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The Issue of Power-Line Noise
A Smarter Approach
II. Why
Care? (By Ed Hare, ARRL
Laboratory Manager)
The busy utility executive has to juggle a lot of tasks everyday. Radio/television interference is probably
not very high on his or her priority list.
This article may help change that.
In many cases, a bit of work up front can save a lot of work later. Ensuring that his or her company has a
workable program to address its responsibilities with regard to interference,
in the long run, will be the most cost-effective solution. Fixing the problem is actually in the
utility's best interest. Let's take a
look at a few of the specifics as to why:
- It's a matter
of customer service. Interference
can severely impact a person's quality of life, and that person is almost
always a utility customer. Most
utilities take great pride in their customer-service programs.
- Radio noise
is actually caused by some sort of equipment defect. In some cases, the noise is the most
obvious evidence of the problem.
While it doesn't happen often, such a defect can fail altogether
and drop a live line on the ground.
If a good interference resolution policy prevents even one such
serious incident, the utility's expenditure will have been justified in
spades. Remember, every downed
power-line is preceded by an arc.
That arc could be the source of your interference problem.
- Prevention is
cheaper than a cure. The most
cost-effective time to fix most problems is when they occur. Routinely identifying and fixing noise
complaints, in the long run, is almost always less expensive than the
alternative. Arguing with
customers can be time consuming and may even involve company lawyers in
some very expensive conversations.
In some cases, utility managers have spent considerably more money
to not fix a noise problem than they would have to simply fix it correctly
in the first place.
- It's the
law! FCC regulations prohibit operators of any device generating radio noise from causing harmful interference.
It's always better
to correct problems as they occur rather than wait for a formal complaint
through the FCC. (A number
of electric-utility CEOs have been surprised to receive a letter from
the FCC Enforcement Bureau.)
By ensuring utility staff routinely correct these problems, a
utility manager can avoid literally making a federal case out of what
should be a local problem.
Page last modified: 11:36 AM, 05 Jan 2005 ET
Page author: tis@arrl.org
Copyright © 2005, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved.