This seems unlikely. I would like to hear more details.

http://abcnews.go.com/WaterCooler/wireStory?id=10489334

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police are investigating a man for theft
after he siphoned electricity off a high-voltage overhead transmission
line for one month with the help of an ordinary meat hook, authorities
said on Tuesday.

The 36-year old man from Sibbesse in Lower Saxony concocted the plan
to steal electricity after the power company cut him off for failure
to pay his bills, police said.

The man attached a cable to the meat hook and tossed it onto an
overhead power line. He then drew power from the transmission line to
his home, located about 150 meters away.

"I've never seen anything like this in my 34-year-career," said
Friedrich-Wilhelm Lach, chief executive of regional utility
Ueberlandwerke Leinetal GmbH, told Reuters. "It's incredibly dangerous
and utterly stupid."

An employee of the utility noticed the meat hook during a routine
check. Lach said the man was lucky he is still alive and warned
copycats not to try it: "It will kill you," he said.

(Reporting by Christopher Lawton; editing by Paul Casciato)

Copyright 2010 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or

Maybe he had his own transformer? (Or maybe they're using the term
"high-voltage" very loosely?)

On Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:29:45 -0700 (PDT), Larry Fishel
wrote:

Maybe he had his own transformer? (Or maybe they're using the term
"high-voltage" very loosely?)

Yeah, the latter especially. Some people talk like anything
controlled by the electric company is high voltage.

mm wrote:
On Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:29:45 -0700 (PDT), Larry Fishel
wrote:

Maybe he had his own transformer? (Or maybe they're using the term
"high-voltage" very loosely?)

Yeah, the latter especially. Some people talk like anything
controlled by the electric company is high voltage.

Motor nomenclature refers to 240VAC as "high voltage". This in reference to
120VAC, of course.

Jon

In article ,
"Jon Danniken" wrote:

mm wrote:
On Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:29:45 -0700 (PDT), Larry Fishel
wrote:

Maybe he had his own transformer? (Or maybe they're using the term
"high-voltage" very loosely?)

Yeah, the latter especially. Some people talk like anything
controlled by the electric company is high voltage.

Motor nomenclature refers to 240VAC as "high voltage". This in reference to
120VAC, of course.

Jon

Germany, I believe, is on 230. The story says his house was 150 meters
away. Perhaps the step-down was on the far side of his meat hook tap.
Yes, more details would be interesting. That's quite a lengthy extension
cord.

On Tue, 27 Apr 2010 22:50:40 -0700, Smitty Two
wrote:

In article ,
"Jon Danniken" wrote:

mm wrote:
On Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:29:45 -0700 (PDT), Larry Fishel
wrote:

Maybe he had his own transformer? (Or maybe they're using the term
"high-voltage" very loosely?)

Yeah, the latter especially. Some people talk like anything
controlled by the electric company is high voltage.

Motor nomenclature refers to 240VAC as "high voltage". This in reference to
120VAC, of course.

Jon

Germany, I believe, is on 230. The story says his house was 150 meters
away. Perhaps the step-down was on the far side of his meat hook tap.

Doesn't Harbor Freight sell a combination meat hook / transformer, for
just this purpose?

Yes, more details would be interesting. That's quite a lengthy extension
cord.

Metspitzer wrote:
This seems unlikely. I would like to hear more details.

http://abcnews.go.com/WaterCooler/wireStory?id=10489334

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police are investigating a man for theft
after he siphoned electricity off a high-voltage overhead transmission
line for one month with the help of an ordinary meat hook, authorities
said on Tuesday.

The 36-year old man from Sibbesse in Lower Saxony concocted the plan
to steal electricity after the power company cut him off for failure
to pay his bills, police said.

The man attached a cable to the meat hook and tossed it onto an
overhead power line. He then drew power from the transmission line to
his home, located about 150 meters away.

"I've never seen anything like this in my 34-year-career," said
Friedrich-Wilhelm Lach, chief executive of regional utility
Ueberlandwerke Leinetal GmbH, told Reuters. "It's incredibly dangerous
and utterly stupid."

An employee of the utility noticed the meat hook during a routine
check. Lach said the man was lucky he is still alive and warned
copycats not to try it: "It will kill you," he said.

(Reporting by Christopher Lawton; editing by Paul Casciato)

Copyright 2010 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or

He was convicted of the theft and sentenced to death by electrocution.
At least perhaps in China, uh, no, they shoot them then harvest their
organs for transplants.

TDD

On Apr 28, 3:52�am, Metspitzer wrote:
This seems unlikely. �I would like to hear more details.

http://abcnews.go.com/WaterCooler/wireStory?id=10489334

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police are investigating a man for theft
after he siphoned electricity off a high-voltage overhead transmission
line for one month with the help of an ordinary meat hook, authorities
said on Tuesday.

The 36-year old man from Sibbesse in Lower Saxony concocted the plan
to steal electricity after the power company cut him off for failure
to pay his bills, police said.

The man attached a cable to the meat hook and tossed it onto an
overhead power line. He then drew power from the transmission line to
his home, located about 150 meters away.

"I've never seen anything like this in my 34-year-career," said
Friedrich-Wilhelm Lach, chief executive of regional utility
Ueberlandwerke Leinetal GmbH, told Reuters. "It's incredibly dangerous
and utterly stupid."

An employee of the utility noticed the meat hook during a routine
check. Lach said the man was lucky he is still alive and warned
copycats not to try it: "It will kill you," he said.

(Reporting by Christopher Lawton; editing by Paul Casciato)

Copyright 2010 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or

I used to work for the electricity board. This is a common trick,
I've seen it many times. In the UK the live side is the upper wire
and is insulated nowadays to help prevent this trick and for safety.
There's lots more tricks if anyone out there is interested!
It would be on 230/240 volts system. The next level is 11Kv, he'd
never have survived. Though it HAS been attempted.

On Apr 28, 1:09*am, mm wrote:
On Tue, 27 Apr 2010 22:50:40 -0700, Smitty Two





wrote:
In article ,
"Jon Danniken" wrote:

mm wrote:
On Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:29:45 -0700 (PDT), Larry Fishel
wrote:

Maybe he had his own transformer? (Or maybe they're using the term
"high-voltage" very loosely?)

