noise. Then used my 145mhz 
HT on AM and 3 element tape measure beam. Comparing the noise of both 
HTs to ensure I had the correct noise, this lead me to triangulate a 
different pole. Just triangulating for max noise does not work. Seems 
most all the poles have some noise getting within 10-25' of them.

About the time I got the ultrasonic dish out, the noise ceased. Then 
when it came back, the volume pot/on/off switch broke on my ultrasonic. 
So stopping for the night. And supposed to rain tomorrow.

Oh the pole now suspect is at the corner of my back yard....may go out 
tonight and take pictures of it to see if any arc shows up. May get 
lucky. Thats if the arc is present. This pole does not have a street 
light but does have lightning arrestors also and is 3 phase also up the 
line from the other pole. One end of my doublet is less than 20' from 
this pole....

Stay tuned.

Chuck

AF4O



On 1/11/21 1:20 PM, Charles Plunk wrote:
> 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
>
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