Hi there, can anyone explain how an AM radio tuned to a blank station can be used to detect forms of electrosmog and specifically what kinds of smog it will pick up to indicate the health of your environment? What forms of smog will it miss?
I assume it's only going to be picking up noise that's occurring in the AM radio frequency band (540 to 1600 kHz). And I guess you could make an assumption that if it's causing noise in these frequencies, then it's causing noise in other frequencies as well.
But of course, the things that many people are concerned about these days (cell towers, wi-fi, smart meters) are well out of this range, although maybe they still cause interference on an AM radio?
- Not all AM radios are equally good. Some older ones would pick up a wider range of frequencies.
- They usually have a type of antenna inside of them called a ferrite rod antenna that's better for detecting low frequencies.
An AM radio sounds louder if the radio signal is stronger, so you can use it to tell how close you are to whatever is emitting it. An FM radio sounds about the same until you get far enough away that it breaks up and you just hear static.
The AM radio that was recommended to me was the Radio Shack RS 12-467, but there are several other models that work. Merializer has a few different ones. Usually there are a few listed on eBay for ~$100, but if you wait a bit you'll find one for $15-20.
There was something called an Archer Telephone Listener that supposedly works for very low frequencies, but I haven't used one and can't tell you how to.
Edit: I should add, my radio usually makes an audible 60 Hz buzzing when I hold it next to a power cord. It will also make a lot of noise if I hold it near a laptop AC adapter or a computer keyboard. So it can be useful for locating wires in walls and finding dirty switching power supplies. I don't know the highest frequency it can detect because I don't have any ~2 MHz signals in my house to test it on. I also haven't tried to use the FM mode for that because of its limitations.