On 14-Feb-2004, "Pete Holden" wrote:

I had a similar problem. It turned out to be the "ice-cube-tray-dumping"
motor in the ice maker in my freezer. I didn't find it until long after I
had had the power company come out and inspect their HV line, up about 40'
and their transformers. Naturally they didn't have any problems.
73 DE N6UF, Jim


Oh brother! That makes me wonder about all the nearly "untold" devices and
gizmos I have around the house.

Thanks again, folks... I'm still looking -- or will be when it shows up
again.

Pete

I once had a flourescent light fixture in my garage which would intermittently generate an arc-like
noise in my AM radio. Sometimes the noise would start when the light was first turned on.
Sometimes it would appear after several hours. Changes of lamp tubes, ballasts, and grounding were
all to no effect. Several years later while I was changing the power cord in the light, I noticed a
small brown spot on a wire nut which was laying on the metal fixture. There was very little visible
damage to the plastic of the wire nut but after replacing it, the noise was gone. Apparently some
carbonization of the plastic was allowing an arc-through to ground, a case where lack of a ground on
the fixture might have eliminated the noise.

-ken-