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What the...
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 Re: What the...
Posted by Nickelplate on Fri Dec 17th at 6:05pm 2004

I just came upon a computer here at work that was turned off, yet the speakers were playing a local radio station along with an electrical buzz. This has happened twice in this building and once we even picked up truckers goin by on the highway. Anyone else ever have this happen to them? It's freaky [addsig]



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 Re: What the...
Posted by Tracer Bullet on Fri Dec 17th at 6:29pm 2004

If the speakers have built in amplifiers (like most PC speakers do) then the wires connecting them to the computer can end up acting like antennas. Basically what you are experiencing is badly shielded wiring. Anytime an EMF pass through a wire whose length is on the same order of magnitude as the wavelength of the radiation, some of the energy is absorbed and a current is produced in the wire. In this case that current gets amplified and output to the speakers.

[addsig]



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 Re: What the...
Posted by Pvt.Scythe on Fri Dec 17th at 6:34pm 2004

TB... you're scaring me... although our teacher told us the principle on a physics class... well... that's freaky...

[addsig]



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 Re: What the...
Posted by Leperous on Fri Dec 17th at 6:52pm 2004

Didn't you ever hear stories about people who constantly picked up radio on their metallic teeth braces?



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 Re: What the...
Posted by Nickelplate on Fri Dec 17th at 7:32pm 2004

? quoting Tracer Bullet
If the speakers have built in amplifiers (like most PC speakers do) then the wires connecting them to the computer can end up acting like antennas. Basically what you are experiencing is badly shielded wiring. Anytime an EMF pass through a wire whose length is on the same order of magnitude as the wavelength of the radiation, some of the energy is absorbed and a current is produced in the wire. In this case that current gets amplified and output to the speakers.

I figured as much. I thought that the transformers in the amplification unit had just enough windings in them to act on the same principle as a transistor radio. The radio signal was then passed on to the speaker cone.

[addsig]



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 Re: What the...
Posted by KungFuSquirrel on Fri Dec 17th at 8:28pm 2004

? quote:
Didn't you ever hear stories about people who constantly picked up radio on their metallic teeth braces?


or see the humorously executed episode of Clone High with the retainer receiver?

My headphones get this a lot since I moved to Madison. I'm on the fourth floor instead of garden/ground level like back in NE (and shielded by some terrain, to boot), so I'm guessing there's just more signals to intercept. It's not a huge problem, though, and only noticeable if there's nothing playing through the speakers. [addsig]



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 Re: What the...
Posted by Gwil on Fri Dec 17th at 8:30pm 2004

The speakers supplied with my first PC picked up police radio if they were parked within like 20 yards of the house.

That makes me cool and somewhat rebellious.
[addsig]



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 Re: What the...
Posted by pepper on Fri Dec 17th at 10:18pm 2004

sometimes in the night when i have a headphone on then i can hear voices coming from my headphones, scary!!
[addsig]



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 Re: What the...
Posted by Hugh on Sat Dec 18th at 12:29am 2004

I've had truckers come through while I was watching TV, 'twas rather annoying. [addsig]



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 Re: What the...
Posted by Leperous on Sat Dec 18th at 12:47am 2004

? quoting pepper
sometimes in the night when i have a headphone on then i can hear voices coming from my headphones, scary!!

It's called "listening to the radio" And before you mock, why would you be wearing headphones at night without listening to anything?





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 Re: What the...
Posted by 7dk2h4md720ih on Sat Dec 18th at 1:32am 2004

? quote:
The speakers supplied with my first PC picked up police radio if they were parked within like 20 yards of the house.


I bet you got to hear them quite a bit.




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 Re: What the...
Posted by Nickelplate on Sat Dec 18th at 1:35am 2004

? quoting Hugh
I've had truckers come through while I was watching TV, 'twas rather annoying.

Hugh i love your avatar. I made one a lot like it http://www.crapbucket.brad.com/bradscared.jpg You'll prolly have to copy-and-paste the link since my host is GAyz0r.

[addsig]



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 Re: What the...
Posted by Foxpup on Sat Dec 18th at 3:01am 2004

If it bothers you that much, wrap the entire amplifier in tinfoil. People will think you're crazy, but it really does work as EMag shielding.

And if the aliens are controlling our minds with radio waves, it will put a stop to that... Maybe crazy people aren't so crazy after all...

Just ignore that last paragraph, there aren't really aliens controlling our minds. As far as we know... [addsig]



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 Re: What the...
Posted by fraggard on Sat Dec 18th at 3:07am 2004

? quote:
sometimes in the night when i have a headphone on then i can hear voices coming from my headphones, scary!!


Sometimes in the night when i don't have a headphone on then i can hear voices coming from my head.

That makes me freaky and deranged.





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 Re: What the...
Posted by Foxpup on Sat Dec 18th at 3:08am 2004

Yep, that's the aliens controlling your mind. [addsig]



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 Re: What the...
Posted by Pvt.Scythe on Sat Dec 18th at 10:10am 2004

? quoting Leperous
Didn't you ever hear stories about people who constantly picked up radio on their metallic teeth braces?

I meant he's scaring me by remembering all that stuff...

[addsig]



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 Re: What the...
Posted by pepper on Sat Dec 18th at 10:30am 2004

? quote:
? quoting pepper
sometimes in the night when i have a headphone on then i can hear voices coming from my headphones, scary!!

It's called "listening to the radio" And before you mock, why would you be wearing headphones at night without listening to anything?



i just finished a game and i was looking at my mail.
[addsig]




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