If I may suggest a follow on video. It might include the audio from the final test with the ultrasonic gear (wind included). Finally, maybe how the local power company responded, if they mitigated the noise and their suggestions for how to interact with them. Pleasanton, CA is serviced I believe by PG&E who has been a good company to work with on these things, so I would suspect this case ended well. At any rate, even a new video with a new source and and a new complete follow through would be extremely helpful to all hams who (and there are many of us) suffer from power line noise and interference. What say you ARRL?
@bobskie3215 жыл бұрын
During the 1980s one culprit of the powerline noise was a fluorescent light with choke ballast which is irritating when you listen to distant AM radio station. Turning the florescent off solves the problem. But now that practically all devices have a switching power supply and some cheaper models don't have a proper filter dirties the powerline.
@davidh93683 жыл бұрын
just driving around with the car AM band was enough for me to ID some noisy poles, and power co response was ok after I mentioned the problem of RFI.
@PapasDino7 жыл бұрын
Too bad we didn't get the final resolution of the noise! 73 - Dino KL0S
@HJCF05207 жыл бұрын
Excellent video! Thank you!
@Maptologist4 жыл бұрын
Great video! I work for a utility and am also a ham, and this makes me wonder if this method of fault detection would help to identify the more elusive problems that aren't visibly obvious or otherwise easily detected. The source of this RFI is possibly from a faulty insulator.
@loveshisharley3 жыл бұрын
This is exactly what my utility used to track my local noise problem.
@DavidS-iw4ei3 жыл бұрын
I know a power worker that uses an old AM radio in this truck. All day long listening to his talk show and BOOM power lines in sight and RFI on the AM radio.
@ffp19747 жыл бұрын
very informative, Thank You
@edk0il5 жыл бұрын
Good job Mike! And congrates on your retirement!
@unosuave5 жыл бұрын
The ultrasonic detector is really good for finding grasshoppers too.
@w5cdt Жыл бұрын
And bats!
@DavidS-iw4ei3 жыл бұрын
Nice Job Mike. I sell Ultrasound tools to power companies to help them find RFI and EMI problems. It sounded like Corona and or Tracking in the video. Do you remember what the humidity was on that day? hi/low. 73's KE6UPI
@mcturan Жыл бұрын
Inside the city (Istanbul) my rig only gets noises. Especially rainy days. I throw 2 antennas, changed all cables 3 times. No chance. Out of the city or roof of a skyscraper. Only two options left to get HF signals.
@loveshisharley3 жыл бұрын
My power utility used this same equipment to locate an S15+ noise problem exactly like this that makes my equipment useless. They were able to tune one AM broadcast station on their work truck and said “If we can hear that, we won’t fix it”, then left. What else can I do if they fail to fix the problem?
@n5eg7 жыл бұрын
The video makes mention of 'a signature' and making sure that the signature stays the same as we go to higher bands to localize the interference. What is the signature? How is it measured? How does one tell if two signatures are the same or different?
@edk0il5 жыл бұрын
It's the number of sparking spikes on each half of the 60 hz cycle caused by powerline sparking. Each RFI source will have a different sparking source signature on an oscilloscope display with spikes at different levels and at different times in an AC cycle. Shows the display on a Radar Engineers 242 RFI rcvr: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rqOqamWvpc95rLc
@edk0il5 жыл бұрын
BTW: The displayed spikes will change over time so tomorrow they'll look differently from today.
@James_Bowie4 жыл бұрын
@@edk0il ... especially if it rains overnight.
@patriciawakefield1693 жыл бұрын
I would love to hire you to do this for us. We have an interference from what seems like it's the power pole transformer, or structures surrounding it, the transmission lines and/or the pole with the bracket on it. We have two poles in the backyard. They are sounding off audibly depending on the load on it, and it comes in the house as well. The power company wants to say it's not them but other companies are directing me back to the power company . If I could do like you I could show them the offending noise is coming from the pole. Is there a way to hire you or someone in our area (San Jose)? I hope you see this message. Thank you for the video.
@madmax20692 жыл бұрын
Would have loved to see the final result, what the power company said and the action they took.
@wd8dsb2 жыл бұрын
Hi madmax2069, it really does not matter what the power company said and the action they took as the video shows the general technique used to identify the faulty pole and then it's the utility company that's responsible for identifying and repairing whatever on the pole is generating the RFI which can be anything from a bad lightning arrestor, bad insulator, loose connection, etc. I spend a lot of time tracking down RFI for myself and others and when dealing with power line RFI I first start out direction finding the RFI on HF where the ham radio operator is experiencing the RFI until I get close enough to the source where I can start hearing the RFI up on 135 MHz, and then I locate the pole similar to what's shown in this video (sometimes I do go up to 438 MHz but 135 MHz along with enough attenuation is typically adequate). In this video Mike Gruber was using a very expensive receiver (approximately $6,700 USD) that allows you to obtain a "signature" but you can typically do well just using a portable receiver in AM mode with a wide filter selected that has adjustable RF gain control (or user selectable attenuators), along with good direction finding antennas. Just FYI, Don
@madmax20692 жыл бұрын
@@wd8dsb actually it does matter what they said, and if they took action or not, because many will do absolutely nothing and tell you to beat sand, or they say they're on it and never do anything about it. So yes it sort of does matter. I just want to know if their power company gave them trouble or not.
