Florida Man Cited by FCC for Noisy Well Pump

Here is an interesting story where the FCC issued a citation of violation for incidental radiation due to a malfunctioning well pump. The noise was evidently being generated by the motor and radiated from the AC power wires. The interference was affecting local MF and HF amateur radio operation. FCC investigators used direction finding equipment to locate the source ('fox hunting' in Ham terms). The owner was threatened with a $16,000 fine unless corrected immediately, with up to $112,500 levied if he screwed around. Replacing the AC line filter did not solve the problem, so he probably ended up replacing the entire pump. Being in Florida where the water tables are typically near the surface, it was likely not a submersible type pump, so the entire assembly would have had the opportunity to radiate. Submersible pumps use brushless induction motors deep within the metal casing lining the well hole (a nearly ideal RF shield), but depending on the vintage of the resident's above-ground pump it could be brushed, with arcing causing the problem.

Posted June 2013

Crane Aerospace & Electronics (RF & Microwave) - RF Cafe Website

RF Cafe began life in 1996 as "RF Tools" in an AOL screen name web space totaling 2 MB. Its primary purpose was to provide me with ready access to commonly needed formulas and reference material while performing my work as an RF system and circuit design engineer. The World Wide Web (Internet) was largely an unknown entity at the time and bandwidth was a scarce commodity. Dial-up modems blazed along at 14.4 kbps while tying up your telephone line, and a lady's voice announced "You've Got Mail" when a new message arrived...