I have a wire strung up around the room Im in. It has the plastic or
rubber casing still on it. Would it improve reception by removing
this plastic casing? The whip antenna, and any other antenna Ive ever
seen doesnt have plastic casing on it, so it would seem there is a
reason for that.

ShutterMan wrote:
I have a wire strung up around the room Im in. It has the plastic or
rubber casing still on it. Would it improve reception by removing
this plastic casing? The whip antenna, and any other antenna Ive ever
seen doesnt have plastic casing on it, so it would seem there is a
reason for that.

No, the plastic insulation has no effect at radio frequencies. Running
a longer wire outside (away from noise sources) would improve
reception.

Art N2AH

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}
.
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"I Know This Is A Really Dumb Question - But _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "
.
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May You Never Tire of Listening to the Radio and Always
have Strong Signals and Noise Free Reception ~ RHF {ibid}
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.
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
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.
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.
= = = = Plain Old American-English Translation = = = =
All are Welcome - - - To Join the Shortwave Listeners
(SWL) Antenna Group on YAHOO !
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