[RFI] Working with Utilities

[Hare, Ed, W1RFI]

That is half of the equation.  The lines are radiating, even on VHF, so what you need to do it to go across the street from the pole you think the source is.  Do note that the noise gets stronger when you point at the pole. Make a note of the s-meter reading. Now, go up the street to the next pole, across the street at the same aprpriximate distance.  Get an S meter reading If it is stronger, your first pole was not the pole. Keep going.  The noise will be significantly stronger on the actual pole.

Now, if the source is NOT on the pole but from a nearby house, you will find that it is stronger on the pole that has a transformer connected to the offending house.  In that case, compare poles with transformers, and when you find that pole, point the Yagi at nearby houses.

Keep in mind that in this day and age, people will be very suspicious of you, so you either need to let the police know what you are doing, or be prepared to offer explanations when they arrive.

From: RFI <rfi-bounces+w1rfi=arrl.org at contesting.com> on behalf of AA5CT via RFI <rfi at contesting.com>
Sent: Saturday, September 11, 2021 9:13 AM
To: RFI List <rfi at contesting.com>; Stephanie WX3K <wx3k at ptd.net>
Subject: Re: [RFI] Working with Utilities


Hand-held UHF Yagi - can you point a Yagi at the offending pole with those
insulators and demonstrate THAT is the source of noise?

It's most convincing when you can swing the beam back and forth and
the noise picks up when pointing at the offending hardware.

Reference: https://powerlinenoiseallentexas.wordpress.com/df-equipment/


de AA5CT Jim

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On Friday, September 10, 2021, 9:42:33 PM CDT, Stephanie WX3K via RFI <rfi at contesting.com> wrote:





All

I live near the territory boundary of two utilities. My work with PP&L has fruitful and they have been very cooperative in resolving RFI issues i would report to them over the years.

I have been struggling with MetEd for the same powerline noise for at least 5 years now. I recently got their attention again and reopened a new work order. I spoke to their tech today and learned they have been replacing cut-outs and repairing resistive connections. All good but my RFI issue continues mostly driven by drier windier weather conditions, the RFI swamps the 25-150 MHz spectrum.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ekn6xpl0960qrm7/IMG_9711.MOV?dl=0


There are old bell type insulators on poles near this suspected line area. I consistently request they replace those problematic antiquated bell insulators that are notorious for RFI issues. They(MetEd) seem to avoid this. With my work with PP&L, replacing those bell insulators have completely resolved those reported issues. The techs from MetEd use their ultrasonic detectors to find issues but it is my impression these bell type insulators do not show up as issues when they look around with their ultrasonic detectors. True statement ? How does one convince a utility to actually listen to the RF spectrum for issues ? Is there a specific model spectrum analyzer that the utilities tend to use to scan for RFI ???

Stephanie WX3K

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