New/OLD Power Line Noise 2016-01-02

The past few days it's been cold and dry here in Missouri.  Seems a new crop of power line noise likes to start up in these conditions.  From my QTH it peaks about 50 degrees.  When I turn off the internal preamp and use IPO1 I can just detect it on the S meter.  When I use Amp2 on the FTDX-5000 (preamp #2 on) it's about S9.  

The weather has been COLD around freezing (31F as I write this), and very dry atmosphere the past 3-4 days.  Skies are mostly clear.

Here's what it looks like in HDSDR (AM MODE)

Note (STRONG 120Hz and harmonics 180, 240...)

Here's what it sounds like:

After some review of Google Earth, and some drive testing I've found a line of poles that seem to fall in the correct azimuth (50 Degrees from my tower).

Here are some pictures of the poles I've ID's so far.  The poles with numbers shown above exhibited ULTRASOUND (40 KHz) arc'ing noise as well as 400 MHz Power Line Noise (AM) during this drive test.  AM 1.7 MHz also had a VERY STRONG (ON/OFF) Power Line Noise exhibited as well, however, I was unable to track that one down due to it's nature.  It sounded like some sort of ON and OFF semi-randomly.  It's unrelated to the primary noise I was tracking down in this drive test though.  (I'll revisit that one soon).

Pole # 570236

Pole# 570252

Pole # 570244

(Ultrasound TOP insulators, road-most was the worst)

COMPLAINT LOG:

1. Attempted to contact Ameren UE (800-552-7583) @ 2:26PM 2016-01-02 however they're not available during non-business hours for non-emergency issues.  I'll try again 2016-01-04 on Monday.
2. Contacted Ameren and filed a report/complaint 2016-01-04 12:30PM.  I forgot to get ask for the dang ticket number.  So we'll see how this goes.  Normally they send a service truck out within a few hours to discuss things, and then within a few weeks the RFI team arrive, then a few weeks later they start work on repairs.   So first person I talk to I'll get the ticket number.  Or I'll call back and get the number.  
1. The last time I called in a request like this it got a little messed up on their end.  I was told they were in process of changing staff and their procedures at that time, so hopefully this will go more smoothly this time around.  Ameren has ALWAYS been very responsive, it's just a matter of being a little bit patient with them.  They've always been very curtious and understanding in the past.
3. 
   

Ameren UE Missouri - RFI Complaint Filed (and any followup)

2015-01-20 @ 3:30pm (via email)

Today I filed a complaint with Ameren UE (Missouri) the local power company provider related to the my previous posts on this blog.  This is the second complaint in 5 years with them.  The last time was in May of 2011 and they were VERY QUICK to respond.  I'm hoping this will have a similar result.  Considering the possible safety hazard involved at a nearby Middle School.

I filed the complaint via Email (the same way I did in 2011) at around 3:30pm local time on 2015-01-20 and I am now awaiting a response.

2015-01-22 @ 8:18pm (via email) 

sent a second request (asking for a ticket number)

2015-02-02 @ 9:00-9:15am (via phone call)

CALLED: 9am-9:15am feb 2 2015:

800.552.7583 - 5,5

spoke to: nikki (wouldn't provide last name or operator number)

ticket: 150333237

Didn't really seem to understand what Amatuer Radio and the FCC was.  She was friendly and curtious.  Just didn't really seem to clearly understand the issue.

She said it could be up to 3-5 days before a tech would contact me.

2015-02-02 @ 11:00-11:15am (IN PERSON)

SERVICE TECH: Skip

Location: My Home

Skip and I talked about the issue.  I believe he's a lineman/service tech, arrived in a small ladder utility truck anyway.

I provided him with pole numbers, and some of the issues related to those poles.

He said it would probably be a few days before I heard back from the Service Tech Group
but that he would relay the pole numbers and info I gave him to them.  A very friendly, nice fellow.  He DID understand the issue, and let me know they wanted to fix it as much as I wanted it fixed.

This is more like the Ameren UE I remember from 2011!  Finally.  I guess no one is checking their "Contact US" email service anymore LOL.  Because a phone call sure got a fast reaction time!

2015-02-02 @ 11:38am (AUTOMATED VOICE MESSAGE)

Spoke to: (no one, this was an automated notification message)

Return number: 1-800-552-7583

The gist of the message indicated that a service tech came out to investigate my complaint and that a problem was found that would require further investigation.