Yeah, the latter especially. *Some people talk like anything
controlled by the electric company is high voltage.

Motor nomenclature refers to 240VAC as "high voltage". *This in reference to
120VAC, of course.

Jon

Germany, I believe, is on 230. The story says his house was 150 meters
away. Perhaps the step-down was on the far side of his meat hook tap.

Doesn't Harbor Freight sell a combination meat hook / transformer, for
just this purpose?



Yes, more details would be interesting. That's quite a lengthy extension
cord.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

only $9.95

Metspitzer wrote:
This seems unlikely. I would like to hear more details.

http://abcnews.go.com/WaterCooler/wireStory?id=10489334

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police are investigating a man for theft
after he siphoned electricity off a high-voltage overhead transmission
line for one month with the help of an ordinary meat hook, authorities
said on Tuesday.


[...]

Sure. I used to work for a company that did meter inventories for Rural
Electric Cooperatives.

About once a year they'd find somebody who had tapped into the primaries and
fed his own transformer (probably stolen).

More often, they'd find meters upside down (they run backwards) and meters
bypassed altogether.

In article , "Jon Danniken" wrote:
mm wrote:
On Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:29:45 -0700 (PDT), Larry Fishel
wrote:

Maybe he had his own transformer? (Or maybe they're using the term
"high-voltage" very loosely?)

Yeah, the latter especially. Some people talk like anything
controlled by the electric company is high voltage.

Motor nomenclature refers to 240VAC as "high voltage". This in reference to
120VAC, of course.

I doubt that it was 120VAC in Germany...

Jon

harry wrote in news:fde45a68-7c9f-415f-9e20-
:



I used to work for the electricity board. This is a common trick,
I've seen it many times. In the UK the live side is the upper wire
and is insulated nowadays to help prevent this trick and for safety.


Really? How do they ensure integrity of the insulation over hundreds of
miles?

Our overhead lines are un-insulated except for the drop that goes directly
to the house.




--
Tegger

On 4/28/2010 6:02 AM, HeyBub wrote:
Metspitzer wrote:
This seems unlikely. I would like to hear more details.

http://abcnews.go.com/WaterCooler/wireStory?id=10489334

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police are investigating a man for theft
after he siphoned electricity off a high-voltage overhead transmission
line for one month with the help of an ordinary meat hook, authorities
said on Tuesday.


[...]

Sure. I used to work for a company that did meter inventories for Rural
Electric Cooperatives.

About once a year they'd find somebody who had tapped into the primaries and
fed his own transformer (probably stolen).

More often, they'd find meters upside down (they run backwards) and meters
bypassed altogether.


I knew a man once who told us that he periodically went out and
reversed his meter. I didn't ask him how he justified stealing.

Bill

Thanks, I got a good smile from this comment. I'm sure they
do, in some countries.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"mm" wrote in message
...

Germany, I believe, is on 230. The story says his house was
150 meters
away. Perhaps the step-down was on the far side of his meat
hook tap.

Doesn't Harbor Freight sell a combination meat hook /
transformer, for
just this purpose?

Of course, I'm curious as to the details. I don't expect to
ever do such a thing, you realize.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..


"harry" wrote in message
...

I used to work for the electricity board. This is a common
trick,
I've seen it many times. In the UK the live side is the
upper wire
and is insulated nowadays to help prevent this trick and
for safety.
There's lots more tricks if anyone out there is interested!
It would be on 230/240 volts system. The next level is
11Kv, he'd
never have survived. Though it HAS been attempted.

Tegger wrote:

harry wrote in news:fde45a68-7c9f-415f-9e20-
:


I used to work for the electricity board. This is a common trick,
I've seen it many times. In the UK the live side is the upper wire
and is insulated nowadays to help prevent this trick and for safety.

Really? How do they ensure integrity of the insulation over hundreds of
miles?

Our overhead lines are un-insulated except for the drop that goes directly
to the house.

--
Tegger

The primaries i.e. 7.2KV and up are typically uninsulated. The
secondaries i.e. the lower run between poles fed from the transformers
and where the house drops feed from are normally insulated as are the
house drops. Where housing densities are low, there may not be any
secondary lines running between poles and homes may be fed directly from
the transformer.

On Apr 28, 1:15�pm, Tegger wrote:
harry wrote in news:fde45a68-7c9f-415f-9e20-
:



I used to work for the electricity board. �This is a common trick,
I've seen it many times. � In the UK the live side is the upper wire
and is insulated nowadays to help �prevent this trick and for safety.

Really? How do they ensure integrity of the insulation over hundreds of
miles?

Our overhead lines are un-insulated except for the drop that goes directly
to the house.

--
Tegger

Only rural areas in the UK have overhead electricity supplies. There
are numerous pole mounted transormers, sometimes one for each house.
The LV bit is usually only a few hundred yards at most.
The HV (11Kv) is uninsulated cable.

On Apr 28, 2:19�pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
Of course, I'm curious as to the details. I don't expect to
ever do such a thing, you realize.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
�www.lds.org
.

"harry" wrote in message

...

I used to work for the electricity board. �This is a common
trick,
I've seen it many times. � In the UK the live side is the
upper wire
and is insulated nowadays to help �prevent this trick and
for safety.
There's lots more tricks if anyone out there is interested!
�It would be on 230/240 volts system. �The next level is
11Kv, he'd
never have survived. � Though it HAS been attempted.

In the UK, reverse the connections to the current coil in the meter.
Drill a small hole in the case of the meter & put a wire in to stop
the disk from spinning. Push needles into the cables and link them up
to bypass the meter. Take a supply from a nearby street light. In the
case of linked houses, break into your nieghbour's electricity
circuits in the cellar or roof space. Just a few of the tricks.

On Apr 28, 3:05*am, "Jon Danniken"
wrote:
mm wrote:
On Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:29:45 -0700 (PDT), Larry Fishel
wrote:

Maybe he had his own transformer? (Or maybe they're using the term
"high-voltage" very loosely?)

