On Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:05:32 -0400, Ed Cregger wrote:

"javawizard" wrote in message
news:149f9f0e-86d6-40bb-971a-
...
In the 1920's a radio station in Schenectady, NY built a powerful
transmitter. In those days before FCC regulations, not knowing just how
big to make a transmitter in order for the signal to be received some
distance away, the station set up to broadcast at 500,000 watts. It
requires about one watt to be received four blocks away. A cell phone
is three watts. This station broadcast at such tremendous power that
they could be heard around the world. People in New York didn't even
need radios. They could sometimes hear voices in their furnaces and
coming off chain-link fences. Light bulbs lit up in people's houses
even if they were switched off. - from www.clip-text.com

--------------

Can you imagine the cost of their electric bill?

I used to pick up AM radio stations in my head. The theory back then was
that it was due to dental work acting as a rectifier, etc.

I could tell you exactly which song was playing and where they were at
in the song. All one had to do was turn on a radio and I would be
singing in sync with it. The really weird part was that all I could hear
was the music and the time announcements.

This was in the late 50's and early 60's when I lived in Carneys Point,
NJ. The radio station that I heard the best was WAMS (1380kc) in
Wilmington, DE. The second best was WFIL in Philadelphia, PA. The latter
I heard after WAMS went off the air for the day.

Ed, NM2K

Lucille Ball picked up radio transmissions during the WWII. There was a
German spy network working close to her home at the time. Apparently she
had some dental work done and when she laid her arm against the metal
bedpost at night she picked up the covert signals. She assisted the
government in tracking and apprehending the miscreants.

In my wild and misspent youth when I was using 11 meters, I used a VERY
large amp which would cause some neighbors to hear my voice coming from
electric sockets, refrigerators, light bulbs, radios, TVs and such. I
would also voice over anyone close who was recording on tape.

My electric bill was rather large as I had to unplug the stove to use the
220 socket.