I guess this was just confirmation of what I'd spoken to the tech (Skip) who'd come here just a little while ago about.

GOOD!

2015-02-07 @ 12:29pm (email update requested via Contact US)

Reference YOUR Ticket Number: 150333237

It was my understanding when I last spoke to a Ameren Service Tech named "Skip" that I should have heard back from your service department by now.

Please provide an update to this ticket at your earliest convenience."

SEE ALSO

2015-02-18 @ 2:25pm (phone call from Jerry who still works with Rob Duncan)

Jerry called to discuss the issue related to the same ticket number noted above.

Depending on Weather (which has been a mess lately) he will tentatively try to come down to check out the poles with me this Friday 2015-02-20 sometime.  If not then, he'll try to reschedule.

I mentioned I would email him (at rob's address) the results of my testing so far.

2015-02-18 @ 3:15pm (email sent to rob duncan relaying information about this issue which we spoke of on the phone a bit ago)

2015-02-21 @ 6:43pm 

Yesterday came and went 2015-02-20, no contact from Ameren Tech Services.  I assume due to the bad weather we were supposed to get late in the afternoon that their plans had changed.  So will wait to hear from them again hopefully sooner than later.

2015-03-30 @ 11pm

Emailed RD as a followup, explaining that I didn't wish to escalate the matter and asking for a followup contact.

2015-03-31 @ 9am

Jerry and a new trainee arrived in a van and we went to the worse sources I'd found where they poles were shown to be actively making noise still today.  They drew maps, took pole numbers, discussed what to do, and showed the trainee how to hunt for RFI.

We were also able to locate another area near the City Water supply which is about 230 degrees from my tower which was the strongest source we found all day.  Jerry found that one while we were looking at a source on Mill St that I'd ID'd previously.  We worked our way down the line right to the source.  Jerry wiggled the guy on the pole and it went nuts.

This is an area that would be on the back of my antenna when I'm pointed to EU which is one of the worse RFI / PLN areas I've got.  So kudos to Jerry for finding that one so FAST.

Jerry and the Trainee were very nice, enjoyable to talk with, and listened to what I had to say.  It was obvious that they wanted to resolve the issue as much as I wanted to resolve it.

So THANKS Ameren for coming through, albeit 3 months after I initially contacted them.  Apparently Jerry's been out of work a while with a shoulder problem and he's the only guy that does this type of work for Ameren, MO. (I guess that's why they had a trainee with him)

All in all it was a good 2.5 hours they spent with me going form source to source.  Afterwards they confirmed the noise signature by connecting they're equipment to my antenna. (seems like that should've been done first, but that's ok).  

Looks like they plan to fix everything I pointed out, and then some.  The one Jerry found while walking with me, was bigger than anything I'd found to-date.  So that was impressive.

Jerry also said on average it takes them about 3 weeks to get back out to start doing the work.  (in my experience it took 2x that, but I'd still be happy with that!)

2015-04-21 @ 9:40am

Noticed line crews were working on one of the locations we'd spec'd out.  So I drove past all of the locations.  It appears that 3 of 4 have had some work done on them.  I'll check the 4th one tomorrow.  It's in a location that's more difficult to get to and it was raining today when I drove around to inspect them.

2015-04-23 @ 12:30pm

Drove to all 4 locations last reported for work, found 3 of 4 completed.  Noise at station appears slightly improved.  4th location checked had not been worked on yet, this was the worst of the 4 that needed work.  So will continue to monitor if/when it is completed.  This 4th location has a locked chain blocking the entrance to it for vehicles, which means somehow Ameren will need to contact the city to gain entrance there in order to do the work, or walk in ladders to the pole and do the work like that.  I'll continue to check this location for work completed.  Once it's confirmed done, I'll review noise issue changes at the station.

I plan to head out to check this location today at some point.

Once this final spot has been resolved I'll drive-test again.  I suspect there are more locations besides the 4 we reviewed that require more work.  Virtually everything in town seems to emit RF noise on the power lines.  So I'm certain there is more work to be done.  My goal is to reduce the noise by 60% *at least* if possible.  Anything above that would be great, but I need to at least reduce the noise 60% of what it has been for years now.

(before)

(After - different angle same pole - notice replaced insulators)
-------

(before)

(after all new insulators top,sides, and new top/over wire)

Focus Areas - Suspect PLN

SEE ALSO

Now I have the Driveby System, and portable yagi's for 144, 432 Mhz, as well as Ultrasonic 40 Khz sound detection as well as the trusty AM Radio in my truck (which is amazing for finding noise sources sometimes).

