Electromagnetic interference to television reception caused by horizontal axis windmills

Electromagnetic interference to television (TV) reception produced by horizontal axis wind turbine generators or windmills has been identified and quantified by comprehensive theoretical and experimental studies. It is found that the rotating blades of a windmill can produce pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) of the total signal received, and that for an antenna so located as to pick up the specular or forward scattering off the blades, this extraneous modulation can distort the video portion of a TV signal reproduction in the vicinity of the windmill. The distortion is worst at the higher frequencies, and therefore, poses mote of a problem at UHF than VHF. Based on laboratory studies as well as on-site measurements, a modulation level has been established at which the video interference is judged "acceptable,' and this threshold of interference is substantially independent of the ambient signal strength. A theory has been developed to compute the interference region about a windmill for any given TV transmitter, and the results are in good agreement with those obtained from on-site measurements with an operational windmill.