Yeah, the latter especially. *Some people talk like anything
controlled by the electric company is high voltage.

Motor nomenclature refers to 240VAC as "high voltage". *This in reference to
120VAC, of course.

Jon

Yeah and too often as 'phases'! Although the two ends of a centre
tapped and grounded 240 winding being actually (and most often in
domestic service) the two 120 ends of one single phase!

On Apr 28, 11:11*am, Bill Gill wrote:
On 4/28/2010 6:02 AM, HeyBub wrote:



Metspitzer wrote:
This seems unlikely. *I would like to hear more details.

http://abcnews.go.com/WaterCooler/wireStory?id=10489334

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police are investigating a man for theft
after he siphoned electricity off a high-voltage overhead transmission
line for one month with the help of an ordinary meat hook, authorities
said on Tuesday.

[...]

Sure. I used to work for a company that did meter inventories for Rural
Electric Cooperatives.

About once a year they'd find somebody who had tapped into the primaries and
fed his own transformer (probably stolen).

More often, they'd find meters upside down (they run backwards) and meters
bypassed altogether.

I knew a man once who told us that he periodically went out and
reversed his meter. *I didn't ask him how he justified stealing.

Bill- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

OK: Story about a man, (with my apologies to the canny and thrifty
race of Scots) who, in, say Glasgow, used to blow down the gas pipe
every night before going to bed. He must have had a bagpipe player's
lungs!

Eventully the man came from the gas company to read the meter. And was
very puzzled!

After reading the meter and doing some calculations and looking in his
billing book he scratched his head and announced;

"He didn't undersand it, but the gas compnay seemed to owe the
customer seven shillings and sixpence"!

The Apocrypha.

On Apr 28, 5:48*pm, harry wrote:
On Apr 28, 2:19 pm, "Stormin Mormon"





wrote:
Of course, I'm curious as to the details. I don't expect to
ever do such a thing, you realize.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

"harry" wrote in message

....

I used to work for the electricity board. This is a common
trick,
I've seen it many times. In the UK the live side is the
upper wire
and is insulated nowadays to help prevent this trick and
for safety.
There's lots more tricks if anyone out there is interested!
It would be on 230/240 volts system. The next level is
11Kv, he'd
never have survived. Though it HAS been attempted.

In the UK, reverse the connections to the current coil in the meter.
Drill a small hole in the case of the meter & put a wire in to stop
the disk from spinning. Push needles into the cables and link them up
to bypass the meter. Take a supply from a nearby street light. *In the
case of linked houses, break into your nieghbour's electricity
circuits in the cellar or roof space. *Just a few of the tricks.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

What would happen if it was DC through the meter; or partial DC due to
rectifing the AC and charging a battery? Along with other household AC
uses.
a) With a traditional rotating wheel meter.
b) Newer digital meters. ???????
Just pondering.

"harry" wrote in message
...
On Apr 28, 2:19�pm, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
Of course, I'm curious as to the details. I don't expect to
ever do such a thing, you realize.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
�www.lds.org
.

"harry" wrote in message

...

I used to work for the electricity board. �This is a common
trick,
I've seen it many times. � In the UK the live side is the
upper wire
and is insulated nowadays to help �prevent this trick and
for safety.
There's lots more tricks if anyone out there is interested!
�It would be on 230/240 volts system. �The next level is
11Kv, he'd
never have survived. � Though it HAS been attempted.

In the UK, reverse the connections to the current coil in the meter.
Drill a small hole in the case of the meter & put a wire in to stop
the disk from spinning. Push needles into the cables and link them up
to bypass the meter. Take a supply from a nearby street light. In the
case of linked houses, break into your nieghbour's electricity
circuits in the cellar or roof space. Just a few of the tricks.

I attended a seminar on stealing gas, when I worked for a gas utility. It is
amazing the things people can do with a garden hose.

On Apr 27, 10:52*pm, Metspitzer wrote:
This seems unlikely. *I would like to hear more details.

http://abcnews.go.com/WaterCooler/wireStory?id=10489334

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police are investigating a man for theft
after he siphoned electricity off a high-voltage overhead transmission
line for one month with the help of an ordinary meat hook, authorities
said on Tuesday.

The 36-year old man from Sibbesse in Lower Saxony concocted the plan
to steal electricity after the power company cut him off for failure
to pay his bills, police said.

The man attached a cable to the meat hook and tossed it onto an
overhead power line. He then drew power from the transmission line to
his home, located about 150 meters away.

"I've never seen anything like this in my 34-year-career," said
Friedrich-Wilhelm Lach, chief executive of regional utility
Ueberlandwerke Leinetal GmbH, told Reuters. "It's incredibly dangerous
and utterly stupid."

An employee of the utility noticed the meat hook during a routine
check. Lach said the man was lucky he is still alive and warned
copycats not to try it: "It will kill you," he said.

(Reporting by Christopher Lawton; editing by Paul Casciato)

Copyright 2010 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or

When I did duty in S Korea this type of thing was very common.

Jimmie

On Apr 28, 7:02*am, "HeyBub" wrote:
Metspitzer wrote:
This seems unlikely. *I would like to hear more details.

http://abcnews.go.com/WaterCooler/wireStory?id=10489334

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police are investigating a man for theft
after he siphoned electricity off a high-voltage overhead transmission
line for one month with the help of an ordinary meat hook, authorities
said on Tuesday.

[...]

Sure. I used to work for a company that did meter inventories for Rural
Electric Cooperatives.

About once a year they'd find somebody who had tapped into the primaries and
fed his own transformer (probably stolen).

More often, they'd find meters upside down (they run backwards) and meters
bypassed altogether.

Really, whenever the guys from Ga Power would do a power disconnect
they would pull the meter and put it back upside down and put a seal
on it until you wanted it hooked back up.

