Ultrasonic Detector for Locating RFI Sources on Power Poles Completed and Put To Work

First actual use of the ultrasonic system I just put together for hunting down RFI sources on utility poles. Narrowed it down to the top of this pole. Definitely some arcing going on in a connection, insulator, or other hardware at the top of this pole:

 

Here is the Son-Tector Ultrosonic Probe Kit which was the foundation of this project:

 

I used an 18″ offset satellite dish as a parabolic reflector in order to create a highly directional detector with increased gain. In the photos you can see that I’ve modified the feedhorn/LNB assembly and installed an ultrasonic transducer at the entrance to the feedhorn. The transducer is the silver disc-like item you can see in the feedhorn. Drilling a small hole in the neck of the feedhorn facilitated insertion of the shielded, two-conductor wire which runs from the transducer to the amplifier/converter/meter unit. Finally, I gave the antenna/dish a couple of coats of matte black paint to reduce reflections and officially retire it from satellite television use. 😉

 

73 from KK4ICE. And may your DX days be RFI-free!