A strange thing happened to me on the way to Jonesboro Indiana

[Psychotic Bovine]

My brother and I were heading to Jonesboro Indiana to have Astech seats reconfigure my Triumph Scambler seat and see if they could remove the 2x6 that those jokers in the Hinckley installed in it  before shipping the bike.
Anyway, we were all heading south on I69 from Fort Wayne.  Directly south of the city are high voltage pylons carrying, I'm guessing, 750,000 volts (these are the really big towers you see in the wild).
Now, I nearly always listen to music from my GPS mp3 player piped into my helmet via very tight fitting earbuds.
As we passed under the lowest-hanging part of these high voltage lines, I heard a very loud buzz.  This isn't totally unexpected as you will hear the same buzz if you have your car radio tuned to an AM radio station.
What was unexpected, though, was the quite startling shock I received directly to both ear canals through my earbuds.  I have passed under these lines many times on my Valkyrie with my earbuds in, but never had this happen (not even the buzz).  I was also using a different set of earbuds, too, as my standard Shure E2c's had broken. 
My theory is that the wind-whipped cable of my Etymotic earbuds, which have much thinner wires than the E2c's, induced a voltage from the magnetic field from the high voltage lines.
I'm not an engineer, and only have a passing knowledge of EM interference, so I cannot be sure. 
But, it was rather startling, shocking you could say.

[Jess from VA]

A little electro shock therapy would probably do us all some good.


Nurse Ratchet had it coming.

[CajunRider]

Your theory is quite possibly correct... I'd lean towards that same idea (my day-job is electrical engineer).  

It would take a LOT of power running through them (power = voltage x current) for that to happen.  And those long haul lines typically DO have tons of juice running through them.  

I've been in areas (usually sub-stations) where the hair on my arms stand up from the static generated by lines with that much power running through them.  It's a scary feeling.  If you pay attention closely, you can actually "feel" the air buzzing around you (and hear the lines vibrating).  

That much static running over some el'-cheapo ear buds with poor shielding/grounding could possibly cause a static shock (or having the ear buds plugged into a poorly shielded/grounded player).  

[Psychotic Bovine]

I have heard the buzzing of high voltage lines, and have seen the videos of people lighting fluorescent tubes while standing under them.  So, I should have not been surprised in the least!
Yes, a little shock therapy would probably help us all!

[Jess from VA]

How about adding the moisture in your ear/buds as a factor?


I still remember the old Amos & Andy episode where one is working on an electrical panel and the other brings over a bucket of water and tells him to keep one foot in the bucket and all will be well.  It  wasn't.     

[mike72903]

As a wearer of hearing aids for 50 years I got pretty good at finding electromagnetic fields.  My forte was leaky microwave ovens in my employers lunch room.    Sometimes they were so bad you could hear them across the room. I hightailed it.  Hearing aids have gotten better over the decades and it's not the problem it once was, unless you have the telecoil on. That's what it's designed to do.  In your case, the very thin wires may indicate a lack of shielding in the wires so they will pick up strong magnet fields.

[Psychotic Bovine]

How about adding the moisture in your ear/buds as a factor?


I still remember the old Amos & Andy episode where one is working on an electrical panel and the other brings over a bucket of water and tells him to keep one foot in the bucket and all will be well.  It  wasn't.     

It was also very humid that day. 

The Etymotics aren't cheapies, but their wires are very thin.  I have just gotten a new set of Shure se215's, so I might try passing under these lines again to see what happens.

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

I worked under high-lines everyday . If the weather is right everything you touch on the ground will rattle your teeth like door handles etc.


 

[Rams]

Your theory is quite possibly correct... I'd lean towards that same idea (my day-job is electrical engineer). 
SNIP
That much static running over some el'-cheapo ear buds with poor shielding/grounding could possibly cause a static shock (or having the ear buds plugged into a poorly shielded/grounded player). 

I would have to suggest that, that poorly grounded player was Bovine. 

[Psychotic Bovine]

Your theory is quite possibly correct... I'd lean towards that same idea (my day-job is electrical engineer). 
SNIP
That much static running over some el'-cheapo ear buds with poor shielding/grounding could possibly cause a static shock (or having the ear buds plugged into a poorly shielded/grounded player). 

I would have to suggest that, that poorly grounded player was Bovine. 

You won't get an argument from me!

[Varmintmist]

EMF

Its induced voltage from the lines. If they are unbalanced it can be pretty bad. 3 spans of telephone wire under imbalanced lines with a lot less than what you went under will draw a arc. Just the wire, not terminated, hanging in the air will draw a arc to gnd on a end.

[Firefighter]

Might try recreating the same conditions while riding through a lightening storm, then if your able,, report your findings back to us so we could compare the two scenarios and come to a consensus as to what you are doing wrong!

[Jess from VA]

Sailboat masts aren't that tall. 

But out on Lake Erie in the middle of the night in a massive electrical storm, the bastards look really tall.

There's very few trees out there.   

[FryeVRCCDS0067]

I seem to remember hearing of people stealing or trying to steal electricity by setting up coils (transformers) under those type of lines and making use or trying to make use of the induced voltage. Personally, I think it would probably work to some extent and I imagine that's what happened to your earbuds too.

[solo1]

I worked for a short time in EMI (ElectroMagnetic Interference) but I won't comment as I know just enough to be dangerous.