With the new power supply 12vdc regulator installed in the "Driveby System" I suspect it will be WAY more sensitive than it was before.  I've made some more tweaks on it today (Jan 24th, 2015) in software and intend to test that out later today or tomorrow in the areas I've noted in the maps below.

Last nights discovery of a noisy defunct street lamp was actually very easy using nothing but the AM Radio in my truck, and 50.1 Mhz on a small whip antenna.  Once I located the area, I stopped and used the small yagi antennas panning around various power poles which took about 45 seconds to locate with those and the street lamp noise took about 20 seconds to find using the Ultrasonic MFJ-5008 (which seems to work VERY well, much to my surprise and joy!).

SO these are the areas I'll be working in this week.  Using a combination of all the tools I now have available.  Hopefully I'll narrow things down to the component level on poles that are problematic.  Ameren UE so far as ignored my email requests (maybe they're busy doing something else LOL who knows).  This just gives me more time to locate more problem areas to hand them when I finally do reach them.

This is turning out to be a way bigger problem than I initially suspected.  I had hoped it would just be a few things nearby.  In 2011 Ameren came and resolved (it seems) all the issues I had on the street where the tower is.  I've been hunting those old problem poles and so far not a peep out of them.

So it looks like I'm working the next tier out from the 2011 group of problems.

Results 2015-01-24

Tweaks appear to be doing really well now.  The new 12vdc regulator is SUPER low noise from today's experience.  I heard nothing from the trucks electronics (and obviously there's not AC inverter which was probably a stupid idea to start with...glad that's gone).  All I hear on the HT monitor while I'm driving is white-noise or power line noise now.  I really think that's making a huge difference.

I also adjusted the gain on the RTL's to '-g 10' from -g 0.  I also adjusted the bandwidth to 15Khz instead of 300 Khz.  These adjustments seem to have made quite a difference in accuracy.  Although I think '-g 0' would still be fine.  The antenna I'm using is a discone antenna that's good from 25 Mhz to 1300 Mhz.  And it seems to hear quite well on the bands I'm using with are all (but one 44 Mhz) in the ham bands.

I found at least 5-6 poles today and several of them had significant issues.  I also reconfirmed the poles behind the nearby middle school are indeed a source of strong noise - ON WINDY DAYS.

I've always noticed the noise is worse on windy days, which is probably a sign that most of these issues found today are simply loose components like insulators.  The ones I spotted with the Ultrasonic sound (40 Khz) using the MFJ-5008 today were all insulators.  This MFJ-5008 appears to work REALLY WELL!  After several ventures out with it now I've really found this INEXPENSIVE TOOL invaluable.  IT REALLY WORKS!  I shit you not.  Pretty good compared to the next up option that's over 2x the expense, and the next up from that is about 20x as expensive.  I've very happy with the MFJ-5008.

Also the portable ARROW ANTENNA's I bought are EXCELLENT.  Built strong, and reasonably priced for the most part. 

So...on with what I found today....(sorry for all the back fill).

It doesn't take much wind to make some of these poles really sing!

One thing you may notice is that all of these maps tend to agree with each other, I think this is a good sign.  The first map is "ALL" frequencies summed noise levels over their respective noise floors.  Each frequency has a slightly different noise floor but all are more or less with -0.5 dbm of each other.  

(ALL combined)

(44 mhz)

(50 Mhz)

(144 mhz)

(222 mhz)

(432 mhz)

"AM 1710" is fairly quiet in this area 1.710 Mhz.  Except that it's an excellent HEADS UP while I'm driving around to watch the line charts "Driveby System" generates as I drive.  Listening to 1.710 Mhz and 432.100 Mhz AM listening for Power line noise is VERY helpful I've found.  This gives a heads up that somethings coming, and a heads up when I'm right on top of it.  

I'm thinking about adding an HF upconverter and using one of the 3 spare RTLs with that to graph "AM 1710" as well.

