Patent ID: 7187275

Claim:
A method for determining a nominal and maximum current flow in an electric power line conductor under faulted circuit conditions, conductor temperature, conductor strain, and conductor line potential, the method comprising: (a) in a field environment, applying a specific frequency activation signal and code key from an exciter positioned proximate to the a faulted circuit monitoring apparatus located on the power line conductor; (b) activating said faulted circuit monitoring apparatus by way of said specific frequency activation signal and code key; (c) at the exciter, detecting a data signal from the faulted circuit monitoring apparatus, the data produced by modulating a specific frequency faulted circuit monitor in response to measured current, temperature, line potential and strain parameters; (d) at the exciter, receiving the parametric data from the data signal; (e) associating the faulted circuit current magnitude, temperature, strain and potential with the conductor phase information for the faulted circuit monitor apparatus; (f) repeating steps (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) for all power line phase conductors on an electric power line; (g) and storing the parametric data and phase conductor information in the memory of the exciter for downloading to a host pc.