[mprovost]

Just across Buzzards Bay from Falmouth was the original Marconi transmitting station for transatlantic communication to a receiver in Norway. My great-grandfather helped build it in 1914! At the time it was the most powerful transmitter in the world at 300 kW. There were 14 440-foot towers in a grid, and it was so powerful that apparently anywhere in town you would get zapped while hanging out the laundry on a clothesline, and you couldn't get a TV signal in town until the towers stopped operating. To avoid interference the receiver had to be located 40 miles away in Chatham.

[dustym]

Very interesting. Maine also has a significant transmitter array in Cutler with 30 or so antennas around 900 ft tall apiece. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VLF_Transmitter_Cutler

I wonder what it's like to try to pull a signal up there.

Your comment brings up memories of Lighthouse Beach in Chatham, which has a ton of warnings about Great White Sharks due to the prevalence of seals in the waters. Beautiful place. If the sharks don't get you the radio frequencies will I guess.

[jimmyswimmy]

Picking up TV and other RF signals near there should not be a problem. Modern transmitters are much different than in Marconi's time. Then they used a spark gap to generate RF, which have a DC to daylight kind of output that GP described. Much like a bad ground on a car ignition system can make a lot of RF noise that really gets around, a spark gap transmitter puts out a signal EVERYWHERE. Which is why it affected so much.

Modern transmitters are tuned and filtered so they can coexist with everything else.

[mprovost]

Just further up the coast is Marconi Beach in the Cape Cod National Seashore - same sharks.