I have read a number of ARRL articles about TVI/RFI
but, have not read anything recently about another 
type of complaint, namely Voodoo RFI.

When I first got on novice bands in 1955, I purchased
49 cents worth of bell wire, separated the strands,
to make a single wire, ran it around my parent's 
house and out to a cherry tree. 

For years, I heard allegations by neighbors that 
this wire alone had the power to drain TV signals 
from the air, finally being torn down by an 
angry neighbor who made the same allegation.

There was also some support in the neighborhood 
for the idea that my mere presense in the neighborhood 
was enough to suppress fringe TV reception! 
I was even alleged to have stopped a woman's clock!

I have heard stories like this where a ham is harrased 
and even sued by angry neighbors just based on 
his visible antennas, whether or not they are 
actually connected to a working radio inside. 

I have recently heard of a case from Chillicothe Iowa,
where a ham was accosted by an angry neighbor, who
alleged that the ham was responsible for his not 
having any reception at all. The ham, finally got 
the guy to cool down by telling him that he had 
not been on the air at all, but, in fact, had been 
watching his own TV for some three hours!

It is interesting, that in this modern era, people
still would suspect a neighbor engaged in a radio 
hobby, of practicing Voodoo or Witchcraft!

Is this the new middle ages?



K0BKL