Jimmie

On Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:26:59 -0700 (PDT), JIMMIE
wrote:

On Apr 28, 7:02*am, "HeyBub" wrote:
Metspitzer wrote:
This seems unlikely. *I would like to hear more details.

http://abcnews.go.com/WaterCooler/wireStory?id=10489334

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police are investigating a man for theft
after he siphoned electricity off a high-voltage overhead transmission
line for one month with the help of an ordinary meat hook, authorities
said on Tuesday.

[...]

Sure. I used to work for a company that did meter inventories for Rural
Electric Cooperatives.

About once a year they'd find somebody who had tapped into the primaries and
fed his own transformer (probably stolen).

More often, they'd find meters upside down (they run backwards) and meters
bypassed altogether.

Really, whenever the guys from Ga Power would do a power disconnect
they would pull the meter and put it back upside down and put a seal
on it until you wanted it hooked back up.

I have probably told this story before, but I want to hear it again.
grin

We went to a job in Texas. We got there on Thursday after hours and
Friday was a holiday. We asked the neighbor (duplex) if we could use
a drop cord for the weekend and they agreed. We went the long weekend
taking cold showers. We had a lamp, a stereo, and a hot plate.

Monday we went to work and told my sister (her husband was one of the
construction workers) to go and have the utilities turned on. When we
got home the power was still off. She said that the power company
closed a 6 but they would be out to turn the power on that day.

6PM and no one showed. We went outside to the meter and the power
company had left the meter in the can, but it was turned sideways so
it was not plugged into the buss. I told my brother in law (welder)
that all that was needed was to just cut the paperclip sized wire and
just turn the meter and plug it into the busses. After thinking
about having to take another cold shower we decided that plugging in
the meter and just telling the power company what we had done should
be enough.

I cut the tab and plugged the meter in. We were standing there
smoking a cigarette and I told him that plugging in the meter upside
down would make the meter run backwards.......I showed him how that
worked and we decided to just let it run like that for a few hours and
would flip it around before bed time.

When we got back in the house and started flipping for who would get a
hot shower first..........15 min after we had put the meter in, the
power company came out and found the meter upside down and pulled it
out and took it with them.

We had to go to the power company that day and explain what we had
done. They believed us and brought the meter back.

On Wed, 28 Apr 2010 12:15:53 +0000 (UTC), Tegger
wrote:

harry wrote in news:fde45a68-7c9f-415f-9e20-
:



I used to work for the electricity board. This is a common trick,
I've seen it many times. In the UK the live side is the upper wire
and is insulated nowadays to help prevent this trick and for safety.


Really? How do they ensure integrity of the insulation over hundreds of
miles?

I doubt they ensure it. They strive for it. They start off
insulated, and then they either don't maintain it, or do, to one level
or another.

Our overhead lines are un-insulated except for the drop that goes directly
to the house.

On Apr 28, 12:02�pm, "HeyBub" wrote:
Metspitzer wrote:
This seems unlikely. �I would like to hear more details.

http://abcnews.go.com/WaterCooler/wireStory?id=10489334

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police are investigating a man for theft
after he siphoned electricity off a high-voltage overhead transmission
line for one month with the help of an ordinary meat hook, authorities
said on Tuesday.

[...]

Sure. I used to work for a company that did meter inventories for Rural
Electric Cooperatives.

About once a year they'd find somebody who had tapped into the primaries and
fed his own transformer (probably stolen).

More often, they'd find meters upside down (they run backwards) and meters
bypassed altogether.

There's no-one taps into HV without switching off the supply without
killing themselves. Just how do they switch off the supply?

On Apr 28, 11:15�pm, terry wrote:
On Apr 28, 5:48�pm, harry wrote:





On Apr 28, 2:19 pm, "Stormin Mormon"

wrote:
Of course, I'm curious as to the details. I don't expect to
ever do such a thing, you realize.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

"harry" wrote in message

....

I used to work for the electricity board. This is a common
trick,
I've seen it many times. In the UK the live side is the
upper wire
and is insulated nowadays to help prevent this trick and
for safety.
There's lots more tricks if anyone out there is interested!
It would be on 230/240 volts system. The next level is
11Kv, he'd
never have survived. Though it HAS been attempted.

In the UK, reverse the connections to the current coil in the meter.
Drill a small hole in the case of the meter & put a wire in to stop
the disk from spinning. Push needles into the cables and link them up
to bypass the meter. Take a supply from a nearby street light. �In the
case of linked houses, break into your nieghbour's electricity
circuits in the cellar or roof space. �Just a few of the tricks..- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

What would happen if it was DC through the meter; or partial DC due to
rectifing the AC and charging a battery? Along with other household AC
uses.
a) With a traditional rotating wheel meter.
b) Newer digital meters. ???????
Just pondering.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

DC has no effect on any normal electricity meter. The meter wouldn't
even "see" it.
What BTW is partial DC? There is no such thing.

harry wrote:
On Apr 28, 12:02?pm, "HeyBub" wrote:
Metspitzer wrote:
This seems unlikely. ?I would like to hear more details.

http://abcnews.go.com/WaterCooler/wireStory?id=10489334

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police are investigating a man for theft
after he siphoned electricity off a high-voltage overhead
transmission line for one month with the help of an ordinary meat
hook, authorities said on Tuesday.

[...]

Sure. I used to work for a company that did meter inventories for
Rural Electric Cooperatives.

About once a year they'd find somebody who had tapped into the
primaries and fed his own transformer (probably stolen).

More often, they'd find meters upside down (they run backwards) and
meters bypassed altogether.

There's no-one taps into HV without switching off the supply without
killing themselves. Just how do they switch off the supply?

Sure you can.

On Apr 27, 11:31*pm, The Daring Dufas the-daring-
wrote:
Metspitzer wrote:
This seems unlikely. *I would like to hear more details.

http://abcnews.go.com/WaterCooler/wireStory?id=10489334

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police are investigating a man for theft
after he siphoned electricity off a high-voltage overhead transmission
line for one month with the help of an ordinary meat hook, authorities
said on Tuesday.

The 36-year old man from Sibbesse in Lower Saxony concocted the plan
to steal electricity after the power company cut him off for failure
to pay his bills, police said.

