Question re High Tension Lines
 

Hello,

I am a ham looking for a home. I found one that interests me, except
that it is about 600 feet from high tension lines. I am trying to
determine whether I should be concerned about this. There are three
potential issues that I can think of:

1.) Possible excessive exposure to low-frequency magnetic fields.

2.) Even if there is no significant exposure, the resale value of the
property may be affected if other buyers are concerned if/when I turn
around to sell it.

3.) Radio noise. I would imagine that any arcing along the system
would wreak havoc on my enjoyment of weak-signal dx.

Any and all comments appreciated.

-JJ

"jj" wrote in message
om...
Hello,

I am a ham looking for a home. I found one that interests me, except
that it is about 600 feet from high tension lines. I am trying to
determine whether I should be concerned about this. There are three
potential issues that I can think of:

1.) Possible excessive exposure to low-frequency magnetic fields.

2.) Even if there is no significant exposure, the resale value of the
property may be affected if other buyers are concerned if/when I turn
around to sell it.

3.) Radio noise. I would imagine that any arcing along the system
would wreak havoc on my enjoyment of weak-signal dx.

Any and all comments appreciated.

-JJ

Right on track...plus add another one. If BPL (broadband over Power Lines)
is installed, you wont hear squat.

Dan/W4NTI

there exist no data to support 1
2 may be an issue anyway

3 can be an issue
drive by in the mobile and listen

just my 2cents
H.

"jj" wrote in message
om...
Hello,

I am a ham looking for a home. I found one that interests me, except
that it is about 600 feet from high tension lines. I am trying to
determine whether I should be concerned about this. There are three
potential issues that I can think of:

1.) Possible excessive exposure to low-frequency magnetic fields.

2.) Even if there is no significant exposure, the resale value of the
property may be affected if other buyers are concerned if/when I turn
around to sell it.

3.) Radio noise. I would imagine that any arcing along the system
would wreak havoc on my enjoyment of weak-signal dx.

Any and all comments appreciated.

-JJ

jj wrote in message ...
Hello,

I am a ham looking for a home. I found one that interests me, except
that it is about 600 feet from high tension lines. I am trying to
determine whether I should be concerned about this. There are three
potential issues that I can think of:

1.) Possible excessive exposure to low-frequency magnetic fields.

2.) Even if there is no significant exposure, the resale value of the
property may be affected if other buyers are concerned if/when I turn
around to sell it.

3.) Radio noise. I would imagine that any arcing along the system
would wreak havoc on my enjoyment of weak-signal dx.

Any and all comments appreciated.

-JJ

JJ,

I have high tension towers about 250 feet behind my house. I use 100 watts
into an all band dipole on HF. I've lived here for 17 years, and my
neighbor is in her late eighties and has lived here since the early 60's.
I'm not sure what the signs are of exposure to low-frequency magnetic fields
are, but she remains a delightful lady.

With regards to 2.), real estate around here is selling like crazy. A
friend of mine bought some property very close to power lines about 20
years ago, and sold it for a 400% profit about 5 years later. I wouldn't
have purchased it in the first place, but he made out very well!

As far as 3.) goes, I've worked New Zealand, the South Pacific, South
America, Asia, and Europe from my QTH in Maryland. No problems with QRM
from the power lines interfering with contacts.

I think the best thing to do is to go out and see what the quality of the
reception is as other folks have suggested.

Tim

On 22 Sep 2003 16:54:31 -0700, (jj) wrote:

Hello,

I am a ham looking for a home. I found one that interests me, except
that it is about 600 feet from high tension lines. I am trying to
determine whether I should be concerned about this. There are three
potential issues that I can think of:

1.) Possible excessive exposure to low-frequency magnetic fields.

2.) Even if there is no significant exposure, the resale value of the
property may be affected if other buyers are concerned if/when I turn
around to sell it.

3.) Radio noise. I would imagine that any arcing along the system
would wreak havoc on my enjoyment of weak-signal dx.

Any and all comments appreciated.

-JJ

When you say "high tension" lines I'm not sure whether you're talking
about power lines on 50-foot wood poles or the bigger lines on massive
metal towers -- but you can always temp. rig your transceiver to your
car battery, drive to the neighborhood, throw a long wire out the
window, and listen on your favorite bands for buzz & hash.

Or, maybe you could get the real estate agent to let you bring a rig
to the house, assuming it's empty.

