SAFE DISTANCE FROM OVERHEAD HIGH VOLTAGE POWER LINES
- Thread starter ALAN ARMSTRONG
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we talked about this about a month ago or so. There is a post here somewhere.
HV power lines are relatively safe and don't cause interference with our quads.
I was under the impression that any electrical flow will cause a magnetic field and the field around HV lines must be huge. Not the case. There are some old linemen here, hopefully they will chime in.
HV power lines are relatively safe and don't cause interference with our quads.
I was under the impression that any electrical flow will cause a magnetic field and the field around HV lines must be huge. Not the case. There are some old linemen here, hopefully they will chime in.
I flew about 40 feet from 100,000 volt lines a few days ago. Three lines each direction on top of those really big steel towers. Not even a hint of an issue.
i'm curious about the subject also, but i had an issue in an RV park that had tons
of wifi signals in addition to 115k volt lines that were about 100' from where
i attempted to fly, unsuccessfully. hard to put blame anywhere in particular
with so many factors... new location for me, high voltage wires nearby,
and tons of wifi signals from the park beint sent out to the campsites...
phantom 2 vision plus just took off on me up into the trees.....
of wifi signals in addition to 115k volt lines that were about 100' from where
i attempted to fly, unsuccessfully. hard to put blame anywhere in particular
with so many factors... new location for me, high voltage wires nearby,
and tons of wifi signals from the park beint sent out to the campsites...
phantom 2 vision plus just took off on me up into the trees.....
Hi there
My first post on this forum, however I read many of the topics discussed.
I have been in the electrical profession for many years and I have a good understanding of the quirks of HV power etc.
HV power lines "normally" do not interfere with quads, however if you're the unlucky person to fly around HV lines that have dirty or cracked insulators and they are normally identified by a buzzing sound or crackling and sometimes no indicators at all.
The HV phase will track and create a current path to the structure earthing. The arcing emits a plethora of high frequency radio signals due to the tracking and may interfere or render your quad uncontrollable. A good experiment for those who wish to know how strong the electric fields around HV lines is to take a 4 foot fluorescent tube and stand under these power lines, obviously far away from the actual conductor cables, and wave the fluorescent around, in most cases the fluorescent tube will start to glow and sometimes they light up!
My advice - Stay clear of power lines.
My first post on this forum, however I read many of the topics discussed.
I have been in the electrical profession for many years and I have a good understanding of the quirks of HV power etc.
HV power lines "normally" do not interfere with quads, however if you're the unlucky person to fly around HV lines that have dirty or cracked insulators and they are normally identified by a buzzing sound or crackling and sometimes no indicators at all.
The HV phase will track and create a current path to the structure earthing. The arcing emits a plethora of high frequency radio signals due to the tracking and may interfere or render your quad uncontrollable. A good experiment for those who wish to know how strong the electric fields around HV lines is to take a 4 foot fluorescent tube and stand under these power lines, obviously far away from the actual conductor cables, and wave the fluorescent around, in most cases the fluorescent tube will start to glow and sometimes they light up!
My advice - Stay clear of power lines.
When my neighborhood was under construction, a concrete pumper truck got his boom too close to overhead lines and it burnt the truck to the ground. He had a spotter but what they didn't account for was the field attraction of the line to the boom a couple of feet away. It was an almost new truck, and there was nothing left but the burned out shell.
I'd stay well away from overhead lines, too many variables dependent on their condition, load, etc. You're talking about a massive amount of energy and you can see phenomena like the corona effect around HV among other things that defy basic electrical behavior.
I'd stay well away from overhead lines, too many variables dependent on their condition, load, etc. You're talking about a massive amount of energy and you can see phenomena like the corona effect around HV among other things that defy basic electrical behavior.
you can get small very light weight ones at the hardware store for like batt powered coleman lanterns. couple bucks, only like 4" long - ideal to strap to landing gear!
let us know how it goes!
I had a recent job shooting imagery of bridge building project that had both "street grade" power lines and two runs of high voltage. I was extremely cautious and pushed the envelope a bit every flight. With regard to the HV lines...no perceived issues and I got within 150ft of them. For the street lines I was within 50ft and no issues. Mind you, I was ready to go ATTI and climb at the flick of a switch. Incidentally, I did get much lower and closer to the lines. This picture just shows how many lines there are. The local was very rural and miles/kms away from any built up area. Not much in the way of WiFi issues.
For the curious, take your basic magnetic compass and visit power lines. If you get no deflection then you are pretty safe at the distance you are at. I have no explanation as to why some of the fly-away videos seem to occur around power lines. In fact, right when I first got my P2V+ and was flying around inspecting my house roof it got "sucked into" the lines running to the house. Don't know why, the power supply is AC not DC.
I'd be interested to know if this was a combination of factors...power lines grids becoming magnetized or at least disturbed by powerful solar flares. I've just come in from a flight and noticed that the K-index is on the high side new. Should I test my theory....nah. http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/planetary-k-index
http://services.swpc.noaa.gov/images/planetary-k-index.gif?time=1440786623000
I'd be interested to know if this was a combination of factors...power lines grids becoming magnetized or at least disturbed by powerful solar flares. I've just come in from a flight and noticed that the K-index is on the high side new. Should I test my theory....nah. http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/planetary-k-index
http://services.swpc.noaa.gov/images/planetary-k-index.gif?time=1440786623000
I have high voltage lines not far from my house. This short video was at 300 ft I believe. It does not affect the flight (yet), but it tears up the video! If I go to 325 to 350 feet I don't have problems. Jeeze...I can almost feel the electricity while watching the video!!