The man attached a cable to the meat hook and tossed it onto an
overhead power line. He then drew power from the transmission line to
his home, located about 150 meters away.

"I've never seen anything like this in my 34-year-career," said
Friedrich-Wilhelm Lach, chief executive of regional utility
Ueberlandwerke Leinetal GmbH, told Reuters. "It's incredibly dangerous
and utterly stupid."

An employee of the utility noticed the meat hook during a routine
check. Lach said the man was lucky he is still alive and warned
copycats not to try it: "It will kill you," he said.

(Reporting by Christopher Lawton; editing by Paul Casciato)

Copyright 2010 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or

He was convicted of the theft and sentenced to death by electrocution.
At least perhaps in China, uh, no, they shoot them then harvest their
organs for transplants.

TDD

Ssssshhh! We have to make nice to them so they'll keep lending us
money so we can shovel it out to Goldman Sachs, so their executives
can thumb their noses at Congress. Not that Congress is blameless;
why did they repeal Glass-Steagel years ago, close their eyes to
Wall Street and never pass any regulations to control the mad dog
profiteers.
"As ye sow, so shall ye reap." Tell that to the people who lost jobs
and homes and the schools, parks, and old-age programs that
are in the toilet.

In article
,
JIMMIE wrote:

On Apr 28, 7:02*am, "HeyBub" wrote:
Metspitzer wrote:
This seems unlikely. *I would like to hear more details.

http://abcnews.go.com/WaterCooler/wireStory?id=10489334

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police are investigating a man for theft
after he siphoned electricity off a high-voltage overhead transmission
line for one month with the help of an ordinary meat hook, authorities
said on Tuesday.

[...]

Sure. I used to work for a company that did meter inventories for Rural
Electric Cooperatives.

About once a year they'd find somebody who had tapped into the primaries and
fed his own transformer (probably stolen).

More often, they'd find meters upside down (they run backwards) and meters
bypassed altogether.

Really, whenever the guys from Ga Power would do a power disconnect
they would pull the meter and put it back upside down and put a seal
on it until you wanted it hooked back up.

Jimmie

Hmm, flipping the meter over must be a local custom of the power company
there, as a visual indication of a disconnect. But I'm pretty sure they
put the insulators on the contacts nevertheless.

Higgs Boson wrote:
On Apr 27, 11:31 pm, The Daring Dufas the-daring-
wrote:
Metspitzer wrote:
This seems unlikely. I would like to hear more details.
http://abcnews.go.com/WaterCooler/wireStory?id=10489334
BERLIN (Reuters) - German police are investigating a man for theft
after he siphoned electricity off a high-voltage overhead transmission
line for one month with the help of an ordinary meat hook, authorities
said on Tuesday.
The 36-year old man from Sibbesse in Lower Saxony concocted the plan
to steal electricity after the power company cut him off for failure
to pay his bills, police said.
The man attached a cable to the meat hook and tossed it onto an
overhead power line. He then drew power from the transmission line to
his home, located about 150 meters away.
"I've never seen anything like this in my 34-year-career," said
Friedrich-Wilhelm Lach, chief executive of regional utility
Ueberlandwerke Leinetal GmbH, told Reuters. "It's incredibly dangerous
and utterly stupid."
An employee of the utility noticed the meat hook during a routine
check. Lach said the man was lucky he is still alive and warned
copycats not to try it: "It will kill you," he said.
(Reporting by Christopher Lawton; editing by Paul Casciato)
Copyright 2010 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or
He was convicted of the theft and sentenced to death by electrocution.
At least perhaps in China, uh, no, they shoot them then harvest their
organs for transplants.

TDD

Ssssshhh! We have to make nice to them so they'll keep lending us
money so we can shovel it out to Goldman Sachs, so their executives
can thumb their noses at Congress. Not that Congress is blameless;
why did they repeal Glass-Steagel years ago, close their eyes to
Wall Street and never pass any regulations to control the mad dog
profiteers.
"As ye sow, so shall ye reap." Tell that to the people who lost jobs
and homes and the schools, parks, and old-age programs that
are in the toilet.

It's all the fault of the American people for voting morons into
office. One of my grownup girlfriends voted for Bill Clinton
because he was pretty, she didn't like the looks of the other
candidate, Bob Dole. It's interesting that the bankers are being
prosecuted for operating within the law. Greed is not against
the law, you can't legislate altruism or morals. We now have our
first Affirmative Action President who has already made a huge
mess along with the rubber stamp Democrat law makers. No, I'm not
a Republican, Republicans disgust me but Democrats are special,
they horrify me.

TDD

Bill Gill wrote:
On 4/28/2010 6:02 AM, HeyBub wrote:
Metspitzer wrote:
This seems unlikely. I would like to hear more details.

http://abcnews.go.com/WaterCooler/wireStory?id=10489334

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police are investigating a man for theft
after he siphoned electricity off a high-voltage overhead transmission
line for one month with the help of an ordinary meat hook, authorities
said on Tuesday.


[...]

Sure. I used to work for a company that did meter inventories for Rural
Electric Cooperatives.

About once a year they'd find somebody who had tapped into the
primaries and
fed his own transformer (probably stolen).

More often, they'd find meters upside down (they run backwards) and
meters
bypassed altogether.


I knew a man once who told us that he periodically went out and
reversed his meter. I didn't ask him how he justified stealing.

Bill

I looked up the specs on the newer electronic meter I have. It mentions
that it counts forward even if it is reversed. I also don't have a
meter reader, they can read my meter from the office. I'm certain just
removing the meter for even a second or so throws a flag for them to
check it. Probably the easiest way to cheat would be to add a shorted
winding or so the the current transformer. It's just a toroid with a
few hand wired wires running through it. But I'm not that stupid,
besides being dishonest, it would be way too easy for them to catch me.
With the new meters they monitor usage and would certainly notice a
sudden 50% reduction in my usage.

