• Registered: 2004-03-25

Topic: Electromagnetic Fields

Tom, Cameron and any others who can lend a hand:

Recently I've been criss-crossing the state of New Hampshire, helping a friend of mine find a house to buy.  I've logged in a bazillion miles, or so it seems.

Anyway, one of his BIG concerns are the electro-magnetic fields generated by transformers.  I've found only one home that had its transformer really far from the house.  Most transformers are about 50-75 feet from the house.

My questions are:  does anyone know if this is "really" serious?  If so, any mitigating technology?
(he already uses some sort of netting around his bed).  Also, can anyone recommend a device that measures the electromagnetic field and if so who manufactures it. 

One property was "perfect" ... and then found out it was smack in between two very large electro-hydraulic plants.  Who knew?  Except that the taxes were really low, which lead me to inquire why?  Seems that the hydro-plants pay the substantial part of the village tax bill.

What has been an eye-opener is just how dependent we are on electricity <duh> and how one can feel as if they are "in the country" away from the insanity of the cities and yet, unless one is willing to unplug completely - the dependency "on the grid" is enormous!!

I've learned a bunch but not enough.

Thanks in advance for any and all comments. 

Christine

  • montalk
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  • Registered: 2004-03-24

Re: Electromagnetic Fields

Powerline transformers because of their small size have a field that diminishes rapidly with distance, so unless they are within ten yards of your home there isn't much to worry about. Greater sources of EM pollution within the home would be CRT type TVs, microwave ovens, fluorescent lights, and the electrical wiring of the place itself. To live within stone's throw of huge powerlines (the ones supported by metal frames, not wooden poles) is not healthy.

How close are the hydro-plants? Less than a block away both directions? If they are at least half a mile away, then that's fine.

To be truly free of EM fields like these, one would have to live in a secluded place with solar power generators and a DC electrical system. But if that is not an option, then my recommendation would be finding the most obnoxious source of EM radiation in the home and doing something about it. Usually there's always one thing that totally stands out above the rest.

You need a decent meter, otherwise it's all subjective guesswork. The cheapest one that works really well is the Trifield meter, extended range model 100XE for $200 -- the regular model sells for around $130. With this meter you can then determine just how bad EM pollution is in any place, regardless of how close transformers and powerplants are. It measures magnetic, electric, and radio/microwave fields. Good for paranormal research too.

Try this site for more tips: http://www.create-your-healthy-home.com/emf-tips.htm

Acquiring fringe knowledge is like digging for diamonds in a mine field.

montalk's Website

  • Registered: 2004-03-25

Re: Electromagnetic Fields

Thanks very much Tom.  This is a huge help because my friend doesn't have a microwave, TV or fluorescent lights!  So, he's been focused perhaps on a problem that isn't a problem.  I've never found a house so far that has the transformer within 10 yards. 

Again, I appreciate the information as well as the suggestion for the meter and extra tips.

Christine

  • Registered: 2006-02-18

Re: Electromagnetic Fields

Christine - interesting topic. I am concerned about that also. I use an expensive Hewlet Packard Spectrum analyzer which goes way up into the Giga Hz range. I have a few others that are very narrow band FFTs (Fast Fourier Transform) analyzers. They are Very sensitive. One can see spectral components less than a Hz wide.

What I do is.... I have some coils with tens of thousands of windings outside the house in a tree hooked up to a sensitive HP amplifier that has a 1uV sensitivity and another control coil in the house....... and then from there into the spectrum analyzer. I can see when HAARP is on in Alaska and any other EM fields. I am currently working on a an amplifier that sends out a 180 degree phase reversed signal to nullify any external field in the house. This mostly in the low frequency range... line harmonics etc. I have a few windings around the whole house that do that.... which are hooked up to that amplifier. Anyway - it almost zeroes stray EM fields. I do realize that not many go that far and go through all that expense - but I am a purist and like tinkering around. There is practically no defence against stray EMFs - unless one lives in a well grounded Faraday cage or underground using DC current from batteries for lights etc.

  • Registered: 2005-10-16

Re: Electromagnetic Fields

laidbackartist wrote:

I have a few others that are very narrow band FFTs (Fast Fourier Transform) analyzers. They are Very sensitive. One can see spectral components less than a Hz wide.

So with this tool you can 'see' ULF and ELF crap from cell towers??  This would be interesting.

"The unknown does not incite fear, but dependence on the known does." - J. Krishnamurti

visavis's Website

  • Registered: 2006-02-18

Re: Electromagnetic Fields

vivasis - There are no ULF and ELF frequencies coming from cell towers. That is all in the VHF and UHF and higher...... in the hundreds of MHz. To see those, one needs a swept frequency spectrum analyzer which is not real time. The FFTs are real time. However - when one looks at HAARP in Alaska for instance.... they are transmitting in-between 3 and 10 MHz in the shortwave band with an effective power output of up to 3 Giga Watts. That is 3 Billion Watts. To get into the human or any other Brain and affect same, they pulse the carrier with VLF that cover all the brain frequencies from 5 to 30 HZ and higher..... or whatever their computers are programmed to do.

The brain does not process any frequencies that are higher than 100Hz. Pulsed High freqencies are processed the same. In other words - a 5MHZ carrier pulsed with 10Hz (Alpha wave) is being looked at as just a 10 Hz EMF pulse. Well - I moved to an area where there are no cell phone or microwave towers. The major components I am subject to is the 60Hz line frequency and its harmonics.

