I notice somthing sort of wierd lately with my radios. I normally connect my radios to the water heaters in my apartment and lately I have notice noise goes away when I remove the ground wire where normally it usually goes away when I attach the ground to it?? What the heck is causing this anyone know?

A couple of possibilities:

1. If the radio is AC/DC; try reversing the plug in the wall socket.

2. It's possible that your water heater system isn't actually connected to the water system ground. Maybe plastic piping is used in some places? If your water heater piping runs a long distance before it connects to the main water system, it could be acting as a pickup for noise from appliances or motors.

Good luck... Rich

:I notice somthing sort of wierd lately with my radios. I normally connect my radios to the water heaters in my apartment and lately I have notice noise goes away when I remove the ground wire where normally it usually goes away when I attach the ground to it?? What the heck is causing this anyone know?

I was going to say this earlier, but I was hoping someone else could come up with a much more technical explanation that I am able to come up with. Simply said, though, when you ground your radio, you are attaching it to ground, but we all forget that actually "ground" is part of the antenna circuit. When you erect a wire for the old radios that require external antennas, with battery sets, a ground is almost required. With AC sets, the ground is reached through a condenser, or through the capacitance of the transformer. At any rate, ground is attached to the other side of the antenna primary, whether through the chassis or through a ground wire. Signals alternate back and forth through the antenna primary from the antenna wire, through the coil, then to ground, and then, when the current reverses, as it does so millions of times a second (let's say 900 kc, for example), it reverses and flows from ground through the coil, and then out the antenna.

That said, interferance can and will be picked up by your ground, no matter what it is, as ground (the earth) is actually the other side of your antenna. If you would like static free reception at all wave lengths, disconnect your antenna primary from any ground connections (even if it is a loop antenna). Design the V-Doublet antenna that General Electric used to sell, and attach this to your radio. One side of the antenna is attached to one side of the coil in your radio, and the other side of the antenna is attached to the other side of the coil. The antenna is balanced on both sides, and usually local interferance that is received by the antenna is cancelled out by phase inversion. For the twisted lead they specify, use regular 300 ohm flat television lead, as found at Radio Shack. This antenna, as I built it, does amazing things, and is almost static free even at broadcast frequencies.

I'll post the link in a moment. At any rate, you can, and will pick up interferance from time to time from ground connections. Sometimes computers can send interferance to the radio, or televisions, or any number of things. The trick is to balance the antenna so that local interferance is cancelled out by phase inversion. Attaching your radio to a thin long wire, and then the other side to ground, or attaching your radio simply to ground, in the case of a loop antenna, is not a balanced circuit. It will receive things well, but it'll receive everything. .....Now, go to the link in my next message.

Thomas

Here's the link:

