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Living next to a polluting quarry is not much fun. Apart from dust, noise, blasting shocks and other nasties, we are getting electromagnetic interference on our TV. Boral's private transformer has porcelain insulators, which get dusted with quarry dust and with moisture makes a conducting paste which leads to flash overs and emissions.
After complaints to Western Power a private consultant came out one day, directed his parabolic mirror at the transformer and confirmed all that. Next over our block we have a 330kV (?) line, which also has insulators, but the villain of the piece is Boral's transformer. The flashes from the big line are audible sometimes.
Boral's electrician uses a pulsed water spray but as his time costs Boral is not too happy to oblige. What I find annoying is that a PC magazine once brought an article claiming operators of networks face fines by ACMA if they should pollute the airwaves! Apart from snow in the old analogue days it now has become an audio drop out/pixellation disaster on the weaker ABC/SBS channels.
Question: The TV remote uses UV I guess and the round UV receiver on the TV flashes and clicks sometimes, does that mean a flash over also emits in the UV spectrum??? Or are aliens trying to communicate with me for a possible alien abduction?Taxation as a means of achieving prosperity is like a man standing inside a bucket trying to lift himself up.
Winston Churchill
MOBI Guru
Joined: 02/12/2012 Location: AustraliaPosts: 819
Posted: 03:01pm 20 Jan 2014
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I reckon its the aliens! They are everywhere these days - 150 metres tall and three arms they sometimes wave about.
whether the IR (not UV) remote is affected or not, I'm not so sure.
The code from the IR remotes is usually 4 serial bytes of data in the form:
device code, inverted device code, key code, inverted key code - and all have to be correct.
As an "aside", somewhere in my past project tinkering, I made an I2C slave that could read remote IR signals and send data to PC or these days the MM so you could use a "standard" remote to control other devices.David M.
Bryan1
Guru
Joined: 22/02/2006 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1344
Posted: 03:05pm 20 Jan 2014
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Doesn't TV remotes use IR to transmit NOT UV and on reading some of your posts they do need reading a few times to decipher so it maybe time to put that tin foil hat on and hope for the best.
Cheers Bryan
P.S. just joking mate.....
Warpspeed Guru
Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406
Posted: 03:38pm 20 Jan 2014
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It's definitely aliens.
Probably trying to lock onto you with a tractor beam, to beam you up.
Cheers, Tony.
Downwind
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Joined: 09/09/2009 Location: AustraliaPosts: 2333
Posted: 11:17pm 20 Jan 2014
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A flash over on a insulator is normally a conductive path to ground, not something that should effect your TV, other than perhaps a voltage drop in supply power for a brief moment.
Insulator cleaning is common in some areas.
When i worked on Barrow Island, it was very common to see the chopper flying the lines and blasting the insulators with a jet of water to wash the salt build up off them.
Small island and always subject to salt from the ocean in all directions.
I dont think the tin foil hat will help, as IR (InfraRed )is a narrow beam and will just bounce of your head hit the ceiling, then the floor and hit you in the butt.
Now aliens i know a little about, because one use to sleep in the bed with the ex-misses and me, it snored in her ear all night, the next day she would complain, and i know it was not me snoring because i was always sleeping.
Why would i want to be snoring in her ear?...... it was the alien!!!!
Besides aliens dont emit IR, and use IG (infraGreen) which cannot not be detected man as yet.
Pete.
Sometimes it just works
domwild Guru
Joined: 16/12/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 873
Posted: 01:00am 22 Jan 2014
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Sorry, it is IR (obviously!) and I have the consultant's word for it that it is affecting my TV reception. Mind you, the SEC (State Electricity Co.) would not give me his findings in writing despite the fact that they had employed him. The usual cooperation between the regulator and the regulatee!
Now seriously and without alien inferences and interferences, would a flash over also transmit waves in the IR spectrum? Put your physics hat on and take that tin hat off!Taxation as a means of achieving prosperity is like a man standing inside a bucket trying to lift himself up.
Winston Churchill
MOBI Guru
Joined: 02/12/2012 Location: AustraliaPosts: 819
Posted: 01:39am 22 Jan 2014
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A flash over develops heat and heat is IR, so I guess a flash over produces IR.
We used to use IR cameras for finding hot spots in high power switchboards.David M.
domwild Guru
Joined: 16/12/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 873
Posted: 01:04pm 22 Jan 2014
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Thanks MOBI. Yes, silly me, I should have known that. IR sensors in anti aircraft rockets sense IR and aim for it.
I guess I am not too far from the nearest neighbour, who may weld but such an interference would be more permanent, which I also get. If so he must be a bad welder as he/she is not running a permanent bead but following my welding technique of "multi-point tacking".Taxation as a means of achieving prosperity is like a man standing inside a bucket trying to lift himself up.
Winston Churchill
Warpspeed Guru
Joined: 09/08/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 4406
Posted: 02:20pm 22 Jan 2014
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If your TV is indoors along with its IR sensor, just draw the blinds.
Even if nearby aliens were doing welding repairs on their damaged flying saucer, just blocking the outside light coming into the room should fix it. Cheers, Tony.
domwild Guru
Joined: 16/12/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 873
Posted: 01:25pm 23 Jan 2014
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The audio dropouts are also noticeable at night, so it must be something coming thru the mains. Samsung supply a toroid to slip over the TV power cable presumably to reduce interference.Taxation as a means of achieving prosperity is like a man standing inside a bucket trying to lift himself up.