High voltage line: is this a splice? what kind?

[thedillybar]

Can you identify these photos? I believe the first is an "automatic splice". The second/third appear to be a splice, but I can't find any information on it.

6238

6239

6240


I am having problems with radio noise / interference (RFI, EMI, EMC). Thinking maybe this could be the problem. More to come on that later...

Matt

[reppy007]

Yea the first one is a splice,Im guessing the other two is a piece of rubber taped onto the wire due to the trees rubbing into the insulation and maybe it caused sparks.Just a guess.

[terry52]

I have to agree with Reppy about the taped up line hose. There may be a defective or broken insulator or pin causing the interference.

[reppy007]

I have to agree with Terry....I think your looking at the wrong place if you think this is causing interference....might be a bad neurtral connection,a loose nut on a bolt causing the washer to vibrate....let us know when you find the solution.

[Pootnaigle]

Umm if your prollem is radio/ tv interference start lookin at the guy thats complainings doorbell transformer thats where most of my TVI calls wound up

[reppy007]

Umm if your prollem is radio/ tv interference start lookin at the guy thats complainings doorbell transformer thats where most of my TVI calls wound up

Thats interesting Poot,I have worked around the interference guy with our company years ago....always before he found the problem,I would be sent on some case of trouble orbe sent to change out a pot.....doorbell transformer....hummmm never thought about that one.:(

[Orgnizdlbr]

Top is what we call a pickle....... Taped up cover of some type on the next pics.

[Lineman North Florida]

First picture automatic sleeve on hendrix or some other sort of insulated overhead conductor and the other pictures as the rest have said is a piece of gut taped to the conductor. An old AM radio is about the best thing for finding interference.

[Old Line Dog]

First picture automatic sleeve on hendrix or some other sort of insulated overhead conductor and the other pictures as the rest have said is a piece of gut taped to the conductor. An old AM radio is about the best thing for finding interference.Yup. anybody's guess what's under that gut. Seems it would have been easier to trim the dman tree when they put the gut on.:rolleyes:

[reppy007]

I have to wonder...does the interference happen around the clock,or is it happening when theres a high wind,rain,ect?....And Poot explain...your hill-billy talk lost me....back to the doorbell chime transformer.....are you saying it happens when its going bad or what?

[thedillybar]

does the interference happen around the clock,or is it happening when theres a high wind,rain,ect?
Interference is significantly reduce when raining and before everything dries up. Interference is most likely caused by an arc somewhere...and the moisture provides a conductive path instead of breaking down the air with an arc. This tells me the source is on a pole, not in a residence.


doorbell chime transformer.....are you saying it happens when its going bad or what?
Doorbell transformers have a thermostat in them, to prevent them from overheating. They're often located in an attic where it's hot. The thermostat will flip back & forth, generating RF noise, and propagating it through the powerline to the pole and down the street. If the doorbell button is lit, you can see the flicker simply by looking at the button. Other common culprits are fish tank heaters and electric blankets; that have similar thermostats.

In this case, power was shutoff to the residence and the interference doesn't go away. The probable source was identified with an AM radio at 160MHz. Noise at lower frequencies (like AM broadcast, ~700khz) can propagate several blocks from the source down the powerline.

I am hoping to convince the power company to check two poles for loose/corroded hardware, ungrounded brackets, etc. And trim around the lines.

[reppy007]

Thanks for the good info on the doorbell transformer,Ive changed one out before,but didnt know the other stuff.Thanks for the info on that.

[Pootnaigle]

Umm no the doorbell xfmr aint necessarily goin bad.

[bluestreak]

Back when the Co. used to care they had a group of engineer types that had a bunch of test equipment for this you would start out with an AM radio just off a station a bit to get in the area, then they had a bionic ear that was a parabolic microphone like they use at football games to hear the guys swearing from the sidelines. Usually that would find the problem the trick is if you found something fix it while listening to make sure it goes away whether it was a loose nut and bolt or a cracked insulator. They also used an infrared camera you see a leaking insulator especially after it rained.

[thedillybar]

No progress yet. Power company is getting engineering involved.

[reppy007]

No progress yet. Power company is getting engineering involved.

