low power tv

[Ric Moore]

On Tue, 2008-04-22 at 20:21 +0930, Tim wrote:
> Tim:
> >> Here, we have rotten AM radio reception.  There's a terrible hum all
> >> over the band.  It only went away when the district power failed.  My
> >> guess is the nearby high tension power lines are radiating the crap that
> >> disrupts it.  You can even hear them audibly, if you go near them.  And
> >> they sizzle evilly in wet or damp weather.  ;-)
>  
> Antti J. Huhtala:
> > Tim, have you thoght about letting the power company know about leaky
> > insulators ie. sparking over?  They should be pleased because their
> > product is being spilled this way...
> 
> I've thought about that before.  But, somehow, I just cannot see ETSA
> bothering with the expense of shutting off power, and bringing in all
> the equipment needed to get up the huge pole, and replacing or cleaning
> the insulators, just for my benefit.  ;-)
> 
> In the thirty-odd years that I've lived here, I've never seen them do
> any maintenance to them.  So I can't imagine a bit of extra work being
> scheduled into regular maintenance to improve them, either.

Meter bases!! It used to be the practice that every ten years the meter
base was checked, cleaned and the wiring greased with that conductivity
paste. Not no mo'. Opening up the box can be VERY revealing. If you're
blowing electric bulbs, or the living room lights dim when Mom fires up
the Electric Iron, you know it's time to clean that base before real
problems erupt. Nowadays, if the base is really nasty, you have to
spring for the expense of a new one. But, it'll save $$$ many times over
in the long run. We had a rental property that had two inch balls of
crusty corrosion on the L1 and L2 lines where they were secured to the
top of the meter base. We had the util company shut us down, replaced
the box and had to install a shut-off to be up to new codes. I rammed in
a new ground rod as well. Worked like a charm. Ric

-- 
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..the Sin of Ignorance, and the Sin of Stupidity.
Only the former may be overcome." R.I.P. Dad.
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