If you are near a tv transmitter

[leeco]

A guy told me today that you can get a bit of kit that you can steal power from transmitters over the air waves?

 

i don't believe it but if u can I want to know 

[frahkn]

2 minutes ago, leeco said:

A guy told me today that you can get a bit of kit that you can steal power from transmitters over the air waves?

 

i don't believe it but if u can I want to know 

Electricity suppliers monitor their lines and can spot this.

There have been successful prosecutions in the past.

 

[leeco]

It's crazy what people do for a bit of power

I'm a spark and tapped into sockets and consumer units on my travels 

[1st ade]

6 hours ago, leeco said:

A guy told me today that you can get a bit of kit that you can steal power from transmitters over the air waves?

In theory, if it's a powerful transmitter and you are close - yes. The bit of kit is called an aerial... (I've heard stories of farmers up near Droitwich stringing a few yards of wire to a florescent bulb and lighting remote sheds)

In practice, not really

[rusty69]

6 hours ago, leeco said:

I'm a spark and tapped into sockets and consumer units on my travels

Are you a bright one? 

[mrsmelly]

8 hours ago, leeco said:

A guy told me today that you can get a bit of kit that you can steal power from transmitters over the air waves?

 

i don't believe it but if u can I want to know 

We used to owna house that overlooked a valley at the back of a tv transmitter a couple of miles away. We got unbelievably clear tv all the time with no arial plugged in.

[billh]

8 hours ago, leeco said:

A guy told me today that you can get a bit of kit that you can steal power from transmitters over the air waves?

 

i don't believe it but if u can I want to know 

The 'bit of kit' used to be known as a crystal set,effectively powered by the transmitter. You are only supposed to use it to receive and listen to radio transmissions. Using it for power supply, no matter how little,is illegal.

But  yes,it is  technically possible.

ETA: I see you are talking TV transmission- same difference!

Edited August 21, 2017 by billh

[zenataomm]

A few years back I read about a farmer that was prosecuted after it was discovered he had built a large coil in the roof his barn and was leeching power from the pylon cables that passed over the roof.

This induced electricity was being taken quite invisibly but they traced it to him within a few months.

[mrsmelly]

12 minutes ago, zenataomm said:

A few years back I read about a farmer that was prosecuted after it was discovered he had built a large coil in the roof his barn and was leeching power from the pylon cables that passed over the roof.

This induced electricity was being taken quite invisibly but they traced it to him within a few months.

Section 13.

[Ratkatcher]

Tesla made some quite 'interesting'  claims about broadcast power, demonstrating the principle using RF energy over short distances to 'recover' energy.  Perhaps this is what had came to mind.

It was curious that he never lived to create his free power network and that his research material 'disappeared' after his death, oddly coinciding with the growth of the energy industry in the USA...

Just another 'contacted by aliens' conspiracy theory,but fun nonetheless

[mross]

I was working on a ship - someone told me that the TV signal (cabled) was weak because 'too many people were watching'!

[Onewheeler]

There was a tale, of dubious origin, that someone was prosectued (1950s or 60s?) for stealing electricity from the Brookman's Park MW station of the BBC. The talke was that he had erected a resonant antenna powering part of his house at the end of his garden adjoining the transmitter site, and the engineers noticed a "hole" in the distribution of RF energy in that direction.

[Jess--]

when the bbc transmitters at daventry were in use at full power (mid 80s) on the houses nearest to the transmitter on the southbrook estate it was fairly common for fluorescent lights (usually fitted in the kitchen) to stay lit with the switch turned off.

there wasn't enough power induced to strike the tube to start with but once struck there was enough to keep it going

[Taslim]

Years ago a mate had a florescent  tube propped  in the corner of his shed.  It lit up when he hit the Tx button on his newly built 2Mtr rig.  We sorted out the standing waves on the line and it went out.

[dor]

13 hours ago, Jess-- said:

when the bbc transmitters at daventry were in use at full power (mid 80s) on the houses nearest to the transmitter on the southbrook estate it was fairly common for fluorescent lights (usually fitted in the kitchen) to stay lit with the switch turned off.

there wasn't enough power induced to strike the tube to start with but once struck there was enough to keep it going

There was a Horizon or similar program on the TV a few years ago where the presenter held a fluorescent tube under a high voltage power line.  It lit up.

[PaulG]

There is also a story going around about a farmer living near the Droitwich antennas being prosecuted by the BBC for stealing power.

Can't find any authoritative sources, so I think this is probably an urban (rural?) legend...