Does anyone know the techniques/equipment that the big power companies use to direction find noise on their lines?
- posted
20 years ago
Does anyone know the techniques/equipment that the big power companies use to direction find noise on their lines?
One way is to use audio equipment tuned to the sound emitted by corona discharge. You can also use it to detect gas leaking from a pipe.
Al
Corona discharges are one source of this noise. The problem is that corona is mostly visible in the UV spectrum and difficult to detect visually in daylight. This particular company appears to have a dual-spectrum camera product that solves this problem.
One method I have heard of is using an AM radio to narrow the noise to a suspect pole and give the pole a solid whack with a sledge hammer to see if it affects the noise.
An AM radio not tuned to any station is fairly good at warning of thunder storms (likewise a TV tuned to an empty VHF channel).
There are special radios which are designed for noise detection. In addition it is necessary now to look higher in the RF spectrum - TV interference is also of concern. Considerable effort is spent on High voltage lines to keep RF and audio noise down. Design of hardware, conductor bundles etc to reduce corona is pretty standard and stringing of the conductors is done in such a way as to keep them from dragging on the ground and getting scratched in the process. The worst offenders in fair weather are the low to intermediate voltage lines (say 69KV down) where conductors are tied to insulators with a piece of soft wire and loose washers, etc may be present.
-- Don Kelly snipped-for-privacy@peeshaw.ca remove the urine to answer
PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.