http://www.nostalgiaair.org/PagesByModel/273/M0008273.pdf

Thomas, I read you input on antennas and I'm still in the dark. I get a lot of static on AM no matter how I configure my antenna. I remember when I was 10 and had a radio shack crystal radio with only a wire to my radiator, a tuning cap and a diode with a earphone and this was amazing to me that I picked up local stations. Sure there are so many factors that cause interference/hum on AM including TV, Microwave ovens, transmission lines, etc. I have radios from all different eras (30's, 40's, 50's 60's and 70's) and they all pick up the same static on certain frequencies (mainly between 700-900khz). The closer I lived to the transmitter, the less static I received. Have also found that the same radio in one room works better in another. I have several types of antennas and I cannot get away from noise/static. I tried grounding the GROUND lead, left it open, reversing polority to the set, etc. I see what you're saying about a balanced antenna circuit and have yet to try this (I will and I hope it works). I have found that some radios receive better than others especially at certain frequencies for whatever reason I don't know yet. On my bench, I have had radios that receive a certain station in my area VERY WELL but others don't. THat same radio will receive other stations weak with a lot of static but the other unit is better at these frequencies (with the same antenna). I have noticed that more modern radios (although they also get static) do recieve somewhat better but even these units have a lot of static. It may be the distance from the transmitter (I'm about 30 miles)and the factors around my home. I know this is why AM is dead but I want to have an antenna that will perform with the least amount of interference so I can listen to my AM sets clearly.
Joe Ferris
:I was going to say this earlier, but I was hoping someone else could come up with a much more technical explanation that I am able to come up with. Simply said, though, when you ground your radio, you are attaching it to ground, but we all forget that actually "ground" is part of the antenna circuit. When you erect a wire for the old radios that require external antennas, with battery sets, a ground is almost required. With AC sets, the ground is reached through a condenser, or through the capacitance of the transformer. At any rate, ground is attached to the other side of the antenna primary, whether through the chassis or through a ground wire. Signals alternate back and forth through the antenna primary from the antenna wire, through the coil, then to ground, and then, when the current reverses, as it does so millions of times a second (let's say 900 kc, for example), it reverses and flows from ground through the coil, and then out the antenna.
:
:That said, interferance can and will be picked up by your ground, no matter what it is, as ground (the earth) is actually the other side of your antenna. If you would like static free reception at all wave lengths, disconnect your antenna primary from any ground connections (even if it is a loop antenna). Design the V-Doublet antenna that General Electric used to sell, and attach this to your radio. One side of the antenna is attached to one side of the coil in your radio, and the other side of the antenna is attached to the other side of the coil. The antenna is balanced on both sides, and usually local interferance that is received by the antenna is cancelled out by phase inversion. For the twisted lead they specify, use regular 300 ohm flat television lead, as found at Radio Shack. This antenna, as I built it, does amazing things, and is almost static free even at broadcast frequencies.
:
:I'll post the link in a moment. At any rate, you can, and will pick up interferance from time to time from ground connections. Sometimes computers can send interferance to the radio, or televisions, or any number of things. The trick is to balance the antenna so that local interferance is cancelled out by phase inversion. Attaching your radio to a thin long wire, and then the other side to ground, or attaching your radio simply to ground, in the case of a loop antenna, is not a balanced circuit. It will receive things well, but it'll receive everything. .....Now, go to the link in my next message.
:
:Thomas

If you are using an AC radio, purchase two of those ferrite chokes that Radio Shack sells. They are sticks of ferrite material about a little more than an inch long and about a quarter of an inch in diameter. Wire something around 24 gauge is wound around them. Install one on each side of the line cord. Place two .01 MFD condensers in series across the AC line before and after the chokes. Experiment. Connect where they join to the chassis. Disconnect it. Try this for the ones before and then after the chokes. Then try removing the condensers either before or after the chokes. Usually removing the ones before eliminates the most static, but not always. When you put these chokes on the AC cord, though, you filter out your ground connection through the AC cord. Reception will be poorer. You will absolutely need a ground connection to a radiator pipe or something similar. This should reduce static, though.

Also, if you're using a radio which has its own antenna, using an external antenna will improve things. Using external antennas limits radio location, though. This can be very inconvenient for a radio collector.

With AC-DC radios you may put chokes and condensers on the line cord as stated above. Your loop antenna must have a primary winding which isn't directly connected to the line cord, though. One side of this must be connected to a radiator pipe and the other must be connected to an external antenna. When you put the chokes on the line cord, you'll filter out static, but you'll also filter out radio reception. Getting another ground source for an AC-DC radio is a bit more difficult. If your antenna doesn't have this primary coil, you can make one, but otherwise you may be out of luck. If you wish to make a primary coil for a loop antenna, depending upon its construction, fix one or two turns of wire around the outside diameter of the loop.

You must go around your home and unplug everything, one by one, until you find your source of static. It may be a neighbor, especially if you live in an apartment building. Computers and computer power supplies, computer power strips, etc., cause a lot of interference. Those under the cabinet halogen lamps, when equipped with the touch capacitance operated dimmer, create a ton of static. Fluorescent lamps, microwaves, televisions, blenders, and all sorts of other stuff create static. Blenders and microwaves aren't much of a problem, though, because they aren't often in use.

