[net.ham-radio] Broadband noise problem resolved

hpk@vax135.UUCP (Howard Katseff) (01/02/86)

Back in November, I posted a message in this newsgroup about broadband
noise (ranging from about 2 to 12 MHz) that would ruin my shortwave
reception.  I would like to thank the many people who responded.

As a number of people suggested, I drove in my car with a portable
receiver looking for the source.  I was able to track the noise to a
power company transformer sitting on one of their poles about a
kilometer from my house.  If I stood near the pole, I could hear it
buzzing with the identical noise pattern that I heard from my
receiver.

I called the JCP&L (the local power utility) trouble number and
reported the problem, giving the pole number (attached to the pole) and
its location.  Surprisingly, they came and fixed it that day.

My conclusion is that JCP&L is indeed responsive to fixing these
problems.  Doing a bit of their work myself, by determining where the
problem was, probably helped speed things up.

Howard Katseff
AT&T Bell Laboratories
Holmdel, NJ
201 949-5337