Can a fan pick up radio frequencies?

Hi there

If you live in a location that is VERY close to a high powered AM or SW transmitter than YES , it is possible for audio to be heard from electrical devices that are not radios.

Radio frequency energy can be picked up by the power cord and it can be 'demodulated' , (converted to an audio voltage) through dissimilar metals acting as a detector.

If this voltage is high enough it can cause metallic parts of the device to resonate , acting as a primitive loudspeaker.

The sound produced is not very loud., but noticeable.

I have heard of this happening with appliances that have heating elements , such as electric toasters , toaster overs , and electric stove tops.

Commonalities are large coils , dissimilar metals , large metallic surface areas and it is to be stressed that this is ONLY possible , in the presence of VERY high RF fields.

Now whether or not the sound is clear enough to be actually heard as voice speaking words is open to debate.

I have had 3 different fans I can hear broadcasts through all of them. I kept getting new ones and discovered the all metal caged fan was the absolute loudest. I know radio comes through them because I could hear The Beatles Birthday Song playing and turned the radio on and there it was!!!!. If I close my eyes and relax I can hear other stations as well by just listening for patterns. this is not the same as "matrixing" where your brain makes sense of the sounds. I have had experience with that as well.

comparable ingredient has been happening to me when you consider that I moved returned to my previous domicile. i presumed i substitute into dropping my techniques! it particularly is like listening to voices from the lifeless. however the clincher substitute into while i could desire to quite much for sure make out the upward push and falls of Christmas carols. humorous ingredient is, as perplexing as i attempted to concentration on the whirring sound of the fan, i could no longer smash from the radio sounds. thank you for this answer, i'm going to easily start up donning plugs returned, and which will clear out the undesirable and leave a severe high quality hummmm to nod off to. :)

This can happen in certain circuits yes! I used to have a wall phone which picked up radio 2.

No I do not think so unless such device to tune & detect the audio frequency[ or sometimes dedicated chips for synthesizer] and convert it into the mechanical vibration like speakers.

Thank you.

Never ! Fan has humming noise sometime from old old motor.