On Oct 31, 10:35 am, ShutterMan wrote:

- I have a wire strung up around the room I'm in.

It would be better to place the Wire Outside the building.

- It has the plastic or rubber casing still on it.

Using a One-Piece Insulated Wire Antenna is a simple and
practical means of have an External Antenna connected to
your Radio -or- the Radio's Whip Antenna.

- Would it improve reception by removing this plastic casing?

No - The Plastic Covered 'Insulated' Wire has many advantages
and for many Shortwave Radio Listener's (SWL) is the prefered
type of Wire to use.

READ - "Insulated Wire -or- Not ?"
http://www.hard-core-dx.com/nordicdx...ire/wire1.html
-source- QTH Antenna List - May 2000

- The whip antenna, and any other antenna I've ever seen doesn't
have plastic casing on it, so it would seem there is a reason for
that.

For the Whip Antenna to function properly the Sections
of the Whip Antenna must make Metal-to-Metal 'contact'.

Insulation Cost Money -but- a Bare Copper Wire Antenna
Element must use Insulators to ensure that the Antenna
Element does not become 'grounded'. Using Bare Wire
and Insualtors is more work and a more complex process
then simply using an Insulated Wire for an Antenna.

Most Random Wire (Longwire) Antenna 'Kits' use a piece
of "Bare" Stranded Copper Wire for the Antenna Element.
Plus a piece of "Insulated" Stranded Copper Wire for the
feed-in-line. And a couple of Insulators and Rope to Rig
the Wire Antenna Element.
http://www.sciplus.com/itm_photos/38031.jpg

Examples :
* Radio Shack 125' Shortwave Radio Antenna Kit
http://cgi.ebay.com/_W0QQitemZ220164963279
http://www.sciplus.com/category.cfm/category/159
http://cgi.ebay.com/_W0QQitemZ330183867712
-Info- RadioShack 'Outdoor' Antenna Kit
http://support.radioshack.com/suppor...oc66/66356.htm
http://support.radioshack.com/suppor...ns/swave-4.htm
* WiNRADiO AX-05E Long Wire HF Antenna
http://www.winradio.com/home/ax05e.htm
* SWL-DX1 Watson SWL Long Wire Antenna Kit
http://www.wsplc.com/acatalog/WATSON..._Antennas.html

Instructions for Putting-Up a Long-Wire Antenna
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip...reantenna.html

Long Wire Antenna Installation
http://www.rldrake.com/tech/longwire.html

TBL - As 'basic' as it gets is to simply use a single piece
{One-Piece} of Insulated Stranded Copper Wire as both
the Wire Antenna Element and the feed-in-line Wire.
A single 90-Foot spool of Insulated 22 AWG "Hook-Up" Wire
from RadioShack in Black will give you enough Wire to get
Out-of-the-Window and Up-in-the-Air for a good beginning
Shortwave Listening (SWL) Antenna.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2036275
Tip - Since this "Hook-Up" Wire is both Thin and Black
it makes for a Stealthy {Hidden} Antenna.


hope this helps - iane ~ RHF {pomkia}
.
Shortwave Listener (SWL) Antennas Group = http://tinyurl.com/ogvcf
GoTo = http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/
The SWL Antenna Discussion Group = http://tinyurl.com/ogvcf
Shortwave Listener (SWL) Antenna HELP = http://tinyurl.com/ogvcf
Shortwave Listener (SWL) Antenna NEWS = http://tinyurl.com/ogvcf
Shortwave Listener (SWL) Antenna INFO = http://tinyurl.com/ogvcf
* * * All Are Welcome : Including ELMERS and 'Want-to-be-Elmers'
plus plain old "Mister-Know-It-Alls"; and even those Newbees with
"I Know This Is A Really Dumb Question - But _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "
.
The Shortwave Listener's Blessing :
SWL BLESSING = http://tinyurl.com/s2bjm
May You Never Tire of Listening to the Radio and Always
have Strong Signals and Noise Free Reception ~ RHF {ibid}
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortw...a/message/9233
.
Tous Sont Bienvenus ! - - - Groupe par Radio
d'auditeur d'onde courte pour des Antennes de SWL
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/
.
Alle Sind Willkommen ! - - - Shortwave Radiozuhörer
Gruppe für SWL Antennen
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/
.
Tutti Sono Benvenuti ! - - - Gruppo Radiofonico
dell'ascoltatore di onda corta per le Antenne di SWL
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/
.
Todos São Bem-vindos ! - - - Grupo de Rádio
do ouvinte do Shortwave para Antenas de SWL
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/
.
¡Todos Son Agradables! - - - Grupo de Radio del oyente
de la onda corta para las Antenas de SWL
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/
.
= = = = Plain Old American-English Translation = = = =
All are Welcome - - - To Join the Shortwave Listeners
(SWL) Antenna Group on YAHOO !
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Shortwave-SWL-Antenna/
.
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