Metspitzer wrote:
On Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:26:59 -0700 (PDT), JIMMIE
wrote:

On Apr 28, 7:02 am, "HeyBub" wrote:
Metspitzer wrote:
This seems unlikely. I would like to hear more details.
http://abcnews.go.com/WaterCooler/wireStory?id=10489334
BERLIN (Reuters) - German police are investigating a man for theft
after he siphoned electricity off a high-voltage overhead transmission
line for one month with the help of an ordinary meat hook, authorities
said on Tuesday.
[...]

Sure. I used to work for a company that did meter inventories for Rural
Electric Cooperatives.

About once a year they'd find somebody who had tapped into the primaries and
fed his own transformer (probably stolen).

More often, they'd find meters upside down (they run backwards) and meters
bypassed altogether.
Really, whenever the guys from Ga Power would do a power disconnect
they would pull the meter and put it back upside down and put a seal
on it until you wanted it hooked back up.

I have probably told this story before, but I want to hear it again.
grin

We went to a job in Texas. We got there on Thursday after hours and
Friday was a holiday. We asked the neighbor (duplex) if we could use
a drop cord for the weekend and they agreed. We went the long weekend
taking cold showers. We had a lamp, a stereo, and a hot plate.

Monday we went to work and told my sister (her husband was one of the
construction workers) to go and have the utilities turned on. When we
got home the power was still off. She said that the power company
closed a 6 but they would be out to turn the power on that day.

6PM and no one showed. We went outside to the meter and the power
company had left the meter in the can, but it was turned sideways so
it was not plugged into the buss. I told my brother in law (welder)
that all that was needed was to just cut the paperclip sized wire and
just turn the meter and plug it into the busses. After thinking
about having to take another cold shower we decided that plugging in
the meter and just telling the power company what we had done should
be enough.

I cut the tab and plugged the meter in. We were standing there
smoking a cigarette and I told him that plugging in the meter upside
down would make the meter run backwards.......I showed him how that
worked and we decided to just let it run like that for a few hours and
would flip it around before bed time.

When we got back in the house and started flipping for who would get a
hot shower first..........15 min after we had put the meter in, the
power company came out and found the meter upside down and pulled it
out and took it with them.

We had to go to the power company that day and explain what we had
done. They believed us and brought the meter back.

That's pretty good! I'd say you were very lucky to get power again as
fast as you did.

Tony wrote:
Metspitzer wrote:
On Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:26:59 -0700 (PDT), JIMMIE
wrote:

On Apr 28, 7:02 am, "HeyBub" wrote:
Metspitzer wrote:
This seems unlikely. I would like to hear more details.
http://abcnews.go.com/WaterCooler/wireStory?id=10489334
BERLIN (Reuters) - German police are investigating a man for theft
after he siphoned electricity off a high-voltage overhead transmission
line for one month with the help of an ordinary meat hook, authorities
said on Tuesday.
[...]

Sure. I used to work for a company that did meter inventories for Rural
Electric Cooperatives.

About once a year they'd find somebody who had tapped into the
primaries and
fed his own transformer (probably stolen).

More often, they'd find meters upside down (they run backwards) and
meters
bypassed altogether.
Really, whenever the guys from Ga Power would do a power disconnect
they would pull the meter and put it back upside down and put a seal
on it until you wanted it hooked back up.

I have probably told this story before, but I want to hear it again.
grin

We went to a job in Texas. We got there on Thursday after hours and
Friday was a holiday. We asked the neighbor (duplex) if we could use
a drop cord for the weekend and they agreed. We went the long weekend
taking cold showers. We had a lamp, a stereo, and a hot plate.

Monday we went to work and told my sister (her husband was one of the
construction workers) to go and have the utilities turned on. When we
got home the power was still off. She said that the power company
closed a 6 but they would be out to turn the power on that day.

6PM and no one showed. We went outside to the meter and the power
company had left the meter in the can, but it was turned sideways so
it was not plugged into the buss. I told my brother in law (welder)
that all that was needed was to just cut the paperclip sized wire and
just turn the meter and plug it into the busses. After thinking
about having to take another cold shower we decided that plugging in
the meter and just telling the power company what we had done should
be enough.

I cut the tab and plugged the meter in. We were standing there
smoking a cigarette and I told him that plugging in the meter upside
down would make the meter run backwards.......I showed him how that
worked and we decided to just let it run like that for a few hours and
would flip it around before bed time.

When we got back in the house and started flipping for who would get a
hot shower first..........15 min after we had put the meter in, the
power company came out and found the meter upside down and pulled it
out and took it with them.

We had to go to the power company that day and explain what we had
done. They believed us and brought the meter back.

That's pretty good! I'd say you were very lucky to get power again as
fast as you did.

Now that brings back memories! Gypsy (in the non-inflammatory sense of
the word) construction crews camping in almost-finished apartments on
the project site, 6 to a unit, in order to make the project deadlines
for the later buildings and get the next draw from the bank on schedule.
Illegal as hell, but quite common back in the day. Most of these crews
were English-speaking, at least on the sites I was on. Sleeping bags,
coolers, and paper plates. Most were very normal people unable to find
work in their home cities, and trying to squeeze every penny to take
home for the coming dry spell. A few bucks to the project strawboss was
a lot cheaper than 'weekly rate' motels and eating out every meal.

--
aem sends....

On Wed, 28 Apr 2010 23:27:37 -0700 (PDT), harry
wrote:

On Apr 28, 11:15?pm, terry wrote:
On Apr 28, 5:48?pm, harry wrote:





On Apr 28, 2:19 pm, "Stormin Mormon"

wrote:
Of course, I'm curious as to the details. I don't expect to
ever do such a thing, you realize.

--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.

"harry" wrote in message

...

I used to work for the electricity board. This is a common
trick,
I've seen it many times. In the UK the live side is the
upper wire
and is insulated nowadays to help prevent this trick and
for safety.
There's lots more tricks if anyone out there is interested!
It would be on 230/240 volts system. The next level is
11Kv, he'd
never have survived. Though it HAS been attempted.

