Can I make a machine that detects a transformer from arcoss the street ? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: lordvader88
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2019, 05:02:08 am
content: I would like to make a senor, for fun, such that if I point it at the electrical grid wires, on poles, 20ft in the air,, I will get a very strong signal, such that I know the senor is pointing right at the wire's.It would be really cool to stand outside and point a probe at the overhead wires, and have lights and beeping go off. Girls love that stuff

author: hamster_nz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2019, 09:14:18 am
content: (me starts waving fluorescent tubes around under HV power lines...)https://youtu.be/hvQ9H9K7XeM

author: Yansi
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2019, 09:24:09 am
content: In civilized hitech countries like central EU (not sure who else has such low hanging HV/EHV lines - that is just stupid), this is hardly possible, due to HV and EHV power lines being purposely way higher above the ground NOT to have any such EM fields below.

author: magic
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2019, 09:41:20 am
content: Quote from: lordvader88 on June 15, 2019, 05:02:08 amSeems like anXY problem

author: T3sl4co1l
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2019, 09:50:05 am
content: Easy. Get a camera and train a categorizing neural network to identify wires, insulators, transformers, etc. All the usual distribution and switching gear.Or memorize them yourself. Girls like good memories too, don't they?...Tim

author: Marco
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2019, 11:18:02 am
content: Quote from: lordvader88 on June 15, 2019, 05:02:08 amFrom E/M the wavelengths involved preclude imaging. All the fields from all the wires around you blend together.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2019, 02:21:03 pm
content: Quote from: lordvader88 on June 15, 2019, 05:02:08 amReally?

author: Miti
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2019, 03:42:00 pm
content: It's a Canadian thing...

author: Jester
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2019, 04:22:05 pm
content: Buy a car, it worked for me when I was 17

author: pwlps
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2019, 04:41:09 pm
content: You can use a three-axis EMF meter to find the directions of the stray EM fields and then try to infer the direction to point at (can't tell if girls will like it though).http://www.emfs.info/sources/overhead/physics/direction/However near the ground the field lines are modified by the ground conductance (unknown) so I'm not sure it is possible at all.

author: lordvader88
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2019, 05:21:30 pm
content: Quote from: Marco on June 15, 2019, 11:18:02 amDoes any one make machines that instead of showing temperature gradients, like heat visions, shows electrified wires, like in a house, through walls ? I've used it in video games, IDK if they are real or not.

author: lordvader88
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2019, 05:25:54 pm
content: So is there any heat vision or microphone circuit equivalent that u could point at something like a big pole transformer, and be-able to hear or see the thing working ? I know it heats up and u could just use heat vision that way to see it's working.

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2019, 05:26:53 pm
content: Quote from: lordvader88 on June 15, 2019, 05:21:30 pmI have used light sabres in video games.Edit: On a more serious note, you can havenear-field probeswhich detect that an electrical wire is nearby. (You have probably used them before you drill a hole into a wall.) But as Marco stated above, the electromagnetic fields associated with 60 Hz mains frequency do not lend themselves toimaging.Just calculate the wavelength of a 60 Hz electromagnetic wave. And you will conclude that(a) your mains wires at home constitute antennas which are only a tiny fraction of the wavelength long, so they are very inefficient radiators, and(b) the spatial resolution of an imaging device operating at that wavelength would be rather disapointing.

author: lordvader88
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2019, 05:29:32 pm
content: My DMM picks up the household 60Hz wires, buts it's not directional at all it seems,idk. So maybe I want DMMs at the points of a cube

author: David Hess
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2019, 06:23:25 pm
content: A small dish antenna and ultrasonic receiver (audio down converter) can "hear" the corona discharge from exposed insulators. There are some videos on YouTube demonstrating this. I guess the power company uses this method to find leaky insulators for cleaning or replacement. An ultraviolet detector would work for this also but I think sensitivity and signal to noise ratio would be a problem.An impractically large directional antenna could probably detect the 120 Hz buzz from of a transformer or 180 buzz from saturation.Magnetic loop antennas could detect the leaking flux from a transformer but would detect the direction of the flux rather than pointing toward the transformer.

author: pwlps
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2019, 06:40:05 pm
content: Quote from: lordvader88 on June 15, 2019, 05:29:32 pmIt cannot be directional, your DMM measures the stray (near) field, not radiated field.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Near_and_far_fieldFor near-field imaging you would need a lot more than the points of a cube - in principle all points of space ! (and very patient girls)

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 15, 2019, 07:33:37 pm
content: see what surge current isfake nato spy devices won't blow stuff up quite as well as a transformer