On Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:59:56 -0500, msg wrote:

Alec wrote:

Back at about the same time the BBC had (and still has) a powerful
transmitter on 200khz (now198) a local farmer who lived close to the
station built a large tuning coil in the loft and lit his house using
fluorescent tubes.

He was successfully prosecuted for stealing electricity or something
similar.

Please provide citations for this story; it retells what appears to be
an "urban legend". Here is another take on the story:

=============QUOTED MATERIAL=========================================
From: "Steve Maudsley" Message-ID:
Newsgroups: uk.legal
Subject: Theft of electricity?
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 18:12:00 -0000 NNTP-Posting-Host: 81.103.216.21
NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2004 18:14:40 GMT Organization: Virgin
Net Usenet Service


"Jeff" wrote in message
...



But a transformer still involves a direct physical connection to
the mains via the primary. The primary is consuming current via
its physical connection, whatever may happen to the current after
it has entered the primary.


The power line *is the primary*!! It is just that the secondary is
separated from it by a larger distance than normal.

In any case I believe that someone was prosecuted some years ago for
doing what it being suggested.

I do recall a story about 30 years ago (possibly apocryphal) about a
farmer who lived on the UK side of the Radio Luxemburg transmitter and
powered his cattle shed from the radio waves, and was prosecuted.
Radio Luxemburg had some sort of phased array and the cows electrical
use disrupted the beam.
================END OF QUOTED
MATERIAL====================================

Michael

Didn't Tesla propose using DC current, basically broadcast/produced from
thousands of transmitters. In order to use the electrical current/field,
all one had to do was ground one side/wire to Earth. The other side or
wire would be the receptor/antenna for lack of a better term.

I'm not a technical person but I think I have the basic premise right.