[RFI] Noise Level During Power Outage

[K9MA]

That table didn't come out very well at all. Here's a link to the pdf:

https://sdellington.us/hr/RFI/Power%20Outage.pdf

73,
Scott K9MA

On 1/31/2023 11:21 PM, K9MA wrote:
> My QTH is in an older residential area, surrounded by overhead power 
> lines. Line noise is a constant problem. We recently had a major power 
> outage, so I measured the noise levels to get a baseline with little 
> line noise. (See below, assuming it comes through.) The outage was 
> pretty large: there was no power within a kilometer or so, perhaps 
> further to the west. The levels I measured shortly after power was 
> restored the next morning are fairly typical lately. To the NE, it 
> wasn't so bad, only increasing 5-8 dB when the power came on. West was 
> much worse, 7-19 dB. I've long known there was a major noise source to 
> the west. I guess it's time to track it down.
>
> I suspect these levels are fairly typical of a residential area with 
> overhead lines. They would probably be worse if I hadn't been doing 
> battle with the utility for the past 30 years to get the worst of the 
> sources fixed. One thing this data shows, which I've long suspected, 
> is that the distribution lines are the major source of noise. There 
> are some transmission lines just a few hundred meters away, but I've 
> never traced any significant noise to them.
>
> It may say something about the sad state of our utility's 
> infrastructure: A car knocked down a pole about 1 km from my QTH, and 
> it took out the power up to 2 km away, with power surges causing 
> extensive damage to appliances, etc. (None at my place.) Just down the 
> street, far from the downed pole, we had a major fireworks show and 
> nearby a transformer exploded. Apparently, similar things happened 
> throughout the affected area. Did they forget the fuses?
>
> 73,
>
> Scott K9MA
>

-- 
Scott  K9MA

k9ma at sdellington.us