Thomas

Hi Joe,
I don't want to cut in on Thomas but I'll tell you what I do to help reduce static. This does not have anything to do with correcting those problems of interference as mentioned or different antennas tho they could be the sole cause of static. I believe radios are more susceptible to these interferences when the tuning condenser is dirty. So I wash them. And it does work very well most of the time. You get better reception and lots time no static even with offending appliances on. I have a 1936 Fada about six feet from this computer, used to have static until I did my wash job. It still acts crazy when I turn on the digital camera. But so does everything else.

Get some windex, paper towels, and some match book thickness paper. Carefully place paper towels under and around tuning condenser. Open the condenser, spray windex on the condenser. Stay away from the trimmers. You don't need to flood it. Maybe remove wet towels, replace towels, spray again. Fully mesh, do again. Windex is strong enough to cut dust or dirt off the condenser. After all there should only be air between the plates. Take your paper and work between the open plates absorbing moisture and grime. Don't bend the plates. After you could use some low psi air here. Repack the bearings too. May not sound right but it works in a lot of cases for me.

Bill VA

:Thomas, I read you input on antennas and I'm still in the dark. I get a lot of static on AM no matter how I configure my antenna. I remember when I was 10 and had a radio shack crystal radio with only a wire to my radiator, a tuning cap and a diode with a earphone and this was amazing to me that I picked up local stations. Sure there are so many factors that cause interference/hum on AM including TV, Microwave ovens, transmission lines, etc. I have radios from all different eras (30's, 40's, 50's 60's and 70's) and they all pick up the same static on certain frequencies (mainly between 700-900khz). The closer I lived to the transmitter, the less static I received. Have also found that the same radio in one room works better in another. I have several types of antennas and I cannot get away from noise/static. I tried grounding the GROUND lead, left it open, reversing polority to the set, etc. I see what you're saying about a balanced antenna circuit and have yet to try this (I will and I hope it works). I have found that some radios receive better than others especially at certain frequencies for whatever reason I don't know yet. On my bench, I have had radios that receive a certain station in my area VERY WELL but others don't. THat same radio will receive other stations weak with a lot of static but the other unit is better at these frequencies (with the same antenna). I have noticed that more modern radios (although they also get static) do recieve somewhat better but even these units have a lot of static. It may be the distance from the transmitter (I'm about 30 miles)and the factors around my home. I know this is why AM is dead but I want to have an antenna that will perform with the least amount of interference so I can listen to my AM sets clearly.
:Joe Ferris
::I was going to say this earlier, but I was hoping someone else could come up with a much more technical explanation that I am able to come up with. Simply said, though, when you ground your radio, you are attaching it to ground, but we all forget that actually "ground" is part of the antenna circuit. When you erect a wire for the old radios that require external antennas, with battery sets, a ground is almost required. With AC sets, the ground is reached through a condenser, or through the capacitance of the transformer. At any rate, ground is attached to the other side of the antenna primary, whether through the chassis or through a ground wire. Signals alternate back and forth through the antenna primary from the antenna wire, through the coil, then to ground, and then, when the current reverses, as it does so millions of times a second (let's say 900 kc, for example), it reverses and flows from ground through the coil, and then out the antenna.
::
::That said, interferance can and will be picked up by your ground, no matter what it is, as ground (the earth) is actually the other side of your antenna. If you would like static free reception at all wave lengths, disconnect your antenna primary from any ground connections (even if it is a loop antenna). Design the V-Doublet antenna that General Electric used to sell, and attach this to your radio. One side of the antenna is attached to one side of the coil in your radio, and the other side of the antenna is attached to the other side of the coil. The antenna is balanced on both sides, and usually local interferance that is received by the antenna is cancelled out by phase inversion. For the twisted lead they specify, use regular 300 ohm flat television lead, as found at Radio Shack. This antenna, as I built it, does amazing things, and is almost static free even at broadcast frequencies.
::
::I'll post the link in a moment. At any rate, you can, and will pick up interferance from time to time from ground connections. Sometimes computers can send interferance to the radio, or televisions, or any number of things. The trick is to balance the antenna so that local interferance is cancelled out by phase inversion. Attaching your radio to a thin long wire, and then the other side to ground, or attaching your radio simply to ground, in the case of a loop antenna, is not a balanced circuit. It will receive things well, but it'll receive everything. .....Now, go to the link in my next message.
::
::Thomas