Personally, I'm surrounded by above ground power lines, and there's a
50,000 watt AM station with a 4-tower antenna within a mile, but it's
a reasonably quiet location.

Bob
k5qwg

Your perceptions, even though discounted here, could be your buyers reality
when you sell!
Remember: location, location, location.
Buy it only after you've checked for RFI, can't find as good a deal
elsewhere and are prepared to suffer any latent consequences!
Regards
hank wd5jfr
"jj" wrote in message
om...
Hello,

I am a ham looking for a home. I found one that interests me, except
that it is about 600 feet from high tension lines. I am trying to
determine whether I should be concerned about this. There are three
potential issues that I can think of:

1.) Possible excessive exposure to low-frequency magnetic fields.

2.) Even if there is no significant exposure, the resale value of the
property may be affected if other buyers are concerned if/when I turn
around to sell it.

3.) Radio noise. I would imagine that any arcing along the system
would wreak havoc on my enjoyment of weak-signal dx.

Any and all comments appreciated.

-JJ

Especially if you have youngsters, you ought to stay out of that neighborhood.
The jury is still out on the correlation between power lines and various
cancers. For health considerations alone, look for a safe setting.
I suggest you research the studies on this subject.

73 & good luck
KB2AMY
Evan

Can't address the first two but for number 3.
I had a home a coupla hundred feet away from hi tension towers and it was a
nightmare plus.

I was not a ham when we moved in but I noticed lines across the TV video on
the lower channels all the time
and buzz in the TV audio. Annoying but not unusual in the days of rooftop TV
antennas.

It got and very severe when the insulators got damp. In fact at times during
the night one could see a blue arc discharge across the insulators.

When I got my ham ticket, I found S9+10 dB of noise was typical on the 160,
80, 40m bands (unusable for the most part)

Less noise up the spectrum but awful at times. Later when a got a small
triband beam, I would rotate the antenna 90 degrees away from the power
lines to reduce the noise and hope some of my signal got to Europe -- hi hi.

The power company would wash down the lines on occasion when I squawked, but
the noise would soon return.

When we moved to a new noise free (underground utilities) location, couldn't
believe the difference.

Take a portable SWL receiver and check the noise at various frequencies and
areas of the location.

But the noise could be in a "quiet period' i.e., clean and dry insulators.

I will never again move in anywhere near these spectrum blasters.

--
73 from The Spurious Noise
------------------------------------------
"jj" wrote in message
om...
Hello,

I am a ham looking for a home. I found one that interests me, except
that it is about 600 feet from high tension lines. I am trying to
determine whether I should be concerned about this. There are three
potential issues that I can think of:

1.) Possible excessive exposure to low-frequency magnetic fields.

2.) Even if there is no significant exposure, the resale value of the
property may be affected if other buyers are concerned if/when I turn
around to sell it.

3.) Radio noise. I would imagine that any arcing along the system
would wreak havoc on my enjoyment of weak-signal dx.

Any and all comments appreciated.

-JJ

My late first wife and I lived (in Australia) on a narrow street with
11KV power lines across the street. She died of breast cancer at age 46.
I know that one instance does not prove anything, but I am trying to
stay as far away as possible from power lines as we look for a new home.
(Yet trying to find a place with underground utilities and no CC&Rs
seems impossible.)

In the UK magazine "Electronics and Wireless World" (or whatever it is
called these days) ten years or so ago an article claimed that the
confusing research data did not take into account the different
frequencies used in different countries (60Hz vs. 50Hz) and that the
different frequencies have different effects (but I no longer recall
which was supposed to be worse -- or maybe neither was "worse" than the
other, simply different).

-=-
Alan AB2OS

On 09/23/03 09:39 am FAZAMY put fingers to keyboard and launched the
following message into cyberspace:

Especially if you have youngsters, you ought to stay out of that neighborhood.
The jury is still out on the correlation between power lines and various
cancers. For health considerations alone, look for a safe setting.
I suggest you research the studies on this subject.

J.J. wrote:
"Possible excessive exposure to low-frequency magnetic fields."

Where does the stronger magnetic field come from, a high-voltage circuit
600 ft away, or a low-voltage circuit a foot or less away?

"Radio noise."

Underground electrical service to your home may help eliminate noise
entry, so might powerline filters.

Best regards, Richard Harrison, KB5WZI