(click to see larger)

Photos to follow from each of the above noted locations

POLE 571647 [near fire station]

POLE 571646 [near fire station]

POLE 572794 [rear of school near steps]

(VERIFIED with Ultrasonic, also pole guy is very loose)

POLE 572794 [rear of school near steps]

(Loose guy closest to camera POLE 572795 in rear also noisy)

UPDATE (AFTER 20150421) NOTE new insulators

POLE 570076 [rear of red city water building]

(TOP CENTER insulator confirmed via Ultrasonic)

UPDATE (AFTER - 20150421) NOTE new insulators

POLE 570076 (zoomed out)

POLE 570076 (LEFT TOP)

POLE 570168 (open arrestor)

POLE 570168 (open arrestor)

MFJ-5008 - Followup

The MFJ-5008 (purchase here) (view my photos here from a prvious post) has proven to be a solid bit of gear.  I had my suspicions when I bought it as to whether it would even work.  However, it works, and works very well!  I have used it while wearing a pair of Beats "Solo" headphones and seems to work well with them.

One of the things I'm trying to work out now is how to record the audio from a location to later analyze it.  I found an app that runs on my Android Smart Phone that should do the trick.  However, I also needed a USB sound card (dongle) that will plug into an OTG cable from the phone.  I bought on this week for about $7.00 on Amazon that is known to work with the app I'm going to try first.  The app cost almost $7.00 on google play.  SO for about $14.00 US I have a nice audio recorder (that also has a built in gps, and camera :-).

All very useful tools for recording the location of power line noise.

The idea is to setup the phone's app and the usb sound card, and connect the sound card to the audio output of the  MFJ-5008 to record the sound of noise.  

Once I have that recorded, I should be able to compare the noise signatures between what I'm hearing at home vs. what I recorded.  They won't be exactly alike...but should help in locating offending poles.

The important thing I'm trying to accomplish with all of this is to identify the noise sources I'm hearing from home and get ONLY those fixed.  That way my problem goes away, and the power company isn't chasing every single noisy bit on their system.  While they're not supposed to be creating this noise, I can't very well have them productively resolving MY ISSUES by fixing every single issue THEY HAVE.  I just need the ones I'm hearing fixed.

Anyway, I just wanted to post a bit about my next phase of plans with the MFJ-5008.

Now that I know most of the really noisy locations in town, I'd like to 'go out on rounds' and check them every day for say 2 wks and make recording of them...combined with weather data I believe that should prove to be quite useful and show more than due diligence on my part to getting this problem resolved.

I would like to mention also that so far it's been almost 2 weeks since I first sent my request to Ameren UE requesting a ticket and reply from them regarding what I knew about the local power line noise and so far I haven't had a single reply from them.  

I will try to call them on the phone in my next round of attempts.  If that fails to get a ticket number, I will send them registered (return receipt letters).  One way or another I'll get their attention.  There are a LOT more options if that doesn't succeed.

The last time I did with with Ameren they replied within 24 hours and had a truck out at my house.  This time seems different so far.  SO we'll see.

New Pole Found Ameren 570032

Found this pole buzzing on AM 1700 , as well as 50.1 144.2 and 432.1 mhz.

The street lamp is barely glowing and its dark out now for one hour.

Ultrasonic detector buzzes when spot on the street lamp.

Nice Power Line Noise Visualization - HackRF, SDR#, VAC, and Spectrum Lab

I wanted to get a real nice noise signature of the Power Line Noise issue here.  What I ended up doing was to use a Windows 7 machine (for a change).  I used the following:

• SDR# 'sdrsharp'
• HackRF One
• Spectrum Lab

The newer SDR# includes and Audio FFT however, I'm unable to resolve how to alter the bandwidth of it down to < 1 Khz in audio frequency.  It seems STUCK at 0-18Khz or so.  This is too wide to be able to really see the 60hz spike and it's harmonics of 120hz 180hz, and so no.  They just don't even register in it's FFT for some reason.  SOOO....

Since the built-in Audio FFT doesn't resolve down to < 1Khz I setup trusty Virtual Audio Cable (I use line 2 for this, because other software I use uses Line 1 already).  So this pipes the AM audio out of SDR# via Virtual Audio Cable (Line 2) and then I setup Spectrum Lab to listen on that same VAC line.

Turns out this is PERFECT.  It's as good, but even better in that there's a TON I can inside Spectrum Lab, like line graphs, alerts, etc...for monitoring over long periods of time.

So here's a screen shot of Spectrum Lab (v2.78b25) setup to use VAC Line 2 (noted above) as well as SDR# below it.  

Look how simple it is to ID the 60 hz audio and it's harmonics.  Um....schweet.