What I was talking about in the previous post does not seem to work well. In effect what I am doing is actually doubling the unwanted EMF field that surrounds me - even though the 180 degree out of phase signal of equal amplitude that I try to introduce nullifies it electrically. I have to do more tinkering. I have heard that there are devices out there that are portable...... which one wears like a pager on the belt that sense the surrounding field and then sends out a countersignal....... Most scientists say it is BS.

  • montalk
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  • Registered: 2004-03-24

Re: Electromagnetic Fields

That sounds like some nice equipment you have, laidbackartist.  I have long sought to acquire similar tools for similar reasons, especially the phase cancelling device. Yeah I wasn't sure how you were planning on nullifying the larger spectrum of frequencies, but handling just the 60 Hz one is a good start. Any idea of why it was doubling? I would think that amplitude matching the target field at all necessary points is as much a problem as getting the phase right. Then there is the scalar spectrum to tackle.

Acquiring fringe knowledge is like digging for diamonds in a mine field.

montalk's Website

  • Registered: 2006-02-18

Re: Electromagnetic Fields

montalk - Yes, 60Hz is easy.... having a wavelength of approximately 5000km. One surely cannot miss the phase there. Re the hidden component - vectors..... like scalar, I am wondering about that myself if it is beneficial or not. Obviously the EMFs are there but cannot be measured easily

If you want to get that equipment cheap - go on/to Ebay under electronics or better Electronic Test Equipment..... Spectrum Analyzers. I got one Spectral Dynamics analyzer (0 to 320 kHz FFT) for $16 plus $40 for shipping from CA and the other identical one from the East coast for $80 plus shipping. One I had to fix up to get it working properly. They have 15 different bands..... from Zero to10Hz full span.... zero to 20Hz, 50, 100, 200, 500Hz etc in that sequence up to 320KHz. However - one needs a CRT XYZ monitor for the display. They are usually very cheap - or a scope that has that external XYZ capability. XYZ is for Horizontal, Vertical and Blanking. I always have to have a minimum of two each (euipment that is)... in case one breaks down. At least one comes in handy for spare parts, boards. These are big black heavy boxes The US government/military paid $18.000 for 15 to 18 years ago. The other ones are swept frequency analyzers for the high frequencies. I have a total of six for different purposes. If you have any questions as to any equipment you are interested in - I can give you some advice. Just ask smile

Sigi

9 Reply by montalk (edited by montalk 2006-02-20 20:06:16)

  • montalk
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Re: Electromagnetic Fields

Thanks for the tips! Ebay looks to be the place unless one happens to live around government or university surplus outlets. Yeah I'll take a look... The spectrum analyzers I have seen on ebay have displays and cost hefty cash, but you mean that there are ones without displays that are cheaper, right?

I'm planning on buying or building: signal generator, oscilloscope, regulated power supply, 100kV-200kV DC supply, two channel high power amplifier, and pulse generator. I have kept a running list of exotic experiments to try out. Been moving around too much these past few years to acquire anything that doesn't fit in my car, but things are stabilizing for me now and I'll probably start with the compact essentials.

Acquiring fringe knowledge is like digging for diamonds in a mine field.

montalk's Website

  • Registered: 2006-02-18

Re: Electromagnetic Fields

montalk - buying on Ebay is sometimes tricky. One never knows what one gets unless one looks closely at all the feedback of the sellers.

Now - the equipment you are mentioning - I think you can forget building those...... unless you are experienced and love the trial and error approach. It is way cheaper to bid on Ebay. I am not sure how much spare cash you can afford...... but I think you can earmark about $1500 for all.

To your first: Signal generator. Get a synthesized one from HP like the HP3325A which is a 20MHz Function Generator with sine, square, triangular, positive and negative ramp waveforms. It has linear and log sweep, external AM modulation, phase modulation, DC offset etc. They usually go for around $200 to $275 depending on condition. You can dial/program in 1/100000th of a Hz like 1.012345KHz as an example... all with crystal accuracy. I have two of these.

Re Regulated Power Supplies... look for one that has constant regulated voltage AND current limiting feature.

The 100 to 200KV supplies are there also - but be prepared ....... these are usually very heavy because they are oil filled. I have three I picked up from scrap yards - one a 100KV@10mA and two others 160KV @1mA. I gather each one is more than 300 pounds. You can also build one yourself using High Voltage 20kV+ rectifiers and high voltage capacitors.... in a multipliers ladder configuration. 

Oscilloscopes are very cheap. I suggest you look for a good fast mainframe from Tektronix..... the 7000 series. That one takes multiple plug-ins of any sort for any application. The plug-ins are also very cheap. I must have about six or seven of those with plug-ins. These scopes are good for AT LEAST 500MHz.... depending on what time base and vertical plug-ins used. You can have either two or four traces.... again depending on what plug-ins used.

Re a Pulse Generator - there is a wide choice and cheap prices. Minimum requirement should be at least 50MHz. HP and Tek has nice ones. They are less than a 100 bucks. Don't forget a frequency counter! You need that for this unit to see what your pulse frequency is.

One final WARNING! Since you will be or contemplate working with High Voltage, perhaps spark gaps and scalar emissions....... cold energy or other exotic stuff etc - THAT will destroy sensitive electronics!!! All input and output connectors of the equipment has to be plugged with metal caps to keep destructive radiations out. I have a good pile of destroyed equipment... at least a dozen items that did not like either scalar or other exotic flashes...... When it comes to those things - I use the good old vacuum tube equipment with NO solid devices/stuff inside. Tubes are indestructible that way smile If you have any further questions - don't hesitate to ask.