In the UK, reverse the connections to the current coil in the meter.
Drill a small hole in the case of the meter & put a wire in to stop
the disk from spinning. Push needles into the cables and link them up
to bypass the meter. Take a supply from a nearby street light. ?In the
case of linked houses, break into your nieghbour's electricity
circuits in the cellar or roof space. ?Just a few of the tricks.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

What would happen if it was DC through the meter; or partial DC due to
rectifing the AC and charging a battery? Along with other household AC
uses.
a) With a traditional rotating wheel meter.
b) Newer digital meters. ???????
Just pondering.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

DC has no effect on any normal electricity meter. The meter wouldn't
even "see" it.
What BTW is partial DC? There is no such thing.

Unfiltered or somewhat filtered, rectified AC, maybe? It only goes in
one direction but it has different voltages over time, and I suppose
that means different current levels, with a nominal frequency of 120
cps if house current is the source.

I believe it would be seen by the meter, which iiuc responds to rising
and falling magnetic fields. It won't see DC that's always at the
same voltage, because its magnetic field barely varies if at all.

But I don't know what he meant.

On Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:44:47 -0500, The Daring Dufas
wrote:


It's all the fault of the American people for voting morons into
office. One of my grownup girlfriends voted for Bill Clinton
because he was pretty, she didn't like the looks of the other
candidate, Bob Dole. It's interesting that the bankers are being
prosecuted for operating within the law. Greed is not against
the law, you can't legislate altruism or morals.

Your argument is varying. Not getting into this particular case here,
you can legislate against stealing and every place in the world has
outlawed many or most kinds of stealing, and at least some people are
caught and puinshed for this violation of morals, and I'm sure some
people don't steal for fear of the punishment. That seems like
legislating morals to me.

Yet, your statement a couple lines earlier that the bankers are being
prosecuted for operating within the law. Which are you concerned
with, law or morals. That some immoral acts have been outlawed
doesn't mean all have, as you point out.

BTW, a lot of people would say that altruism has been legislated.
People are taxed, and not just an equal tax per person, but often
proportionate** to income, and not a big percentage but some of the
money collected is used to help refugees, orphans, the sick and
injured, and poor people. Although those who are taxed may not
actually be altruistic, hasn't altruism been legilslated. (My
webbrowser and dictinoary are unavailable now or I'd look up the def.)

**In some cases more than proportionate, or less than proportionate,
to income.


We now have our
first Affirmative Action President

You have no evidence to say that. I'm curious where you think he
benefited from affirmative action.

who has already made a huge
mess along with the rubber stamp Democrat law makers.

Did you not know the adjective is Democatic? When people; use a noun
as if it is an adjective, at least here, they look ignorant or like a
12-year old calling another kid names. Which is it in your case?

No, I'm not
a Republican, Republicans disgust me but Democrats are special,
they horrify me.

TDD

mm wrote:
On Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:44:47 -0500, The Daring Dufas
wrote:

It's all the fault of the American people for voting morons into
office. One of my grownup girlfriends voted for Bill Clinton
because he was pretty, she didn't like the looks of the other
candidate, Bob Dole. It's interesting that the bankers are being
prosecuted for operating within the law. Greed is not against
the law, you can't legislate altruism or morals.

Your argument is varying. Not getting into this particular case here,
you can legislate against stealing and every place in the world has
outlawed many or most kinds of stealing, and at least some people are
caught and puinshed for this violation of morals, and I'm sure some
people don't steal for fear of the punishment. That seems like
legislating morals to me.

Yet, your statement a couple lines earlier that the bankers are being
prosecuted for operating within the law. Which are you concerned
with, law or morals. That some immoral acts have been outlawed
doesn't mean all have, as you point out.

BTW, a lot of people would say that altruism has been legislated.
People are taxed, and not just an equal tax per person, but often
proportionate** to income, and not a big percentage but some of the
money collected is used to help refugees, orphans, the sick and
injured, and poor people. Although those who are taxed may not
actually be altruistic, hasn't altruism been legilslated. (My
webbrowser and dictinoary are unavailable now or I'd look up the def.)

**In some cases more than proportionate, or less than proportionate,
to income.


We now have our
first Affirmative Action President

You have no evidence to say that. I'm curious where you think he
benefited from affirmative action.

who has already made a huge
mess along with the rubber stamp Democrat law makers.

Did you not know the adjective is Democatic? When people; use a noun
as if it is an adjective, at least here, they look ignorant or like a
12-year old calling another kid names. Which is it in your case?

No, I'm not
a Republican, Republicans disgust me but Democrats are special,
they horrify me.

TDD


Another confused soul, It's The Democrat Party not the democratic party,
there is nothing democratic about The Democrat party. I suppose I'll
have to start referring to Republican legislators as repulicanic. To
bad you suffer from Liberalism disease, it makes you question the
intelligence of anyone who disagrees with you. Bill Clinton was called
our first Black President not because of his skin color but because of
his behavior. Remember Marion Barry? Did Bill Clinton act more like Mr.
Barry or more like Mr. Bush? Obama grew up in the era of Affirmative
Action with Caucasian Americans being turned away from employment and
higher education in favor of Negro Americans and the dumbing down of
The American educational system to make everyone equally stupid because
that's the only way to make it fair. That's why a high school graduate
of 60 years ago could score higher on a test than a college graduate of
today. I am astounded at the ignorance of those who came out of the same
educational system that produced Obama. I hope I have some change left
when his one term is over. The repair job is going to be a lot bigger
and take a lot longer that what Reagan had to contend with.

TDD

On Sat, 01 May 2010 20:41:24 -0500, The Daring Dufas
wrote:

mm wrote:
On Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:44:47 -0500, The Daring Dufas
wrote:

It's all the fault of the American people for voting morons into
office. One of my grownup girlfriends voted for Bill Clinton
because he was pretty, she didn't like the looks of the other
candidate, Bob Dole. It's interesting that the bankers are being
prosecuted for operating within the law. Greed is not against
the law, you can't legislate altruism or morals.