@wd8dsb2 жыл бұрын
@@madmax2069 Thanks for the reply. The biggest problem I run into is finding someone within the utility company that really is responsible for addressing RFI issues. Typically when you contact customer service at a utility company they will have no clue what you are talking about and they will send out a technician to take a look at the pole you identified and he/she will visually see nothing wrong and close the case. Even if you find the correct person at the utility company you need to make sure you identify and communicate factors that influence the RFI such as rain, snow, temperature, etc., otherwise the RFI will often not be present when they go and evaluate the situation and they will no longer have confidence in what you are telling them. There often is someone within the utility company (at least at the bigger utility companies) that does indeed know what RFI is who's responsible for addressing the issue but finding that person is usually very difficult and even then their resources as well as technical competence is sometimes minimal, and that's why identifying the actual pole with 99 plus percent confidence as shown in this video is critical versus just telling the utility company that you're experiencing power line RFI is so important (especially in this day and age when a lot of RFI could be mistaken for power line interference). As an example Duke Energy in central Indiana has a department called "power quality group" and there is a person (engineer) in that group that's responsible for addressing RFI complaints but at AES in central Indiana (formerly called IPL), the group is called their "radio group" that's responsible for addressing RFI complaints so it's often like searching for a needle in a haystack until you find someone that knows what you're talking about that's also responsible for addressing the problem (it can be very frustrating and time consuming for you). I've also dealt with some very small REMC's (Rual Electric Membership Companies) that have very little knowledge or tools to deal with RFI but with enough guidance they always resolve the problem. Probably the best thing is to have someone (a volunteer) in your region track down your RFI (the actual pole with 99 percent or greater confidence) or at least confirm your findings that has a lot of experience tracking down power line interference that has already established a good working relationship (and track record) with the utility company that the hardware belongs to, and then let that person either contact the utility company for you or have him guide you on how to get help from the utility company. I personally have never had a power line interference case go unresolved but it can often take months for the issue to be addressed, and these are cases in which I personally identified the bad pole. I would consider 1 month to be a very good response time from point of initial contact to when the repair has been made, but in very bad cases where I've seen obvious damage the response time has been much quicker (sometimes just a few days). Good Luck.
@OysterPir83 жыл бұрын
I'm in Oakland and get a terrible bacon crackle in the 11M band. Can you help or recommend help? Our neighborhood has buried lines for the most part.
@KEVINPAGEkf4znl6 жыл бұрын
I live in a very rural area how far should I go around my home to find PLM I located one pole about a half mile away and power company repaired it dropped noise level from s9+ to s7+ but very loud buzzing
@azarellediaz48922 ай бұрын
RFI locator/ receiver, who makes this and what model? Thanks. 73 WP4TGK D. C.
@slippery3966 жыл бұрын
Thank you ... that was very helpful !
@RobMacKendrick5 жыл бұрын
Wish I had access to this technology. Tracking down sources is about 90% of solving RFI problems.
@jovanjanevski37475 жыл бұрын
Either a smart meter using the grid for communication and signaling the mothership, or someone is using a powerline ethernet at home, which travels up to the nearest transformer, which i assume is on that pole, since i didn't saw it all that well and close up. Quite likely pulse square waves and some nasty harmonics, based from 1-100MHz and repeating themselves countable times upwards.
@magn-33735 жыл бұрын
Exactly like this I am hearing now also. The volume isnt HIGH but its really disturbing, especially in the nights.. What frequency is this at? Around 30-50Hz some place?
@chrisbauer19253 жыл бұрын
60 Hz in North America, 50 Hz in many other places.
@kludgeaudio3 жыл бұрын
What is the receiver being used here? It looks a lot more convenient than using an HT and I assume it has an AM detector?
@williambarham88123 жыл бұрын
Don't always suspect the power company being the suspect. Had a ham radio operator complain about rfi coming from the local power utility and they were not the problem. Turned out it was the local telephone utility with a bad ground wire connection in the ground wire running down a pole to either a ground rod or grounding plate at the base of the pole.
@Lurker19797 жыл бұрын
I get this where I live. It sucks.
@researchandbuild17514 жыл бұрын
I get this too in my house, dont know where its from
@2011musicfactory5 жыл бұрын
I have noise problem here in Oakland Maine on High Street...I think I know the pole that is doing it..
@chetnapatel97005 жыл бұрын
Can we hear the biotelemetry with Yagi antenna and HF radio?
@James_Bowie4 жыл бұрын
Yes, most likely.
@chetnapatel97004 жыл бұрын
@@James_Bowie thanx
@pm0501again7 жыл бұрын
I'm surprised California hasn't outlawed the use of devices to track down power line noise! The PVC handle, coax and red end caps contain materials suspected of causing cancer and other illnesses.
@andhanwer5 жыл бұрын
soon
@James_Bowie4 жыл бұрын
I'm waiting for CA to outlaw itself.
@tylerhall64554 жыл бұрын
Or the fact that he is holding the ultrasonic microphone similar to a gun! So scary what if it actually turns into one of those machine guns that are legal. Nanny state California! Why I left... great video by the way! Thanks for the demonstration.
@mernokimuvek2 жыл бұрын
Non ionizing radiation=no cancer.
@tjalessi3 жыл бұрын
Great video. Tom K1TA
@mutestingray Жыл бұрын
Thank you daddy
@danabell66673 жыл бұрын
Disappointing - great presentation up to the point where the ultrasonic device could not be used. Also as others have mentioned there was not follow up coverage with the utility. Another example of the ARRL quality.
@BEDMan-vl3xy Жыл бұрын
Present day… present time
@chetnapatel97005 жыл бұрын
Can we use normal radio wth yahi antenna as I am no Ham?
@вечная_мерзлота4 жыл бұрын
if your radio has a 7mhz or 140mhz range and if u can connect yagi to it then yes.
@chetnapatel97004 жыл бұрын
@@вечная_мерзлота thanx very much as this can also be used as a radio Transceiver detection as well? please let me know
@swashington9425 жыл бұрын
Terrible video quality. Cmon guys no wonder the hobby is dying.