[Lowfer] Free Energy

[Ed Phillips]

Dexter McIntyre, W4DEX wrote:
> 
> This thread reminded me of several tales my Grandfather told me when I
> first showed an interest in radio.  He operated spark as 4RL but moved
> on the other adventures when it became required to be licensed.  I don't
> recall if he knew this to be true of if it was hearsay.  Sometime during
> the 1930s after WBT in Charlotte, NC turned up the new 50 KW transmitter
> there was a fellow who lived very near the transmitting tower.  He had
> problems with the strong signal causing RF bites and making noises
> around his house.  His bedsprings would detect the signal and make
> noises.  He decided to light his house with the free energy by building
> a resonant antenna to collect the RF.  I have no idea if he rectified
> the RF or if florescent lights were used if they were available then.
> As the story goes he got the attention of the station manager which told
> him he was stealing their power causing reception problems.  After he
> was legally threatened he removed his antenna.
> 
> Of course I found no mention of this on WBT's history page but I did
> enjoy reading about the station's past.  The idea for the station
> started with a conversation at a amateur radio supply store as stated on
> their history page at:
> 
> http://www.wbt.com/history.cfm
> 
> Dexter, W4DEX

	Sure would have been interesting to talk to your grandfather.  Never
have talked to anyone who was active in the early days of spark, and he
surely would quality.  Spark Gap Times often has an interesting article
on those long-ago events, but most of the authors are pushing their 90's
as a minimum and not available for a face-to-face.  As for the bedspring
story (variant is fillings in the teeth), it goes back into the early
days of broadcasting, even before there were high-power stations. 
Almost certainly just folklore.  As for the sparks, that is somewhat
more likely if he was close enough.

Ed
W6IZJ

	Seems to me that either Popular Communications or Monitoring Times ran
an article on WBT a while back.  As a kid used to hear WBT from the
middle of Missouri with a crystal set but they were quite weak, as was
all "DX".  Good copy with a one-tube regen, of course.