(click to see larger)

I tried using GNURADIO and it's Audio Source, but damned if I can't figure it out on Windows.  It's fairly simple on Linux, but Windows is a different animal with GNURADIO.  Kinda of a let down.  It'd be nice to create flow graphs from my fancier/faster Windows machine that I could port over to my Linux machine and vice-versa but that's not happening.

Here's a few more views of that Spectrum Lab can do:

Thoughts on the next bit of test equipment I'd like

Now that I'm just waiting for some small handheld antenna's in the VHF/UHF range to arrive.  I've been thinking how nice it would be to use an Android device that has RF Analyzer installed on it.  This is a VERY COOL app that'll run on Android and connect to RTL SDR, or HackRF One (I have both and have tested it with both, and it seems to work excellent).  

Here is a video of what I'm talking about.  

It's just a quick view of how well this works.  What I'm doing is using a small whip antenna that is good for 50, 144, 432 Mhz on a HackRF connected to my Android phone and running RF Analyzer @ 44.25 Mhz listening to AM Mode and the source of my nearby Power Line noise.

With the combination of being able to take video's, and photo's and being able to use the GPS and RF Analyzer all in one device (well two if you include the RTL or HackRF)...pairing all these tools up to be used as a portable RF noise sniffer, and recording device seems like the next logical step.

• RF analyzer paired up with a portable Arrow antenna and a HackRF to visualize the noise, as well as listen to it!  (YES the RF Analyzer app now can demod the audio, AM, FM, WBFM, SSB etc).
• Photos and video from the Android Camera (gps linked)
• On board GPS

On thing I've noticed about the HackRF is that holding it snug against the back of my Galaxy S3 increases the noise floor a fair amount.  So it's well know (I think) that the HackRF's case which is crap for RF shielding.  So I'll probably build a little Copper Clad PCB box to wrap around it or use some copper tape!  LOL

Anyway I'm envisioning all of this equipment mounted to the back of the VHF/UHF antenna, and while on site at a known noisy location all of this combined could help document a problem area.

The biggest issue I've had in the past with Power Noise tracking is the part where you need to document things each time.  With enough detail to be useful in debugging a problem.  Using all of this combined would make is as simple as waving your arms around with the gear doing all of the recording and minimal interaction required on the part of the user at the time.

This is also important from a safety standpoint.  For example you could actually be looking where you're about to plant your feet, or on coming cars, or big dogs, or downed power lines :-)  All kind of important!

The last time I'd used RF Analyzer it didn't include demodulation of the audio.  NOW it does and it CLEARLY works wonderfully!  Especially in AM mode which is helpful in power line noise hunting.

More to follow on this as soon as I've been able to video the operation of this...shouldn't be too long, I'm just waiting for my other android to charge up :-)

Power Line Noise - 50 Mhz

(click to see larger)

Now I know what I'm looking for I see this 'signature' and stronger versions of it all over the place on the radio.

Note the 60 hz, and stronger 120 hz, and subsequent 60 hz increments.  These are a well known 'signature' of the North American (US anyway) 60 Hz AC Power Line Noise.

Below is a much stronger version of this down around 44.4 Mhz.

(click to see larger)

Ameren UE Utility Power Pole 572795

Pole 572795 is now a prime suspect in my search for local Power Line Noise.  It seems to be emitting huge amounts of RFI between 44 and 51 Mhz.  See my recent post about this HERE.

I reran the Driveby System today (yeah, I need to come up with a better name than this!) this time I replace the 49 Mhz scan with 44.252 Mhz.  By the way, this noise source peak migrates it's primary frequency during the daylight hours about 200 Khz.  This morning when it was < 35 F outside it was around 44.485 Mhz and at the time I reran this test today in the afternoon around 4:30pm it was around 44.252 Mhz.

I'll update this post shortly with new Driveby System Maps that this round replaced 49 Mhz with 44 Mhz.  This made a HUGE difference in the end-resulting map, and seriously pinpointed the power pole noted above.

So it seems that the key at least in this case so far was to use a wideband pan-adapter to hunt for a massive spike noise source.  Once I did that I was able to easily identify the pole(s) I now now about.  Incidentally these poles are between 600-700 ft from my home.

In this particular case it appears that there are also some SERIOUS safety concerns.  The primary ground line has been severed about 1.5 ft. above the earth...and the wire coming down from the negative neutral AC line is simply dangling in the air a prime target for any middle-school kid to grab hold of it (because they're stupid).