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Re: [TowerTalk] High-Tension Wires

To: "towertalk@contesting.com" <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] High-Tension Wires
From: Gene Smar via TowerTalk <towertalk@contesting.com>
Reply-to: Gene Smar <ersmar@verizon.net>
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2022 05:15:43 +0000 (UTC)
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
 TT:
     A bit off-topic so I apologize.  

     When I was working for a power utility, back in the 80s, we used to 
describe those top-of-tower shield wires as "lightning umbrellas."  The name is 
obvious from that description..  

     Looking at the photos of the pole lines in the link below I was reminded 
of the work I did installing and testing those shield wires which also had 
fiber-optic cables in the center.  BICC of the UK patented the concept in 1977 
and our utility, PP&L in Allentown, PA, installed the first few spans in the US 
in 1981.  (Hydro Quebec beat us by three months and installed the first spans 
in the western hemisphere.)  We wanted to develop a communications channel 
between our substations that would not noise up like a copper phone line during 
a lightning strike - just when you need to send a breaker trip tone signal to a 
remote substation.  

73 deGene Smar  AD3F
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim <jimw7ry@gmail.com>
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Sent: Thu, Oct 20, 2022 12:24 am
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] High-Tension Wires

What voltage are these lines?  How many bells on the insulators? Old or 
new structures?


I too had *167KV lines* run through my 13 acres via a right away. Never 
gave me any problems. They were about 800-1000 feet away from my 
antennas.  These lines were on a 2-pole structure with very large cross 
arms between the poles. The three conductors were hanging on 15 bell 
insulators.

However, they did attract lightning, which hit the "statics (AKA Shield 
Wires)" (ground conductors they run on tops of the poles, between each 
pole) and ground at each pole with a butt wrap)... Such as the ones 
shown in this picture on the 2-pole structures: 
https://oppdthewire.com/how-works-shield-wires/

A good test is take a small AM transistor radio to the property your 
looking at and give a listen to a weak station or or even a blank 
frequency on the AM band and see what you hear.

As said before here, I had more issues with the 7600 V distribution 
lines  than I did with the transmission line.


Thanks, 73, Jim W7RY

On 10/19/2022 7:56 PM, Paul F. Merrill wrote:
> We are looking at a house in the Northeast that abuts a utility easement
> with High Voltage Transmission lines.
>
> Should I pass on the property?  The HF towers would be <500’ from the
> wires. Given the 4 seasons, ice, humidity, etc.  is this doomed to failure
> by its very proximity?
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