Interesting. I will have to try that. When I wash a condenser, I take it out of the radio and pressure wash them after soaking it in laundry detergent. I do this by squeezing the end of the water hose shut so that it sprays hard. You don't want a super hard spray, or you'll bend plates. Using super hot water cleans things well, though. Then I bake it dry in the oven at about 170 degrees. I let the oven get up to temperature once or twice. Then, when the flame or element (gas or electric stove) goes out, I turn off the control and just let the condenser sit in the remaining warmth for about a half hour.

Sometimes with very dirty and grimy condensers, I wash them in mineral spirits or gasoline, and then I do the normal wash. Once washed with soap and water, they are ready for the oven. Of course if the gasoline or mineral spirits was not washed off, things could get quite explosive.

Never literally bake a condenser. You can melt solder connections and damage fiber support pieces. Some pot metal frames can be damaged as well.

For the ball bearings I use servo grease or di-electric grease. The latter may be found at an automotive store.

I have never noticed a reduction in static when I do this, so I will have pay attention the next time I do this. It sounds like a great idea, though. I've noticed a sensitivity increase sometimes, so it's always a good idea to have a clean tuning condenser anyway. Dirt and grime causes leakage.

Thomas

Thomas, You have WAY too much time on your hands........I usually just blow the tuning caps with compressed air to clear the dust. I was about to attempt what Bill VA suggested today but didn't have anything except paper towels. WHat I did discover working on the old radio is that I am a great antenna. When I hold onto the end of my antenna, I can recieve many stations but my wife doesn't want me to spend weekends in the attic holding the wire. On a serious note, I do have a lot of grime in the caps from 65+ years of sitting in who knows what environments and will attempt to clean them and will let you know the results. As far as the bearings, I usually use 3 in one oil, just a drop. Is that bad?? Nothing like getting an old radio working, such a RUSH.
Joe Ferris

:Interesting. I will have to try that. When I wash a condenser, I take it out of the radio and pressure wash them after soaking it in laundry detergent. I do this by squeezing the end of the water hose shut so that it sprays hard. You don't want a super hard spray, or you'll bend plates. Using super hot water cleans things well, though. Then I bake it dry in the oven at about 170 degrees. I let the oven get up to temperature once or twice. Then, when the flame or element (gas or electric stove) goes out, I turn off the control and just let the condenser sit in the remaining warmth for about a half hour.
:
:Sometimes with very dirty and grimy condensers, I wash them in mineral spirits or gasoline, and then I do the normal wash. Once washed with soap and water, they are ready for the oven. Of course if the gasoline or mineral spirits was not washed off, things could get quite explosive.
:
:Never literally bake a condenser. You can melt solder connections and damage fiber support pieces. Some pot metal frames can be damaged as well.
:
:For the ball bearings I use servo grease or di-electric grease. The latter may be found at an automotive store.
:
:I have never noticed a reduction in static when I do this, so I will have pay attention the next time I do this. It sounds like a great idea, though. I've noticed a sensitivity increase sometimes, so it's always a good idea to have a clean tuning condenser anyway. Dirt and grime causes leakage.
:
:Thomas

Well, I don't have a lot of time on my hands, but I do have a lot of radios waiting for my attention. Maybe in a few years.

Thomas

Thomas,
I worked on FM transmitters for over 20 years and you could always cut an antenna for peak performance (formula) and always worked to PEAK. AM (even though it's old) is kinda new to me and trying to get it right is taking some time. Really appreciate all the great input I got here from all of you here. I will be experimenting with all of the ideas I have read and when I get it right, I will sure post it. I LOVE this site.....

