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Airplane777
join:2004-06-20

1 edit

Airplane777 to polk5

Member

to polk5

Re: Extention Cords

I heard that people, who lived near very high power radio stations, have been able to pick up the rf energy to light their flourescent light bulbs in their homes.

I heard this years ago. I don't know where it was done at. I know there use to be some pretty high power AM radio stations around.

Several years ago there was a very high power one, I think in the mid west...I forget the call letters. They lowered their power after years of high power operation...I think to save electricity...lol.

I don't remember the call letters right now, but at their high power, I bet if you lived near them, you could put up some kind of long wire antenna to pick up the eneregy and light some flourescent light bulbs.
pointrow
Premium Member
join:2003-09-23
Poplar Bluff, MO

pointrow

Premium Member

i don't know about am but fm will. i have a pop at a fm station and had some equipment in the transmitter building. one day i forgot to check something and went back in the building after just leaving and turning off the lights. but when i opened the door the floresant lights directly above the tuning tube of the fm transmitter were lit up about a foot wide. after a while they finally went out. i moved my stuff out of the room and mounted a box on the side of the building to house my stuff.
lutful
... of ideas
Premium Member
join:2005-06-16
Ottawa, ON

3 edits

lutful to Airplane777

Premium Member

to Airplane777
said by Airplane777:

pick up the rf energy to light their flourescent light bulbs in their homes.
I have lit many a flourescent bulbs under Hydro transmission lines. But Richard Box has made a prank into an artform. »www.richardbox.com/

Dr. Schute, a favourite prof at the U of A, did this trick at our first-year Electromagnetics class. He asked the only female student in our class to come to the front and take one 4ft bulb out of a package that had 2 bulbs.

She was holding it beside his desk when suddenly it lit up and the whole class gasped. She dropped the bulb and it shattered. He then repeated the experiment with the second bulb and explained how it worked.

[Edit] I was reminded that overhead power lines carrying 400kV creates a significant electrical field to the ground. This field creates the same effect as the ballast used to drive these flouroscent bulbs. There is no RF involved at all and these fields are harmless.

I was also told that a model airplane flew using only microwave power delivery right here in Ottawa at the CRC grounds.

500kW EIRP at 5Ghz was used.
»www.friendsofcrc.ca/Proj ··· arp.html
Airplane777
join:2004-06-20

1 edit

Airplane777

Member

Radialink:

Thats some pretty neat stuff.