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HFguy · October 19th 06, 07:33 AM posted to rec.radio.shortwave

wrote:
Anyone else in the group have any experience with the new "smart" KWH
meters being deployed
by many utilities?

We we arrived home after a fun filled visit to the family MD, I found a
hang tag on the door that
said RECC had replaced out meter with anew, udated, smart meter that
allowed for remoted
measurement of our eletric usage.

No big deal except this is the RFI jammer from hell.

Itut makes a firedrake jammer nice by comparison.

From below 100KHz to above 30MHz a low level, just below S1, hash wipes
out all weak signals.
Too late today to call and complain, but I thought everyone might want
a heads up on this. Just
whne it looked with BPL is dead hear abouts, here comes a new RFI
source from left field.

The only good thing is that I am an extra class so I could see what 1KW
AM does to it.

It is a:
Focus KWH
Type ALF
Form 2S CL200

I don't know if I am receiving mine, or the collective RF from all the
meters in the area.
All three of my prirmary antennas have about the same noise level.

I just aquired a Tek 7613 and a Tek 7704A frames with a 7L12 spectrum
analyzer.
If they had only waited another week I would have completed a noise
audit on all three of
my antennas.

Terry

My KWH meter was upgraded to a digital remote reading model
Schlumberger-'Centron' about two years ago. Since then I've suspected
that some of the noise sources on HF might be coming from the meter. I'm
tempted to temporarily remove the meter and jumper the contacts in the
box to see if the noise goes away. I wonder if the power company would
let me have the old style mechanical meter back if I could prove that
the new one is an RF noise maker?