Your argument is varying. Not getting into this particular case here,
you can legislate against stealing and every place in the world has
outlawed many or most kinds of stealing, and at least some people are
caught and puinshed for this violation of morals, and I'm sure some
people don't steal for fear of the punishment. That seems like
legislating morals to me.

Yet, your statement a couple lines earlier that the bankers are being
prosecuted for operating within the law. Which are you concerned
with, law or morals. That some immoral acts have been outlawed
doesn't mean all have, as you point out.

BTW, a lot of people would say that altruism has been legislated.
People are taxed, and not just an equal tax per person, but often
proportionate** to income, and not a big percentage but some of the
money collected is used to help refugees, orphans, the sick and
injured, and poor people. Although those who are taxed may not
actually be altruistic, hasn't altruism been legilslated. (My
webbrowser and dictinoary are unavailable now or I'd look up the def.)

**In some cases more than proportionate, or less than proportionate,
to income.


We now have our
first Affirmative Action President

You have no evidence to say that. I'm curious where you think he
benefited from affirmative action.

who has already made a huge
mess along with the rubber stamp Democrat law makers.

Did you not know the adjective is Democatic? When people; use a noun
as if it is an adjective, at least here, they look ignorant or like a
12-year old calling another kid names. Which is it in your case?

No, I'm not
a Republican, Republicans disgust me but Democrats are special,
they horrify me.

TDD


Another confused soul, It's The Democrat Party not the democratic party,
there is nothing democratic about The Democrat party. I suppose I'll
have to start referring to Republican legislators as repulicanic. To
bad you suffer from Liberalism disease, it makes you question the
intelligence of anyone who disagrees with you. Bill Clinton was called
our first Black President not because of his skin color but because of
his behavior. Remember Marion Barry? Did Bill Clinton act more like Mr.
Barry or more like Mr. Bush? Obama grew up in the era of Affirmative
Action with Caucasian Americans being turned away from employment and
higher education in favor of Negro Americans and the dumbing down of
The American educational system to make everyone equally stupid because
that's the only way to make it fair.

So because some blacks beneifitted from affirmative action, you claim
Obama did too? You don't give any other explanation for your nonsense
charge. Some people bought their houses with VA loans. Does that
mean all vets did?

Talk about dumbing down education, where did you go to school?


That's why a high school graduate
of 60 years ago could score higher on a test than a college graduate of
today. I am astounded at the ignorance of those who came out of the same
educational system that produced Obama. I hope I have some change left
when his one term is over. The repair job is going to be a lot bigger
and take a lot longer that what Reagan had to contend with.

TDD

mm wrote:
On Sat, 01 May 2010 20:41:24 -0500, The Daring Dufas
wrote:

mm wrote:
On Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:44:47 -0500, The Daring Dufas
wrote:

It's all the fault of the American people for voting morons into
office. One of my grownup girlfriends voted for Bill Clinton
because he was pretty, she didn't like the looks of the other
candidate, Bob Dole. It's interesting that the bankers are being
prosecuted for operating within the law. Greed is not against
the law, you can't legislate altruism or morals.
Your argument is varying. Not getting into this particular case here,
you can legislate against stealing and every place in the world has
outlawed many or most kinds of stealing, and at least some people are
caught and puinshed for this violation of morals, and I'm sure some
people don't steal for fear of the punishment. That seems like
legislating morals to me.

Yet, your statement a couple lines earlier that the bankers are being
prosecuted for operating within the law. Which are you concerned
with, law or morals. That some immoral acts have been outlawed
doesn't mean all have, as you point out.

BTW, a lot of people would say that altruism has been legislated.
People are taxed, and not just an equal tax per person, but often
proportionate** to income, and not a big percentage but some of the
money collected is used to help refugees, orphans, the sick and
injured, and poor people. Although those who are taxed may not
actually be altruistic, hasn't altruism been legilslated. (My
webbrowser and dictinoary are unavailable now or I'd look up the def.)

**In some cases more than proportionate, or less than proportionate,
to income.


We now have our
first Affirmative Action President
You have no evidence to say that. I'm curious where you think he
benefited from affirmative action.

who has already made a huge
mess along with the rubber stamp Democrat law makers.
Did you not know the adjective is Democatic? When people; use a noun
as if it is an adjective, at least here, they look ignorant or like a
12-year old calling another kid names. Which is it in your case?

No, I'm not
a Republican, Republicans disgust me but Democrats are special,
they horrify me.

TDD
Another confused soul, It's The Democrat Party not the democratic party,
there is nothing democratic about The Democrat party. I suppose I'll
have to start referring to Republican legislators as repulicanic. To
bad you suffer from Liberalism disease, it makes you question the
intelligence of anyone who disagrees with you. Bill Clinton was called
our first Black President not because of his skin color but because of
his behavior. Remember Marion Barry? Did Bill Clinton act more like Mr.
Barry or more like Mr. Bush? Obama grew up in the era of Affirmative
Action with Caucasian Americans being turned away from employment and
higher education in favor of Negro Americans and the dumbing down of
The American educational system to make everyone equally stupid because
that's the only way to make it fair.

So because some blacks beneifitted from affirmative action, you claim
Obama did too? You don't give any other explanation for your nonsense
charge. Some people bought their houses with VA loans. Does that
mean all vets did?

Talk about dumbing down education, where did you go to school?


That's why a high school graduate
of 60 years ago could score higher on a test than a college graduate of
today. I am astounded at the ignorance of those who came out of the same
educational system that produced Obama. I hope I have some change left
when his one term is over. The repair job is going to be a lot bigger
and take a lot longer that what Reagan had to contend with.

TDD


It's not a charge you fool, I experienced it. Something attained without
earning it is worthless. I've experienced the discrimination against
Caucasian Americans and seen people receive preferential treatment just
because of the high melanin content of their epidermis. My darker
cousins who possess great intelligence despise Affirmative Action
because it negates their intellectual achievements in the eyes of others
who are less informed of the truth. As far as my own education, it's
been my luck to have a very diverse educational background. I've often
said I have no fear of terrorists because as a small boy, I had Irish
nuns for teachers. I do have this irrational fear of albino penguins.

TDD