[RFI] RFI case where I could actually hear the power pole arcing with my naked ear.

[Don Kirk]

Hi Ed,

I did not bang on this pole, it was the cable company that the homeowner
said was banging on the pole.  In my video when I say you can hear the
arcing you also hear a little slight banging (more of a clunking sound),
but that's not me.  I think it was the ground wire blowing in the wind a
little (you can see it moving at the 2:29 point in the video) that was
causing the clunking sound in my video (I was not touching it).

On Mon, Oct 17, 2022 at 8:22 AM Hare, Ed, W1RFI <w1rfi at arrl.org> wrote:

> If you can hear an arc or heavy spark taking place on a pole, that pole is
> certainly making a lot of RF noise!  It really is also a maintenance issue
> because it is possible that the arc is eroding metal, possibly dropping a
> line to the ground.
>
> Utility people can use the "bang the pole" technique because they cone off
> the area, don't stand under the lines and wear hard hats.  (Or they
> should!)  Something is wrong on that pole and if you bang it, you may
> diagnose the problem by dropping the bad insulator through the windshield
> of the passing car.  Leave that to the pros.
>
> Ed Hare, W1RFI
> ARRL Lab
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* RFI <rfi-bounces+w1rfi=arrl.org at contesting.com> on behalf of Don
> Kirk <wd8dsb at gmail.com>
> *Sent:* Sunday, October 16, 2022 9:01 PM
> *To:* RFI <rfi at contesting.com>
> *Subject:* [RFI] RFI case where I could actually hear the power pole
> arcing with my naked ear.
>
> Today I tracked down RFI to a power pole that was causing problems at
> N4TZ.  This was an interesting case as the pole was located in front of a
> house out in the country and the homeowner saw me looking at the pole with
> my portable RF direction finding gear and she came out to talk with me and
> to apologize about her barking dog. The homeowner immediately mentioned
> that the pole makes a lot of noise and sure enough I could hear the arcing
> with my naked ear (you can hear it at the 2:30 mark in my video).  She also
> mentioned that she recently saw an employee of the cable company
> banging/hitting the pole.
>
> Here is a link to a video I just uploaded to youtube documenting this case
> for those interested.
> https://youtu.be/TVjKANTmVEc
>
> 73,
> Don (wd8dsb)
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