[Lowfer] AC utility meter QRM on LF

Wed Oct 6 17:59:36 EDT 2010

Eric the phrase let sleeping dogs lie (or lyingdogs sleep) comes to 
mind. Going up against the power companies would be like carring a 
knife to a gun fight. We would loose. 

I have one of the offending meters and hear birdies up through the 80 
meter band, not so much on lowfer. 
I need to hook up SDR rec and run a sweep of 100 to 200khz. Most of the 
gadgets like AC shut down switches for peak periods seem to be short 
lived. Maybe this technology will be short lived. 

A few years ago I got bills for minimum, about $15, for several months. 
It took at least 12 or 15 calls to get meter replaced. Thankfully they 
didnt bill me for back payment. I suspect the teenager in charge didnt 
know what to do. 

Paul k5wms

Quoting Eric Smith <esmithmail at gmail.com>:
> Hey guys, what do you think about this?  Now, I'm just playing devil's
> advocate here...as you know, I am on your side:
>
> Now, I would term our experimental 2200m license grants as
> "provisional", and here is why:  Since it was the utilities that
> raised a fuss essentially shutting down 2200m as a formal ham band,
> how strong do you think we could go to the net when making a statement
> that the power company is interfering with a duly FCC licensed radio
> station??  That is, when talking 2200m?
>
> What do you think?
>
> Eric KD5UWL / WD2XFX
>
>
> On Oct 6, 2010, at 2:48 PM, "Stan, W1LE" <stanw1le at verizon.net> wrote:
>
> >  Hello Dex,
> >
> > 1. Would be interesting to get a broadband current probe around one of
> > the AC conductors,
> > then feed the probe output to the Rx. 
> >
> > 2. Maybe the manufacturer has a out of band RF power trap to place at
> > the source (meter). 
> > Suppress the noise at the source. 
> >
> > 3. Maybe the manufacturer or the electric coop RFI/EMI section can
> > advise on where
> > the real energy is, freq wise. So all other energy can be suppressed. 
> > I would lodge a formal RFI/EMI complaint with them first.... 
> > Interfering with FCC licensed emergency radio communications.... blah,
> > blah, blah
> >
> > 4. The plastic (non-metallic) meter case may not provide adequate
> > shielding,
> > supplement with a metal shield. 
> >
> > Stan, W1LE       Cape Cod     FN41sr
> >
> >
> > On 10/6/2010 1:05 PM, Dexter McIntyre W4DEX wrote:
> >> My local power utility recently replaced a 900 MHz remote reading meter
> >> with a new type.  The 900 MHz meter had a FCC ID and I was able to find
> >> all the test data on that meter when it was installed about 5 years
> >> ago.  The new meter has no FCC certification probably because it
> >> transmits it's data via PLC.  The 900 MHz meter required a drive by to
> >> read the power usage once a month where as this new meter transmits data
> >> multiple times per day. 
> >>
> >> As soon as the new meter was installed I noticed several UPS units I
> >> have online would switch to battery.  Then I started havening problems
> >> with several X-10 devices which would either toggle on or off when the
> >> meter sent data.  The data regularly transmits every 12 hours with what
> >> appears to be random minute intervals.  I have also noticed it often
> >> transmits at either 4 or 8 hour intervals.  The data last for about 3
> >> seconds.  This data appears to be very wide band or at least generating
> >> a lot of wide band noise when it transmits.  I have been trying to
> >> determine at what frequency most of the power is on but so far haven't
> >> been able to.  At first I thought since the X-10 units were being
> >> scrambled the meter might be on 120 kHz.  But we know 120 kHz will not
> >> pass through power distribution transformers, at least not at X-10 power
> >> levels. 
> >>
> >> Today with the SDR-IQ set to view 0 to 190 khz and connected to my LF
> >> xmit antenna I can detect what appears to be other meters also 
> transmitting. 
> >>
> >> Picture of the SDR display which shows the approximate 3 second
> >> transmission:
> >>
> >> http://w4dex.com/temp/ac_utility/utility_meter_data.jpg
> >>
> >> Picture of the meter:
> >>
> >> http://w4dex.com/temp/ac_utility/utility_meter_landisgry_focus.jpg
> >>
> >> I'm afraid this will be a real nuisance when I connect my LF receive
> >> antennas for the winter. 
> >>
> >> Dex
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Paul Daulton K5WMS
beacon WMS 185.302 khz qrss30/slow 24/7
Jacksonville,Ar 72076
em34wu