Joe Ferris

:Well, I don't have a lot of time on my hands, but I do have a lot of radios waiting for my attention. Maybe in a few years.
:
:Thomas

:Thomas, You have WAY too much time on your hands........I usually just blow the tuning caps with compressed air to clear the dust. I was about to attempt what Bill VA suggested today but didn't have anything except paper towels. WHat I did discover working on the old radio is that I am a great antenna. When I hold onto the end of my antenna, I can recieve many stations but my wife doesn't want me to spend weekends in the attic holding the wire. On a serious note, I do have a lot of grime in the caps from 65+ years of sitting in who knows what environments and will attempt to clean them and will let you know the results. As far as the bearings, I usually use 3 in one oil, just a drop. Is that bad?? Nothing like getting an old radio working, such a RUSH.
:Joe Ferris
:
::Interesting. I will have to try that. When I wash a condenser, I take it out of the radio and pressure wash them after soaking it in laundry detergent. I do this by squeezing the end of the water hose shut so that it sprays hard. You don't want a super hard spray, or you'll bend plates. Using super hot water cleans things well, though. Then I bake it dry in the oven at about 170 degrees. I let the oven get up to temperature once or twice. Then, when the flame or element (gas or electric stove) goes out, I turn off the control and just let the condenser sit in the remaining warmth for about a half hour.
::
::Sometimes with very dirty and grimy condensers, I wash them in mineral spirits or gasoline, and then I do the normal wash. Once washed with soap and water, they are ready for the oven. Of course if the gasoline or mineral spirits was not washed off, things could get quite explosive.
::
::Never literally bake a condenser. You can melt solder connections and damage fiber support pieces. Some pot metal frames can be damaged as well.
::
::For the ball bearings I use servo grease or di-electric grease. The latter may be found at an automotive store.
::
::I have never noticed a reduction in static when I do this, so I will have pay attention the next time I do this. It sounds like a great idea, though. I've noticed a sensitivity increase sometimes, so it's always a good idea to have a clean tuning condenser anyway. Dirt and grime causes leakage.
::
::Thomas

::Thomas, You have WAY too much time on your hands........I usually just blow the tuning caps with compressed air to clear the dust. I was about to attempt what Bill VA suggested today but didn't have anything except paper towels. WHat I did discover working on the old radio is that I am a great antenna. When I hold onto the end of my antenna, I can recieve many stations but my wife doesn't want me to spend weekends in the attic holding the wire. On a serious note, I do have a lot of grime in the caps from 65+ years of sitting in who knows what environments and will attempt to clean them and will let you know the results. As far as the bearings, I usually use 3 in one oil, just a drop. Is that bad?? Nothing like getting an old radio working, such a RUSH.
::Joe Ferris
::
:::Interesting. I will have to try that. When I wash a condenser, I take it out of the radio and pressure wash them after soaking it in laundry detergent. I do this by squeezing the end of the water hose shut so that it sprays hard. You don't want a super hard spray, or you'll bend plates. Using super hot water cleans things well, though. Then I bake it dry in the oven at about 170 degrees. I let the oven get up to temperature once or twice. Then, when the flame or element (gas or electric stove) goes out, I turn off the control and just let the condenser sit in the remaining warmth for about a half hour.
:::
:::Sometimes with very dirty and grimy condensers, I wash them in mineral spirits or gasoline, and then I do the normal wash. Once washed with soap and water, they are ready for the oven. Of course if the gasoline or mineral spirits was not washed off, things could get quite explosive.
:::
:::Never literally bake a condenser. You can melt solder connections and damage fiber support pieces. Some pot metal frames can be damaged as well.
:::
:::For the ball bearings I use servo grease or di-electric grease. The latter may be found at an automotive store.
:::
:::I have never noticed a reduction in static when I do this, so I will have pay attention the next time I do this. It sounds like a great idea, though. I've noticed a sensitivity increase sometimes, so it's always a good idea to have a clean tuning condenser anyway. Dirt and grime causes leakage.
:::
:::Thomas Hello everyone--I had a tuning cap. that did not respind to compressed air or the appl. of AC thru a variac and limiting resistor of about 600 v.-it just kept arcing/sparking as if it had hundreds of miniscule metallic particles on plates. I removed it and cleaned it im my ultrasonic cleaner, rinsed/dried and re-lubed ti. It is fine now.
Harold

