Topband: Local noise environment

[Garry Shapiro]

The capacitors may be on the edge of failure.

Several years ago, I was fortunate to get to know a local lineman who had
been assigned to RFI/TVI mitigation---a job no one else in the yard wanted.
We developed a great relationship--we both had lots to learn and lots to
teach, each from our own side of the problem--despite the hostile and
negative responses of his colleagues and superiors.

On one occasion I noted noise that only appeared on weekends--and he did not
work weekends. Our discussion came down to the question "what is ON at xx
location during the weekend that is not on during the week?", and the answer
he gave was a phase-balancing capacitor bank on the other side of the
canyon. When he checked it out, he found that one of the capacitors had
actually burned--there were scorch marks on the pole! That was indeed the
problem.

His boss's boss loved to point out "how much money we have spent on
you"--meaning my complaints. I always responded that he had spent nothing on
me---I did not own the failed equipment, broken and arcing insulators, loose
yardarm brace clips, rotten poles, etc. I in turn would point out how much
money I had saved his company by identifying problems before they became
outages. It got me nowhere.

But I digress--ask the minions at your power company to check out those
capacitors.

Garry, NI6T

-----Original Message-----
From: topband-bounces at contesting.com
[mailto:topband-bounces at contesting.com]On Behalf Of Doug Waller
Sent: Monday, February 16, 2004 11:38 AM
To: rfi at contesting.com; topband at contesting.com
Subject: Re: Topband: Local noise environment


> "It may be only coincidence that I have a 500 kv line in that
> direction."
>
> "73, Pete N4ZR"
>
At Buzz City, Florida, a 50 kVa line passes within one half mile of the
house.  When the summer air conditioner season begins, the power company
throws in a capacitor bank, which corrects the power factor.  These
capacitors, which look like large transformers with several cooling fins and
only one wire out the top, generate a plethora of harmonics and nasty
noises.  The background noise level is raised 5 dB or so on 160m, but
listening to it on AM does not reveal a power hum, but more of a frying
sound.  As of now, I know of nothing that will fix the capacitor bank noise
short of placing large split ferrites at intervals along the power lines,
but then that would choke out BPL..............

73/DX, om Doug / NX4D


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