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Thanks for the kind words! We've got other videos. We'll add them when we get a chance (and more bandwidth). : Looking at that amazing photo of the close positive lightning strike...the I agree... but it's still quite an awesome shot, isn't it... :^) I suspect you're correct. Another lineman indicated that the substation had a primary voltage of 138 kV and a secondary side of 21 kV. I've updated the page to reflect this information. (I hope it's correct..) I also agree. A couple of folks have suggested that the mist was part of a water-based fire suppression system, but I recently found out that this substation did not use active fire suppression... Yeah... I wish there was some video footage of that even though... :^) : : And lastly, I was treated to a sight I never saw before. On the Wow! I've seen squirrels explode when getting across transformer bushings. And larger birds are a big problem in the western states with their large pole-top nests and wingspans that can create phase-to-phase crosses. : Birds apparently do detect the E-field long before actually getting zapped with corona on higher voltage lines. I've seen birds shy away from 235 kV lines from distances of 6 feet or more. However, perhaps smaller birds don't develop sufficient capacitive charging current when approaching lower voltage lines. Or maybe they're just stoic... :^) I've got a few more videos that I may eventually add - however, I increase the bandwidth on the site before doing so. : Take care, Best wishes, Bert
: Hi Bert,
: Looks to be too quiet here on your message boards. Being the 'geek' I am I
: still continue to study your videos and photos, as these are still the
: best on the web.
: fellow who took the photo says that there is a leader in the photo that is
: only a few meters from where he stood. I don't see one. I see the closest
: leader in the top of the tree on the right hand side of the photo, had the
: main arc taken THAT path, the stroke would have been much closer to him, I
: believe close enough to stun him. The next leader I see is behind the palm
: tree in the foreground, actually well behind the main stroke. What I DO
: see is a ghost (possibly reflective inside the camera) image of the actual
: main stroke, this is just to the right of the palm, and in front of its
: trunk, 'appearing' directly in front of his position. You can see that the
: main stroke was actually split, appearing as two strokes when viewing this
: reflective image.
:
: I was also excited when you finally heard from a Florida utility man on
: the actual reason/cause for the low-side arc. You were right, it was a
: capacitor bank. I still wonder what the low-side voltage was. My guess is
: 19.9kV, maybe higher, but for certain, not lower. That arc was too strong
: for anything lower.
: For sure the venting mist was mineral oil...you can see the cloud ignite
: from the far side of the transformer to the side facing the camera
: position. It was ignited by the arc itself, as you can see the smoke
: suddenly stop and the arc turn bright blue in the mist just before it
: ignites it. Good stuff.
:
: The linkbelt crane is still one of the most awesome displays of the power
: lurking in those overhead lines. THAT is a full-load arc. Note that in
: one photo the arc is on the left side of the crane, then on the right
: side. I thought it might have been arcing off the stabilizers on each side
: on the rear, but the metal wheel on each tire is closer to ground. Still
: don't know, but seeing the concrete being broken up by that amperage is
: scary. At 'only' 46,000 volts, that is one unGodly imppresive arc.
: This spring/summer I was treated to some glorious nite-time light shows
: during the spring storms that occur here every year. I live in a high
: rise, and enjoy sitting on my balcony to watch the CG's and
: 'cloud-crawlers'. As I can look over towards Annadale (VA.) I always see
: when a CG hits a power line. You see the bright white stroke, immediately
: after, the sky is filled with a blue-green glow of the arcing powerline it
: hit. Then part of the lights of the city are gone until the recloser
: re-engergizes the effected circuit. Often as not, the green glow
: re-appears, usually now mixed with dull orange as a bushing or other piece
: of equipment is burned, meaning a permantent fault.
:
We don't seem to have many of these lightning induced explosions around here. Perhaps it's because we have more underground feeders and pad mounted transformers, or maybe less lightning?
: intersection of Beuregard and Duke street, there is an intersection of
: utility lines, large 19.9kV jobs. There is also a very large flock of
: pigeons that hang around there. Well I happened to be waiting at the
: traffic light there when this huge flock came in for a landing across all
: three phases of the line and the wooden poles holding the line. Some
: unlucky bird (or group) connected the center phase of the line to ground
: (flapping wings?) The dragon appeared briefly, and over a dozen cooked and
: smouldering pigeons fell to the ground!
: I still cannot understand why these birds are able to land on an energized
: line. Even medium volteges like 4 to 7kV will make corona discharge-to-air
: which would mildly shock a large bird. 19.9, and even 33.3kV lines around
: here often harbor perching birds. Why? I DO note that larger lines are
: never touched by birds at all. Anything new in videos?
: Fred
:
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