http://www.rdrop.com/users/billmc/phone_antenna is built around
a ".01uF capacitor", but what kind? Are big .01uF capacitors better
than small ones etc.?

Is .01uF critical or is there actually a range that is acceptable?

Also the "RF connector" isn't clear. What are examples of this "radio
frequency connector"? Perhaps just coax to alligator clip?

Is the 50 ohm coax critical? How about a plain wire from the capacitor
to the radio's telescoping antenna? Should the telescoping antenna
still be extended, or retracted?

How do we know if our phone line antenna is working properly? Should
time signals on 5000, 10000 khz etc. jump out in perfect clarity?

Certainly there must be a slight advantage between one of red and
green vs. the other... or might we not even bother comparing, as they
are certain to be the same?

By the way, I found a .01uF capacitor that the capacitor numbers web pages
don't seem to decode: 103K PE50. I can't figure out what the PE50 or
PE5Q means.

Lastly, the article has some spelling mistakes, e.g., lightening arrestors.

Remember lightning can induce some large voltages on the phone lines too.
(got a receiver smoked in the 70's by using a "very ,very long wire" like
antenna.
Most have 70 volt ringer voltage, some with much higher voltage spikes,
rating on cap should be high, .01 at 200 volt big is usually a sign of
higher voltage rating. Ceramic. and voltage limiter of some sort, 50/100
volt (sounds like a neon bulb!) on the other side of the cap (not telco
side )
Good idea is a preamp, but you needs good FM TV signal killer filter in
front.
0.1 may be too big, lets in too much noise from power lines.
The line may look like a high impedance, 1000 ohms or more, but the preamp
is your "matching" device.
**Don't let the phone people find out, they control the government.**




"Dan Jacobson" wrote in message
...
http://www.rdrop.com/users/billmc/phone_antenna is built around
a ".01uF capacitor", but what kind? Are big .01uF capacitors better
than small ones etc.?

Is .01uF critical or is there actually a range that is acceptable?

Also the "RF connector" isn't clear. What are examples of this "radio
frequency connector"? Perhaps just coax to alligator clip?

Is the 50 ohm coax critical? How about a plain wire from the capacitor
to the radio's telescoping antenna? Should the telescoping antenna
still be extended, or retracted?

How do we know if our phone line antenna is working properly? Should
time signals on 5000, 10000 khz etc. jump out in perfect clarity?

Certainly there must be a slight advantage between one of red and
green vs. the other... or might we not even bother comparing, as they
are certain to be the same?

By the way, I found a .01uF capacitor that the capacitor numbers web pages
don't seem to decode: 103K PE50. I can't figure out what the PE50 or
PE5Q means.

Lastly, the article has some spelling mistakes, e.g., lightening
arrestors.

Subject: Phone line as SW antenna

Probably *not* a Good Idea if the telephone line is employed in
DSL service.

Jonesy
--
| Marvin L Jones | jonz | W3DHJ | OS/2
| Gunnison, Colorado | @ | Jonesy | linux __
| 7,703' -- 2,345m | config.com | DM68mn SK

I used to do this by wrapping the curly-cord around my radio's rod antenna.
Worked quite well.

John Smith wrote:

**Don't let the phone people find out, they control the government.**

I'm going senile. What movie was that? I remember a desert scene and the
actor and a phone booth...



mike

Yea, had James Colburn in it.
Was a early spoof on James Bond, forgot the name of the movie too.
The Phone Company won too.

"m II" wrote in message
news:F2hoc.862$RM.844@edtnps89...
John Smith wrote:

**Don't let the phone people find out, they control the government.**

I'm going senile. What movie was that? I remember a desert scene and the
actor and a phone booth...



mike

John Smith wrote:
Yea, had James Colburn in it.
Was a early spoof on James Bond, forgot the name of the movie too.
The Phone Company won too.


That was enough..I found it.."The President's Analyst" James Coburn!
It's been a while, so maybe there's hope for me yet.

Thank you.

"John Smith" wrote in message
...
Yea, had James Colburn in it.
Was a early spoof on James Bond, forgot the name of the movie too.
The Phone Company won too.

"The President's Analyst." http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062153/

"PM"

m II wrote:
John Smith wrote:

Yea, had James Colburn in it.
Was a early spoof on James Bond, forgot the name of the movie too.
The Phone Company won too.

That was enough..I found it.."The President's Analyst" James Coburn!
It's been a while, so maybe there's hope for me yet.

The "Flint" movies were also spoofs of James Bond with James Colburn.



-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

I got a good answer in mail:
"J" == Jerry writes:

http://www.rdrop.com/users/billmc/phone_antenna is built around
a ".01uF capacitor", but what kind? Are big .01uF capacitors better
than small ones etc.?

J It isn't the size but the voltage rating that matters. The point of the
J capacitor is to protect the RF stage of your radio from the ringer signal of
J the phone, which will be anywhere from 40 to 70 volts. Considering that
J your radio may be sensitive to signals in the microvolt range, it isn't
J surprising that 70 volts could be a radio killer. I'd use a cap of 200 volt
J or more rating. There are a lot of different kinds of caps. A ceramic disk
J would be appropriate and dirt cheap.

Sure wish there would be that warning on that regular posting to
rec.radio.info . Yes I emailed McFadden.

Is .01uF critical or is there actually a range that is acceptable?

J The point is to have it big enough to pass all the RF signals your
J interested in, but not signals lower in frequency than you want. 0.01uf is
J a standard value, but double or half that would be OK.

Also the "RF connector" isn't clear. What are examples of this "radio
frequency connector"? Perhaps just coax to alligator clip?

J Just connect one end of the capacitor to the phone line and the other to
J your radio. If your radio has a telescoping antenna, just clip it to that.

Is the 50 ohm coax critical? How about a plain wire from the capacitor
to the radio's telescoping antenna? Should the telescoping antenna
still be extended, or retracted?

J You're making this too complicated. Just connect the capacitor to the
J antenna. Any wire will do. Considering that the phone wire may be miles
J long, whether or not you extend the telescoping antenna is probably
J irrelevant.

How do we know if our phone line antenna is working properly? Should
time signals on 5000, 10000 khz etc. jump out in perfect clarity?

J HF signals are rarely perfectly clear, no matter what the antenna. You
J ought to hear more than you do with the telescoping antenna alone.

Certainly there must be a slight advantage between one of red and
green vs. the other... or might we not even bother comparing, as they
are certain to be the same?

J If you have 4-wire phone, one of them will be ground, and that one certainly
J will NOT work. The others are probably equal as antennas. Just try them
J all.

By the way, I found a .01uF capacitor that the capacitor numbers web pages
don't seem to decode: 103K PE50. I can't figure out what the PE50 or
PE5Q means.

J Probably means 50 volts. Not enough. The first time the phone rings will
J damange this capacitor. A 1000-volt 0.01uF cap is only a quarter or so a
J Radio Shack.

Far from stores, I wonder if the necessary high voltage capacitor
could be found in my pile of broken radios. I suppose I would look
for meaty cylindrical types rather than pill shaped types. OK, will look.