Power Grid Frequency?

[Ensnared]

On the news, they showed the power grid center in Texas. One bloke was sitting in front of the many monitors. One screen showed "Frequency: 59.987HZ." It showed a graph below like a frequency counter.

I don't believe this is a voice frequency. I suppose it is telemetry.

 

[jeepsandradios]

Uh..thats the frequency of the AC current, aka 60hz...

Utility frequency - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[doctordialtone]

On the news, they showed the power grid center in Texas. One bloke was sitting in front of the many monitors. One screen showed "Frequency: 59.987HZ." It showed a graph below like a frequency counter.

I don't believe this is a voice frequency. I suppose it is telemetry.

That's the frequency of the power/current going out to the grid.

 

[Ensnared]

Oh well, thanks for the replies. As my father used to say, "You wake up in a new world every day."

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

"Frequency: 59.987HZ" I would expect 60.000 HZ. I wonder if Doppler, earths rotation has anything to do with it?

 

[wtp]

it is as close as they can get at the moment...

 

[K5TXC]

Texas ERCOT website has a graph of power line frequency, it is constantly moving plus or minus from the center of the 60Hz power line frequency.

 

[tvengr]

The power companies make sure that the frequency averages 60Hz. Clocks using synchronous motors depend upon it for accuracy. Also, the pitch of Hammond Organs using tone wheel generators.

 

[wtp]

mine only shows to the hertz but some go to the tenth. so i would hope the real guys took it out a bit more.

 

[nd5y]

"Frequency: 59.987HZ" I would expect 60.000 HZ. I wonder if Doppler, earths rotation has anything to do with it?

What was used to measure the frequency?
When was the last time it was calibrated?
Was it a chinese POS from Amazon/Ebay?

Test equipment is useless unless you know the specs and tolerances of the equipment and whatever it is you are trying to measure.

 

[KevinC]

mine only shows to the hertz but some go to the tenth. so i would hope the real guys took it out a bit more.
View attachment 135554

Real-Time System Conditions

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

What was used to measure the frequency?
When was the last time it was calibrated?
Was it a chinese POS from Amazon/Ebay?

Test equipment is useless unless you know the specs and tolerances of the equipment and whatever it is you are trying to measure.

I would hope that it is traceable to NIST. The power grid literally has a lot of moving parts.

 

[Ensnared]

"Frequency: 59.987HZ" I would expect 60.000 HZ. I wonder if Doppler, earths rotation has anything to do with it?

View attachment 135542

 

[Ensnared]

"Frequency: 59.987HZ" I would expect 60.000 HZ. I wonder if Doppler, earths rotation has anything to do with it?

View attachment 135542

Hmmm, I wonder if the guys in this picture have anything to do with my interest in police scanners?

Now, for some fun. This incredibly enlightening & funny documentary. Basically, the judge did not like the comment about WMD.

Tommy did his time at the Federal Prison in Big Spring, Texas. I wanted to get on his visitor's list, but he did a relatively short stint there.

Several other notable folks did their stir in Big Spring: Rex Cauble AKA The Marijuana Cowboy (see Texas Monthly); Clifford Antone; and Billy Sol Estes.

Not many folks remember Billy Sol Estes. My late father knew him. So did LBJ. He was a card!

Thanks for the wonderful laugh. Now, you can see why I never sought an apprenticeship being an electrician. I would have been dead within a week.

Now, some people might better understand this phrase, from Oat Willies in Austin, "Onward through the fog."

 

[Fixitt]

I tuned to that frequency and all I can hear is hum

😎

 

[tvengr]

I tuned to that frequency and all I can hear is hum

What receiver were you using?

 

[Fixitt]

receiver

It was a HumDinger Model 60

 

[phask]

Years ago I had a chance to visit the power plant for a prison. A relative was operating it and I asked about the 2 large clocks on a wall. They were analog. He said one was operating on the power companies' supply and one was off the prison's power. He had a knob that would adjust the 60 Hz. He raised it to 61 or so and you could see the secondhand speed ahead of the power companies' power.

 

[mmckenna]

Years ago I had a chance to visit the power plant for a prison. A relative was operating it and I asked about the 2 large clocks on a wall. They were analog. He said one was operating on the power companies' supply and one was off the prison's power. He had a knob that would adjust the 60 Hz. He raised it to 61 or so and you could see the secondhand speed ahead of the power companies' power.

They should have had a synchro display. It's usually a meter with a 360º needle. If the prison power plant was running faster or slower than utility power (if they were linked), the needle would rotate in one direction or the other.
Straight up would be 0º phase difference.

I run some large inverter plants at work for my own systems as well as our network guys. I have maintenance bypass switches that will allow me to transition between utility power or inverter power. There are interlocks that would prevent me from switching if we were not sync'd up.
Bypassing the interlocks and transitioning if we are not within 15º of phase will kick the breakers off.

The nationwide grid is a fascinating thing. The DC interties are amazing.

 

[phask]

They should have had a synchro display. It's usually a meter with a 360º needle. If the prison power plant was running faster or slower than utility power (if they were linked), the needle would rotate in one direction or the other.
Straight up would be 0º phase difference.

I run some large inverter plants at work for my own systems as well as our network guys. I have maintenance bypass switches that will allow me to transition between utility power or inverter power. There are interlocks that would prevent me from switching if we were not sync'd up.
Bypassing the interlocks and transitioning if we are not within 15º of phase will kick the breakers off.

The nationwide grid is a fascinating thing. The DC interties are amazing.

May have - had a small 1 man control room that I really did not pay much attention to. I think this was so one could see if from the area where the generator and other equipment was