diy solar

diy solar

dirty electricity

There's really nothing on the box that will tell you how they perform. The more recent cheapie ones have no capacitors to speak of to smooth the DC, they just rectify the mains and feed it into a chip that current regulates. The first generation of them were quite flickery but they are learning and now build a few strings of different numbers of LEDs so that more of them stay lit across the half-sinewave as the voltage rises and falls.
 
Probably not anymore.... :p

You guys are making me want to rent an RF meter to see what's happening here. Any suggestions?


Pity about the cell phone apps.
I like the idea of using the AM radio in that I have one and wouldn't have to buy yet another new tool... how's that work?
You just find a empty band on low and /or high freq and put it near whatever you're testing.
 
I've had two UPSes die in the span of a couple of years at this location. One is certainly the battery and the other is unknown causes. Now that I actually have solar panels I think I'm going to wander around with an AM radio and see what's up. Also, got no-flicker LED lights to replace the other ones...they flicker too. Sigh....

Update: The RF sweep was pretty good, flourescent lights were a bit noisy and one light bulb in the bathroom was very noisy (which I'll replace). The LED lights in the stove were amazingly quiet. Primarily I learned it was time to replace the batteries in the portable radio.
 
Last edited:
I've had two UPSes die in the span of a couple of years at this location. One is certainly the battery and the other is unknown causes. Now that I actually have solar panels I think I'm going to wander around with an AM radio and see what's up. Also, got no-flicker LED lights to replace the other ones...they flicker too. Sigh....

Update: The RF sweep was pretty good, flourescent lights were a bit noisy and one light bulb in the bathroom was very noisy (which I'll replace). The LED lights in the stove were amazingly quiet. Primarily I learned it was time to replace the batteries in the portable radio.
I was listening to AM radio in the car the other night, heard a loud pop in the speakers every time I put the brakes on. The AM receiver is sensitive to all kinds of electrical interference including spark gaps from relays opening and closing, spark plugs, lightning bolts , solar flares, inductance from power lines, electrical motors and lighting and so on. What problems specifically were you trying to solve using your AM receiver?
 
I was just looking for anything noisy that might have been eroding my electronics. Didn't find anything particularly noisy other than that light (which is hardly ever used). I'm not all that far from the substation, so shouldn't be too affected by natural phenomena (or so I think). So, overall I'm guessing I'm not really all that dirty and UPS deaths were just coincidental. Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean things aren't out to get me! ?
 
in some countries where everybody share the same pole, you can get cheap device (usually powerfull PWM devices, like induction cooking plate) who send back to the line lots of high frequencies.
These high frequencies can ruin other devices (overheating coils in motors for example).
in coutries were the is a lot of grid voltage fluctuation, you got also the problem of new device (like AC) that come now with inverters that are very finnicky with the grid quality.
 
A good industrial UPS will buck & boost the line voltage (without using the batteries) via secondary windings in the power transformer. I assume they will also clean the line sine wave somewhat. I do not have a scope, however YouTube videos have shown the UPS output to be cleaner than line power when operating on battery.
 
I was just looking for anything noisy that might have been eroding my electronics. Didn't find anything particularly noisy other than that light (which is hardly ever used). I'm not all that far from the substation, so shouldn't be too affected by natural phenomena (or so I think). So, overall I'm guessing I'm not really all that dirty and UPS deaths were just coincidental. Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean things aren't out to get me! ?
IF YOUR TOASTING potentially voltage sensitive equipment perhaps there are nearby, large, industrial power users creating voltage spikes and/or cycle fluctuations that are affecting you. Line conditioners are available in all sizes & price ranges . Here is just one of many, you can also check the mondorific on line retailers for Tripplite and other brands ... https://www.brickwall.com/pages/line-conditioners
 
I've had two UPSes die in the span of a couple of years at this location. One is certainly the battery and the other is unknown causes. Now that I actually have solar panels I think I'm going to wander around with an AM radio and see what's up. Also, got no-flicker LED lights to replace the other ones...they flicker too. Sigh....

Update: The RF sweep was pretty good, flourescent lights were a bit noisy and one light bulb in the bathroom was very noisy (which I'll replace). The LED lights in the stove were amazingly quiet. Primarily I learned it was time to replace the batteries in the portable radio.
:):):)
 
Microwaves use 900 watts or more , Ham radios put out 100 watts and the louder guys 300+ watts right next to them. Never done me any harm ..HOI ...just twitching me neck..OI.. bugger...

Microwave ovens are super super shielded, as I understand it they are basically big Faraday cages and it would be quite harmful for us to be anywhere near one if it were not shielded

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about it:
Direct microwave exposure
Direct microwave exposure is not generally possible, as microwaves emitted by the source in a microwave oven are confined in the oven by the material out of which the oven is constructed. Furthermore, ovens are equipped with redundant safety interlocks, which remove power from the magnetron if the door is opened. This safety mechanism is required by United States federal regulations.[60] Tests have shown confinement of the microwaves in commercially available ovens to be so nearly universal as to make routine testing unnecessary.[61] According to the United States Food and Drug Administration's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, a U.S. Federal Standard limits the amount of microwaves that can leak from an oven throughout its lifetime to 5 milliwatts of microwave radiation per square centimeter at approximately 5 cm (2 in) from the surface of the oven.[62] This is far below the exposure level currently considered to be harmful to human health.[63]

The radiation produced by a microwave oven is non-ionizing. It therefore does not have the cancer risks associated with ionizing radiation such as X-rays and high-energy particles. Long-term rodent studies to assess cancer risk have so far failed to identify any carcinogenicity from 2.45 GHz microwave radiation even with chronic exposure levels (i.e. large fraction of life span) far larger than humans are likely to encounter from any leaking ovens.[64][65] However, with the oven door open, the radiation may cause damage by heating. Every microwave oven sold has a protective interlock so that it cannot be run when the door is open or improperly latched.

Microwaves generated in microwave ovens cease to exist once the electrical power is turned off. They do not remain in the food when the power is turned off, any more than light from an electric lamp remains in the walls and furnishings of a room when the lamp is turned off. They do not make the food or the oven radioactive. Compared to conventional cooking, the nutritional content of some foods may be altered differently, but generally in a positive way by preserving more micronutrients - see above. There is no indication of detrimental health issues associated with microwaved food.[66]

There are, however, a few cases where people have been exposed to direct microwave radiation, either from appliance malfunction or deliberate action.[67][68] The general effect of this exposure will be physical burns to the body, as human tissue, particularly the outer fat and muscle layers, has similar composition to some foods that are typically cooked in microwave ovens and so experiences similar dielectric heating effects when exposed to microwave electromagnetic radiation.

Just to emphasize, microwave shielding is so good that no more than 5 milliwatts per sq/cm leaks out over the lifetime of the microwave measured 5cm from the oven.
 
Last edited:
Clean and dirty energy sounds a little bit weird. But about a green energy supplier, it's because people now focus on environmental issues and it's important for them> I chose a green supplier btw, so I'm one of those people who care. It's easy to find one, just search on google and you will get a lot. I found one on http://usave.co.uk it was so easy to switch to a supplier and with cheaper tariff btw
 
For information re ferrite devices you can look at palomar-engineers.ccom
 
How did I miss this thread? Yep there are green energy supplier, so they provide clear energy. How can I switch to a green one?
Nope. That is not how it works. Your power still comes in on the same lines as all power does. The "greeny company" collects your money from the owner of the mains. You still get the same power. And. greeny power refers to wind, solar and what ever other non polluting power pretends to be.
 
Agree. Electricity is the way forward out of our polluted world. As in the song, "one big pile is better than two smaller piles."
 
Back
Top