This might be a question for one or another of the other
radio amateur newsgroups, but I figured I kind of already
know of some great engineering minds residing in
antenna-land, so I would post the question here first.

When I was a kid back in the 50s I built my first novice
transmitter with a one tube circuit using a 117N7 which put
out a couple of watts on CW through my end fed random wire
tuned with a tiny electric bulb and a single loop attached
between the two terminals of the bulb.

Oddly enough this circuit only used the hot side of the AC
outlet and a cold water pipe ground to the chassis of the
transmitter. Our house was built in the early 40s if that
tells you anything about how they wired outlets in those
days.

I have since dug up a reference to this transmitter circuit
in "Ham Radio Projects for Novice and Technician by Bert
Simon -W2UUN". Even though this little book came out in 1968
I know that I found the circuit in some earlier publication
because I built this thing in 1953. And I am alive to tell
the story...eg. not electrocuted. It keyed to the cathode
which was also tied to the top grid....kind of like a beam
pentode(?). I think I owned one 80m xtal at the time and a
Hallicrafters S-53A. [I got distracted from ham radio for 50
years, but I am back....with alot of catching up to do].

My question:
If I were to take a volt (amp) meter and put one probe in the
hot side of an AC house outlet and the other probe to a metal
rod stuck in the ground out in the middle of a field
somewhere (presumably nowhere near a neutral leg), what would
my meter read and why?
Deep electro-philosophical answers welcome as long as it is
expressed in terms a child could understand. (It seems that
this little odd transmitter circuit avoided the neutral leg
altogether-- just used the hot side and a ground).



Bill K6TAJ