[TowerTalk] KR6NR Power line noise solution

[JimW9WU@aol.com]

Greg:

In 1967-69, I was KR6NR on Okinawa.  One of the few there that ever
operated cw and contests.  45K contacts in the two years.  285 DXCC 
Before every contest, those few of us would contract the Ryukan Electric
Power Company offices.  Both the president and vp were Americans and
both were hams, although not contesters.  They'd send their crews to
power wash the insulators on the high tension lines near my qth.  Silence
for the contest as this usually washed the salt spray away.  I'm told that
this policy was implemented since in the past, some hams (I still deny I
ever did it) would take their M16's home from the barracks and shot out the
insulators we could see sparking a few days before the Test.  Worked every
time.

73, Jim W9WU  ex DL4TJ, W9JZK/am(XV5), KR6NR and KH6HEI

In a message dated 4/29/00 8:14:52 PM Central Daylight Time, 
k9zm@frontiernet.net writes:

> 
>  I had terrible line noise at my last QTH.  50 & 60 db over 9.  Random sort
>  of.  I mean it sounded like a discharge every 10 sec or so lasting 2 sec
>  roughly.  But it would happen no matter what the weather and time of day 
was
>  never an absolute.
>  
>  Every time the Power Co. guys would pull up it would have stopped 15min to
>  an hour before they arrived.  Talk about frustrating.  WB9RJY came over one
>  night with a little AM radio when it was really bad.  Any type of metal
>  within a block was radiating noise.  Fences, poles, guy wires.  I happened
>  to be particularly pissed off, I grabbed ahold of the guy wire to the power
>  pole out front and gave it a good shake.(Disclaimer: This is not a
>  recommended procedure, proceed at your own risk!)  Lo and behold, the noise
>  came and went with the shaking.  Turned out, every time the wind was from 
an
>  easterly direction, it would push the power line a bit to the west.  When 
it
>  did, the neutral running from pole to pole wrapped around a wire and I 
guess
>  there for support from pole to pole would get real close to the guy wire on
>  my pole and start arcing.  Never saw it, but you could hear it in a radio.
>  
>  The Power Co. guys put a big rubber insulator around the guy wire and I
>  never had more than just minor line noise from then on.  Look an see if you
>  have a guy wire on a pole close to the neutral or maybe a cable TV line.
>  Again, I only had the problem with an easterly wind.
>  

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