AEP noisemaking contraptions
February 16th, 2008
You know what I’m talking about. The transformers, insulators, and other garbage that eminate huge amounts of static. They are all over the neighborhood.
Years ago I attempted to get something done about it, but nothing happened. One of the AEP guys who came out was a ham. I’m betting he thought he knew it all. They weren’t going to do the DFing. I showed them what was going on - gave them examples on an AM radio and an FM radio of the noise generated from one or more poles. They didn’t fix a damn thing.
I suppose I could press the issue and contact them, but only after I do an assload of pinpointing of the problems. That’s a load of horseshit. I’m not the one whose equipment is generating the noise. I could go back and forth with them for a year, and then when they don’t do anything about it I could contact the ARRL and get them involved as a liason in the matter with the FCC to get AEP to fix it. But again, why should I have to do all the work. My word out to be good enough.
I’m not your average dumbass whacker ham. I know what the hell I’m doing. When I say the noise is eminating from their equipment, I’m not making it up hoping that it’s true.
Anyway, it’s not worth the effort since the hobby has went to hell in a handbasket with the removal of code and influx of whackers. The local hams are either 100 years old or assholes, or both. I really get no enjoyment from associating with people like that.
I had issues with AEP myself, ended up calling Brilliant, Ohio Countless times befor they sent someone out. he would show and no noise, he’d leave and noise would return, so I taped it and when he came back I played the tape, he ran around the neighborhood with a field strenght meter on a hand held yagi and DID finally find one of the problems. I found a couple myself with an old hand held am transistor radio tuned to no stations. The problem was grounds on utilitie poles.you can get them to react by hitting them with a 4# sledge hammer. I’d do that when I knew he was on his way to my house and he did manage to correct 3 in the neighborhood. I hope you can work it out, if not your friends at puco and the fcc need to be informed, you REALLY get action when AEP finds out you’ve contacted them.
Good Luck Mike. btw n8cnk frank and I were talking about you tonight. hope you’re well mang.
73 n stuff T
Comment by kc4wms — March 13, 2008 @ 6:57
You called up Brilliant? I didn’t know there was any place in Brilliant to call. Back in the mid 90s when I called them up, they sent the guys out of St. Clairsville. One of them was a ham (who lives almost a stones throw from me) and the other was Rex Garrison - I think they always send the DFing crew outta STC. I’m sure they are all jack-of-all-trades kind of guys though, because on numerous occasions I saw both of them present at my previous workplace when we were having our figer connections from AEP set up.
To give them some credit, if memory serves me correctly they did isolate one or two spots and then had a crew dispatched to fix. But they didn’t seem particularly enthused about taking care of the problem and I gave up further dialog with them to try and resolve the remaining problems.
Now it’s much much worse - I’m sure that there are tons of areas in this small subdivision where work would need done to eliminate the interface. Let’s face it, when you can hear it on AM all the way up into the high ends of the VHF band, there is something that needs fixed. Packet is impossible unless you’re communicating with another S9+ packet station on 2m. I’d really love to get this taken care of because it absolutely kills my ability to hear anything on HF.
You’re right though, Tom. in one of your other comments you mentioned that you will switch to a vertical when the noise is too horrendous and you can typically hear the other station (probably at nearly a bump on the S-meter but without the noise). Last year I ran some contests, and I would often switch to a 2m ringo vertical (on HF) for receive because of how quite things were without the noise.
Maybe I’ll pursue this again this year. Of course, they’ll probably see my rantings on my site and then purposefully screw me over
Not too long ago I was getting some intermod on my scanner and went to track down the transmitters that were mixing it up - one of them was 146.94 - and it so happened that I heard you and Frank on there at the same time and I listened in on you two for a while. Please tell Frank I said hi. He has always been one of the very very few decent hams that exist around the valley here. The rest are you guys from up Liverpool. Jefferson Co hams are all schmucks who think their shit don’t stink
Mike
Comment by Mike — March 15, 2008 @ 21:28