[TVARC] Noise Levels: Dunedin Neighborhod

Wed Mar 27 15:20:09 EDT 2019

Hi all,

 I went thought this when we first moved here in Hillsborough, in 2013. The noise as has been described was very strong. I used a laptop with an SDR dongle and handheld antenna to collect data. To be sure I was not confusing their noise from noise my house was generating, I shut down everything including UPS for computers. This was suggested by SECO.

 I found the strongest level was near the power distribution box in back of my house. I followed-up with SECO and they sent an engineer to see me with a van and lots of equipment. We drove around in the van with both of us holding antennas outside the vehicle. After collecting data for two days he concluded the source was Duke Energy where the power comes into the Villages (above ground) by Sumter Landing. Then he got pulled from the project. I did not agree with him as it seemed the signal was stronger in some villages than from the Duke wires entering The Villages SECO distribution. MY strongest readings (often mid 20 meters) were by my house and by the Eisenhower Rec Center. I tried to get some attention from Duke but was unsuccessful. They said it must be my neighbors generating the problem when I told them I shut all down and still had the noise.

 Unfortunately I suddenly had a bunch of issues up north and was not in The Villages to follow up and when I got back I could not find my notes, screen captures and other info I had collected. The folder seems to have disappeared. I also moved to a bigger house a few blocks away and the noise was not an issue anymore (still there, just now I could at least hear strong hams - a vast improvement from the original house) so I dropped the effort and moved on.

 Considering the unique characteristics of the signals (1. exact frequency seemed to be moving slowly in a repeating pattern, 2. The origin was in the range of a switching supply, converter, or some other kind of high power conversion equipment, 3. and the signal was rich with harmonics. Actual strongest signals were in the AM broadcast band starting about 580KHz repeating as has been described by others. But it was present past the 10 meter band. Unfortunately I had limited my tests to the Ham bands which was short sighted of me.

 My opinion is this is due to some type of power management equipment that is on the SECO side and although location within The Villages makes a difference of strength, the unique characteristics seemed to be common everywhere. If you follow up along the Duke lines the signal gets weaker as you go away from The Villages. Not 100% sure about that as it was a quick test. Again, I did not follow-up on that point and wish I had...

 That's all I have for this brain dump. I was going to do a presentation at a club meeting but then realized I lost all my docs and data. It would take a good month to collect all the data I had and make a presentation of it, and I just did not have the time to pursue it. If I sell our place in PA this summer, a flagpole antenna will appear in my front yard and once again I may dive into this again.

 Sorry for the long message and I hope at least some of this helps. If this thread goes private, please keep me in the loop.

 Regards,

David Yulke, AA2GT  

2085 Utopia Pl  

The Villages, FL  32163  

(570) 396-3607  

yulke at rushsys.com  

----------------------------------------
 From: "K2PS Pete Stafford" <psk2ps at gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2019 2:47 PM
To: "villages reflector" <tvarc at mailman.qth.net>
Subject: Re: [TVARC] Noise Levels: Dunedin Neighborhod   

I checked my noise situation, and have basically none.  On 20M it's between S0-1.  My antennas are all horizontally polarized, so perhaps that makes a difference.  I'm in Amelia, BTW.  

I do have a 20kHz wide "mound," every 180kHz, that I've tracked to my pool equipment.  The good news is that I can just shut off the breakers during contests.  I've also had noise from a seal-a-meal device, which disappears when I unplug it.  I agree with John, that shutting everything down and then bringing them up one by one is the most effective way to track down any RFI emanating from your own house, which is by far the most likely source of QRN.  

73, Pete, K2PS  

From: tvarc-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:tvarc-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of John Ellis
Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2019 11:59 AM
To: Deichler, Ed
Cc: villages reflector
Subject: Re: [TVARC] Noise Levels: Dunedin Neighborhod 

We're in Fernandina, between Morse  

and Buena VIsta, right off of Pinellas  

I have the same problem here but it  

is well to know that there are a lot of  

microprocessor things that we have  

in our houses that can be causing QRN  

so when we go to SECO or whoever,  

we need to be able to exclude those  

items.   

Our dishwasher generates RFI, the pool  

pump controller, the thermostat, the cable  

box and they can all add up to a substantial  

amount of RFI.    

When identifying RFI, we need to be prepared  

to shut off EVERYTHING in the house  

including all pool equipment etc.  

Another source of the problem may be the  

street lighting. Each pole has it's own photocell  

and I guess it's conceivable that those might be  

causing some of our problems.   

Has anyone actually been able to pinpoint the  

source? 

73,    

John, NP2B  

On Wed, Mar 27, 2019 at 12:15 PM <k2te at juno.com> wrote: 

Cal,

Yep, that is the same noise pattern I see, 60+/- kHz periodicity.  I have
noticed it for more than a year although I've been here since 2015.  It
appears that it is NOT local if you see it in other Village
neighborhoods.  I'm close to a power distribution site so I'm pointing a
finger at it.  It might be worthwhile gathering data from others to see
if there is a power distribution site near them.

73 de Ed

____________________________________________________________
Popcorn Does This To Your Brain (Shocking)
clearstateofmind.com
http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/5c9b694f40e35694f4c4fst01vuc  

--       

John Ellis         (NP2B)   

1149 Mockingbird Lane  
The Villages, FL 32163  

telephone 352 633-2910  
facsimile  352 633-0401
mobile     340 513-4928   

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