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Real Life EMF Experiences?
ilander asks: "I've been looking to buy my first home recently and found one that seemed perfect. The one downside is that there are power lines directly overhead (in the yard) as well as a high tension power line tower in the empty lot in back, less than 200 feet away from the house.
So does anyone have any personal experience working/living near power lines? Aside from the possible health risks, which may or not exist (depending on who you ask), will I run into any problems with my monitors and TVs? What about DSL, cable and my 802.11b network? How about digital satellite reception?
Any help is appreciated!"
Our first house was in close proximity to overhead powerlines. They were less than 200 ft away. More like less than 50.
The three years we lived there, we didn't notice anything strange health-wise.
I recall seeing some people do the following (not sure if this is indicative of possible health issues):
1.Take a florescent light bulb - like the overhead lights in most garages and offices. Make sure its dark out.
2. Stand under the powerline.
3. Grab the light fixture with both hands - one at either contact point (the metal ring around the outside, not the pins).
4. See if the light glows.
The theory (I guess) was that this indicated power/voltage/whatever was 'bleeding' from the powerlines. The folks who did this swore this was proof that the area wasn't safe to live in.
YMMV.
Cruising the internet on my TI-99/4A @ a whopping 300 baud!
I remember some news in france a while ago, where a little village was suing EDF (French version of PG&E, but belong to the government) because they came up with a statistics that leukemia rates were just 1200% higher than anywhere else in France... Scary. Of course, it might just have been a hoax.
Ready to bet your life on the fact that it was? I am not. Let's say there is a 10% chance that these guys were right. Would I risk my life and the ones of my family just because the house in question is a little nicer than another one? No thanks.
I basically think you've got to reorder your priorities. Mine is order this way: Life first. House second. TV/Computer third.
Write boring code, not shiny code!
I worked my way through college installing sprinkler systems for lawns and landscapes. We used a 16' metal trailer with an expanded steel deck, a steel pipe rack, and several metal lockers. On one job we parked the trailer under high voltage powerlines and got a sizeable shock if we touched the trailer with damp boots or sweaty hands.
I have also head of people filling a 55 gallon drum with coils of copper wire and stealing power from high-tension wires.
Simple people talk of people, better people talk of events, great people talk of ideas.
It was a particularly cold night in winter and I was walking out to open the gate to the yard; there'd been a sleet and the fence was coated with ice. Except... When I walked up to the lock, I noticed that one length of chain between the gate and post was free of ice. When I touched it, it was noticeably warm.
I went back to get my meter, unhooked the chain, and measured the voltage between the gate and post; it measured a wonderful 2.7 volts. Silly me, I then switched the meter to measure current. What as I thinking, using a cheap multimeter across enough current to heat up a heavy metal chain? Luckily I only blew its fuse.
I called the power company and told them about the stray voltage problem; within a few days they'd established a new ground and my fence is now down to 1/2 volt.