Hi Keith.
As we wander round this world of Electro-fizz, pop and 2dB-over-limit, we
come across all sorts of strange EMC behaviour, some directly witnessed,
some without an actual source ("I heard of a friend of the wife of the chap
who reads the gas meters" - etc.)
A few more amusing ones have slippped into Urban Legend, or latterday
Folklore, some are much more recent.
1. There is the story of the lady on the ninth floor of a block of
flats who whenever she heated her milk for her bedtime drink, twenty
seconds later there was a loud 'Donk' noise from the wall. Subsequent
investigation showed that whenever the ladies Microwave was started, the
lift was called from the ground floor and stopped at the ninth. The ladies
kitchen was against the lift shaft and the noise was that of the lift doors
closing. - Unattributed
2. There is the story of the short-term car park gates at Gatwick
airport being opened simply by holding an electronic cigarette lighter up
to the exit card reader, and flicking it a few times. This was discovered
by careful TV surveillance, and the surveillance technician using his
lighter to see the time! Indirectly attributable to the BAA.
3. A metal detector on a coffee packaging plant dumping 50 lbs of
instant coffee into the scrap-sack whenever a CelNet phone was used within
20 metres.
Witnessed by Chris Duprés.
4. A Tissot Two-Timer digital/analogue wrist watch which went into
time travel mode (about x 60 )whenever a particular Motorola Micro-Tac
portable phone nearby had someone actually speaking into the mouthpiece.
Witnessed by Chris Duprés. It was my damn watch!
5. Motor Vehicles with Capacitor Discharge ignition systems stranded,
unable to run, parked on the A5 at Clifton-on-Dusmore, near Rugby, UK. The
fact that this road goes right through the middle of the NATO 16kHz
transmitter may have been significant. ( Is this EMC, or just total
overload?) Attributable to an AA patrol in The Halfway House Inn, Crick,
Northants, UK.
6. And there is the one where the flame on the gas cooker flared up
red and then went out whenever the phone rang... This was found to be due
to the telephone extension bell up the garden being fitted to the gas
supply pipe, such that whenever the bell rang the rust was shaken off the
inside of the pipe which got carried through to the flame causing the flare
up and then blockage. OK, this is not EMC per se, but it seemed funny
anyway. This was culled from a UK magazine, probably Readers Digest, while
waiting for the Dentist.
7. Lot's of other examples at home, including:
- The TV changing channels or turning off whenever the central
heating came on.
- The TV presenting us with the Gatwick Airport Meteorology
transmissions, albeit at very low level, when the Microwave was running.
(we are about 2 miles from Gatwick).
- A Ceramic firing kiln in the garage going up 10 degrees whenever
a switchmode battery charger was running in the garage.
- The outside Quartz Halogen security light comes on whenever my
office lights (fluorescent) or the bathroom ventilation fan are switched
off.
There must be many, many weirder and funnier ones out there.... :-)
Regards,
Chris Dupres
Surrey, UK.
