electric fence and computer

rockinmywaypa · Apr 23, 2004

I have a dilemma. Yesterday I finished fencing off a field that I no longer want to cut and bale and will pasture for a few years. Well to make a long story short it is playing havoc with the computer in the house. Can't dial in to provider because the modem is getting all these crazy signals. I have to say I'am in big trouble because when the wife finds out it's a choice between my fence and livestock and her chatrooms she's going to personally load the truck. Did I mention this is dial-up. would those microwave wireless hookups be any different? I'am schelduled to work all weekend so I'll have to leave livestock in the barn and fencer off. I hope somebody knows a way around this problem. Thanks

heehaw · Apr 23, 2004

get a different charger..i use dial up and have never had a problem using several different brands of chargers.
heehaw

DaveNay · Apr 23, 2004

I would check the grounding of the circuit that the computer and modem are plugged into. You can check with one of those inexpensive three light plug in testers available at your home store. If the ground is correct, then you will get a light pattern saying so. You can also call your phone company, and have them check the ground on the phone junction box. Basically it sounds to me you have what is called a "ground loop", and there are different voltage potentials scttered around your different circuits. The reason adding the electric fence caused the problem is that by design, they are creating a large voltage differential between the fence and the ground. That's what makes you go "oww!" when you touch it. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Dave

Rusty · Apr 23, 2004

I have only ever had one fencer, but I haven't had any problem with my computer or dial-up modem. If I remember correctly, my fencer is grounded. You might want to check your fencer for a good ground contact.

Hank_Kimball · Apr 23, 2004

I have 2 fencers and have no problem.

ns_in_tex · Apr 23, 2004

If the grounding, the others mentioned, does not solve the problem, you might check in the breaker box to see if the computer and the fence charger circuits feed off the same incoming power leg. If they do, try changing one of them to feed off the opposite power leg.

Also check to see the ground on your electrical service is good.

Just other options to try.

Jim_Fisher · Apr 24, 2004

rockinmywaypa,

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Well to make a long story short it is playing havoc with the computer in the house. Can't dial in to provider because the modem is getting all these crazy signals. )</font>

Can you hear the fence pulse when you pick up the phone? If so, you might want to ask the phone company for advice/assistance.

I had a similar problem. A new house was built nearby and as soon as their phone lines were installed, I could hear a pulsed click when the phone was off hook. Dial-up stopped working. I don't have a fence charger but I've lived in the country long enough to know what the source was from the sound. I called the phone company and reported noise on the line.

When the telephone repair technician contacted me, he advised that he had disonnected an overhead wire that ran from a neighbor's barn to the utility pole across the road. The neighbor, being Amish, didn't have a phone in the barn but found the wire convenient to carry his fence voltage across the road. The problem was, the wire was still tied into the telephone system.

Best,

Jim Fisher

rockinmywaypa · Apr 24, 2004

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Last fall my old charger got hit by lightning and I replaced it this spring with a New Zealand type called zareba, it is rated at 160 kms which is the strongest I've seen in my travels. The signals might be a result of the extra power. One thing that I noticed and thought strange was that it only had a two prong plug, no built in ground. I added a ground rod to the system[3 total] and it has virtually eliminated any voltage on that line. NS in tex, the fencer is plugged in at the barn which is a seperate service box from the house but still off the same transformer so I don't think I can check for polarity. I will call the phone co. on mon. to see about their grounding.Thanks again.

DaveNay · Apr 24, 2004

Zareba is the same type I have for my horses. The ground rods for the charger are only about 150 ft from the grounds for the house and phone, and I have no interference. Contacting the phone company sounds like your best plan, but also don't discount the idea that you may have a defective charger too.

I am not intimately familiar with the design of fence chargers, but you do have a ground....the one terminal that is wired directly to the 8 ft long copper rods pounded into the earth! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

Dave

rockinmywaypa · May 3, 2004

Just a line to let you all in on what I found to be the problem. Cheap insulators. I happened to be out after dark on the far side of the field and could hear the snap, as I got closer I could see the flash coming from a cheap end insulator. Now I am planning on buying one of those current meters unless somebody here knows how they work and what to substitute in place of a 380 dollar Galligher type.