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

[Dave (NK7Z)]

Well done!!!

73, and thanks,
Dave (NK7Z)
https://www.nk7z.net
ARRL Volunteer Examiner
ARRL Technical Specialist, RFI
ARRL Asst. Director, NW Division, Technical Resources

On 10/17/22 16:01, Don Kirk wrote:
> Hi Mike and Gang,
> 
> Contrary to what I was told this morning the RFI has been eliminated and
> the ground wire was indeed the cause of the RFI.  It was arcing to
> something up high on the pole and the supervisor that first came out this
> morning did go up in a small bucket truck and was able to push on the
> ground wire to stop it from arcing, and now has scheduled a lineman to come
> out for a permanent fix.  The noise floor at N4TZ dropped 6 S units on 10
> meters from S6.5 as shown in the video to S0.5 when the ground wire was
> moved to stop the arcing.
> 
> I went back to the pole this afternoon to confirm the power pole is no
> longer generating RFI.
> 
> Just FYI,
> Don wd8dsb
> 
> On Mon, Oct 17, 2022 at 10:56 AM Don Kirk <wd8dsb at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> Hi Mike,
>>
>> Points well taken, and thanks for your comments about the audible noise
>> and possible root cause of it.
>>
>> I’ve been told the power company already responded this morning and
>> noticed the ground wire that was moving around in the wind and they fixed
>> that but that did not fix the problem.  They are sending a lineman out this
>> afternoon to dig into the problem.
>>
>> Just FYI,
>> Don wd8dsb
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Oct 17, 2022 at 10:30 AM Michael Martin <mike at rfiservices.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Chances are that audible noise is caused by a broken jumper when a
>>> lightning arrestor where it attaches via a hotline clamp onto the line. I
>>> think I've heard that sound about 20,000 times! Ed's point about standing
>>> under the line, also known as line of fire, is always best to not be under
>>> it regardless of the situation. And no one should bang on a pole or shake a
>>> guy wire including employees of the utility. Doing that shares an extreme
>>> lack of education or ignorance. I have often told people during my lectures
>>> that knowing there's a 7000 volt arcing source over your head that you
>>> should bang on what's doing it!
>>>
>>> Mike Martin
>>> RFI Services
>>> 240.508.3760
>>> mike at rfiservices.com
>>> www.rfiservices.com
>>>
>>> On Mon, Oct 17, 2022, 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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>>>>
>>>
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