Just a Q...are you a Hamm operator....common in these parts.

[T-Man]

older glass ladder type HVLA's will cause interference in wet weather. Cracked pin insulators will also do this but are very hard to find. Another hard one to find is a copy machine heating element. it's more intermittent only when the copier is running.

[reppy007]

Id bet the instrument I saw a guy using could get close,but may not find it....To this day I still dont know what it was called,but it picked up a bypass switch arcing that day and he said it cost around 10,000 bucks.Some NASA type of guy :(

[thedillybar]

Yes I'm a ham (geez we're easy to spot).

The parabolic dish receivers are high frequency (1 GHz+) AM receivers. They won't work if there are trees or anything else blocking your visual path.

There's also the hot stick sniffer which uses a ~1 MHz AM receiver. Very close to the HV obviously.

Both are expensive, but you can save lots of time and effort. Your other option is find the pole, check everything for corrosion and proper torque. Then start replacing things until it goes away.

[reppy007]

Yes I'm a ham (geez we're easy to spot).

The parabolic dish receivers are high frequency (1 GHz+) AM receivers. They won't work if there are trees or anything else blocking your visual path.

There's also the hot stick sniffer which uses a ~1 MHz AM receiver. Very close to the HV obviously.

Both are expensive, but you can save lots of time and effort. Your other option is find the pole, check everything for corrosion and proper torque. Then start replacing things until it goes away.

Yea too easy,Ham operators are the only people ive known to complain about interference.

[Pootnaigle]

WellMr ham guy did you try isolating that doorbell xfmr?

[thedillybar]

Cable TV, dish, cell phones. Over-the-air TV is digital now. Most people will never notice interference below 400 MHz. Maybe to a baby monitor. Above 400 MHz, the interference usually only travels 50ft. Sometimes you can't even hear it at ground level underneath the pole.

[thedillybar]

WellMr ham guy did you try isolating that doorbell xfmr?
No doorbell on my house. I've cut the power to the whole house and still have the interference.

[Pootnaigle]

Umm shoot the next guy that knocks on the door n see if that fixs it

[reppy007]

Just wondering Mr.Pootster...could his neighbors doorbell be causing the interference?And are you finished washing your clothes yet.....it has rained enough ....you think? mORE HEADING YOUR WAY :D :D :D

[Trouble1]

A bad high voltage connection can cause radio static and that sleeve looks pretty bad if you zoom in on it. You would most likely hear some arcing though. It could be buzzing in the trees for a long time before it faults. Does the radio signal get more interference when your close to it?

Also since you ruled out your house, street lights can cause radio problems as well. Usually the radio people will come out with shot gun mics(the microphone with the big cone around it) and hand held radios.

Also could be something is your neighbors house if you live right on top of each other.

[thedillybar]

Trees were touching the primary lines and a tie-wire was arcing. The trees were trimmed and the tie-wire tightened. The interference is still there and one of the poles (that didn't have the tie-wire tightened) can still be heard buzzing.

Planning to check the tie-wire and other equipment on that pole as well.

[reppy007]

Trees were touching the primary lines and a tie-wire was arcing. The trees were trimmed and the tie-wire tightened. The interference is still there and one of the poles (that didn't have the tie-wire tightened) can still be heard buzzing.

Planning to check the tie-wire and other equipment on that pole as well.

Could the cause be on your roof/home....attic vent,ect....connections at the antenna itself?....this will be good,,,,the cause when and if we/you find it.

[reppy007]

Maybe this will help......http://www.powerlinenoise.com/.....who knows?

[thedillybar]

One pole fixed..tie-wire, leaky insulator. Noise is still there. Two more poles to go.

Process is slooooooooow.

[trigger]

Looking at the pics there are a multitude of issues. Can't imagine what the poles look like. Arrestors can be an issue, slack glass bells also. The pins through the clevis can deteriorate form movement and can arc. We had some three cornered paper clip lookin things to put in between to bond the two. The real solution was a tight DE or pin DE's

[thedillybar]

They fixed a whole host of things, leaky insulators, loose tiewires, loose hardware on three poles. The noise is down considerably now. Still some intermittent here & there that may or may not be powerline-related.

More than six months to fix, OUCH!