Just a quick poll, if you have ever had recourse to have ACMA investigate an interference complaint, how long did it take?
After completing my interference report, I have tried escalating the complaint since I have also discovered the PLI is causing severe interference to the whole of the broadcast AM band also (neighbours included) and I have been given an ACMA generated 'case number', but not much else
Can't do any radio at all until this issue is solved.
Any thoughts on will it be more weeks, months, or a case any year soon before something happens?
Rob,
Further thoughts is that PLI is the power company's problem not ACMA as we would like to think. Contact your local Power company.You MAY get better results.
Yes, the interference is the power company's problem, BUT, they will not do anything about it (as doing so would eat profits) until TOLD to do something about it by ACMA for breach of licensing conditions, ie. a pole that transmits. In fact, when I contacted them, the woman on the desk even stated the interference is "not our problem" and that I must go to ACMA in the first instance. She even knew their phone number. That procedure is obviously their company policy; no matter how wrong it might be. Basically, why bother to fix it if they are not legally enforced to?
I guess radio amateurs are way down the list... commercial and emergency services first no doubt. I will just have to keep periodically reminding ACMA I am still waiting. A christmas card in December to them might jog their memory also.
I to have a problem with a pli outside my house, you can here it arcing, i rang power mob and they had someone here next day, they to could hear it arcing, as that they would need a bucket truck to fix the problem they would be back later, that was 7 months and many phone calls ago. i can us 2m / 70cm but hf is wipe right out and is unuseable, so when you work out how to get your problem fixed let as know!!
Hi All,
Yes its sickening alright. The fact is they are transmitting a broadband signal without the appropriate licence is hoohaa. Actually they transmit a spark derived transmission is irrelevant until someone is made to do something about it. Who are they , well in the 1st instance the power suppliers and in the second instance the ACMA. I reckon they should be charged accordingly like broadband noise X amount of $ for the transmission with a multiplying factor of ? for the time it has been transmitted. The power supplier should be hit where it hurts !!! There is no need for the "she'll be right" attitudel The ACMA should be right onto it too. We've all heard of road rage , well this is akin to band rage !! and really its not on. I really think that you would be within your rights to throw a wire rope over the power lines to stop the noise which it will do. !! But thats not the way we should have to resort to, but then, the power supplier should do his best too, which he is just not doing
Brian 4QB
If you want a fast response wait until the fire season and give then a call and and tell them you thought you saw a bit of smoke coming from it and that you are very concerned
I reported a pole out the front of my property complete with pole pig that services myself an one neighbor as arcing from a bit of wire that I presume a bird dropped over an insulator and they were here within no time complete with cherry picker and a couple of other vehicles and removed it. It was quite audible to the ear as well as on HF but I did not mention RFI in my call.
I made a complaint to ACMA about 2 years ago regarding QRM to our local club repeater. It took ACMA about 3 months to look into it. Our "local" ACMA is now based out of Melbourne I believe, so I dare not guess how long it would take them to respond to a complaint in WA...!
Cheers,
VK2GOM wrote:Just a quick poll, if you have ever had recourse to have ACMA investigate an interference complaint, how long did it take?
After completing my interference report, I have tried escalating the complaint since I have also discovered the PLI is causing severe interference to the whole of the broadcast AM band also (neighbours included) and I have been given an ACMA generated 'case number', but not much else
Can't do any radio at all until this issue is solved.
Any thoughts on will it be more weeks, months, or a case any year soon before something happens?
I called the ACA about a noise problem once. It was just after they released their custmer charter which told us how they were here to help us in any matter at all.
The ACA bloke arrived and launched into a truly world class demonstration of the art of being condescending. He told me my S9+30 noise couldnt possibly exist if I wasnt willing to provide scientific proof of the noise before and after my complaint. He spent an hour talking and said nothing. Tested nothing then left telling me I had to fix my bodgy station earth (fair comment) and fit a balun to my dipole (??!!??), and he wasnt doing anything further until I did.
So I did.
Then I had several condescending marathons by telephone where he blamed me, the atmosphere, general background noise and spend an amazing amount of effort working towards doing nothing. During one of these calls I told him I had discovered the noise was coming from a house 4 doors down the street.
Two months went by and I phoned again and again. He was always out. Then I got a reply on my answering machine at a time he was well aware I would be at work, explaining that the noise source was to far away and he couldnt do anything about it.
I wrote a long whinging email to the ACA main offcie in Sydney asking them to explain why I was not recieving the level of service their customer charter promised. I got a letter back saying the matter had been passed to the power company.
Another month passed and I contacted the power company who said this wasnt their area and they would pass the matter on to the ACA. I pleaded with them not to do that. A few weeks later I got a phone call saying they had found the problem at a house 4 doors down the street. It was a faulty cheap rate power meter. Silence was restored.
That was 8 years ago. Last month S9+30 came back. I turned my radio off and went to the pub.
That would have been in the days when you had the luxury of an RI based in Coffs. Your nearest is now in Sydney or Brisbane.
Do you wonder why he was always out? Because they were always on the road... though I did have a beef with the bloke at Coffs doing petty audits (like issuing blueys for links running at as little as 1.5Wpy instead of 1Wpy... and hams in Victoria think they are being picked on!). I called on him a few times & if the complaint was urgent he gave a good response (as in same or next day).
You probably will not be happy with the new response times- in the order of months for "non essential" complaints like yours. It comes down to what society is willing to pay- government has determined that other than emergency services complaints others can wait. So they are resourcing the agency accordingly. I think it is crazy, but then I enjoy the current modest licence fee & don't want to pay what could be levied if they choose to. It might be Christmas but there isn't a Santa Claus when it comes to the ACMA's funding- someone has to pay.
I'd rather deal with an RI in Sydney who does his job, than a local who wont. I only kept going with that situation as a matter of principle.
I know I can expect no help from the ACMA in future. My current noise problem has ended my 80m operation. End of story.
My UK license is free for life. At least there we can expect the service we pay for
