Passive and active RF detection capturing the high-frequency electromagnetic pulses emitted by high-voltage insulator micro-arcing.
Electrical corona discharges emit transient nanosecond RF bursts spanning 100 MHz to 1.5 GHz. ISACEnergy base station frontends detect these spectral bursts, separating insulator degradation from ambient lightning and radio broadcasts.
By cross-correlating pulse arrival timestamps across three adjacent transmission towers, the system triangulates the exact insulator disc undergoing breakdown within 3 meters along a 50 km transmission line.