Bill,
Did clean the plates (amazing how much dirt builds up on them) but in this case, didn't improve any performance. Guess the static is just from all the electricity/appliances, etc. Tunes nice though on the stong channels. I went to Radio Shack for a roll of 300ohm cable (I always hated that store). Was amazed that they no longer sell the 300-in-one kits or ANY kits to experiment with like when I was a kid (in the '70's). They didn't stock the cable BUT they could order it for me (yeah right). They barely stock ANYTHING for the electronics enthusiest anymore. I still want to try this antenna Thomas recommended. To do this, I guess I would have to disconnect the ground from the chassis (to the input coil). Really sparked my curiosity.
Joe Ferris

:Hi Joe,
:I don't want to cut in on Thomas but I'll tell you what I do to help reduce static. This does not have anything to do with correcting those problems of interference as mentioned or different antennas tho they could be the sole cause of static. I believe radios are more susceptible to these interferences when the tuning condenser is dirty. So I wash them. And it does work very well most of the time. You get better reception and lots time no static even with offending appliances on. I have a 1936 Fada about six feet from this computer, used to have static until I did my wash job. It still acts crazy when I turn on the digital camera. But so does everything else.
:
:Get some windex, paper towels, and some match book thickness paper. Carefully place paper towels under and around tuning condenser. Open the condenser, spray windex on the condenser. Stay away from the trimmers. You don't need to flood it. Maybe remove wet towels, replace towels, spray again. Fully mesh, do again. Windex is strong enough to cut dust or dirt off the condenser. After all there should only be air between the plates. Take your paper and work between the open plates absorbing moisture and grime. Don't bend the plates. After you could use some low psi air here. Repack the bearings too. May not sound right but it works in a lot of cases for me.
:
:Bill VA
:
::Thomas, I read you input on antennas and I'm still in the dark. I get a lot of static on AM no matter how I configure my antenna. I remember when I was 10 and had a radio shack crystal radio with only a wire to my radiator, a tuning cap and a diode with a earphone and this was amazing to me that I picked up local stations. Sure there are so many factors that cause interference/hum on AM including TV, Microwave ovens, transmission lines, etc. I have radios from all different eras (30's, 40's, 50's 60's and 70's) and they all pick up the same static on certain frequencies (mainly between 700-900khz). The closer I lived to the transmitter, the less static I received. Have also found that the same radio in one room works better in another. I have several types of antennas and I cannot get away from noise/static. I tried grounding the GROUND lead, left it open, reversing polority to the set, etc. I see what you're saying about a balanced antenna circuit and have yet to try this (I will and I hope it works). I have found that some radios receive better than others especially at certain frequencies for whatever reason I don't know yet. On my bench, I have had radios that receive a certain station in my area VERY WELL but others don't. THat same radio will receive other stations weak with a lot of static but the other unit is better at these frequencies (with the same antenna). I have noticed that more modern radios (although they also get static) do recieve somewhat better but even these units have a lot of static. It may be the distance from the transmitter (I'm about 30 miles)and the factors around my home. I know this is why AM is dead but I want to have an antenna that will perform with the least amount of interference so I can listen to my AM sets clearly.
::Joe Ferris
:::I was going to say this earlier, but I was hoping someone else could come up with a much more technical explanation that I am able to come up with. Simply said, though, when you ground your radio, you are attaching it to ground, but we all forget that actually "ground" is part of the antenna circuit. When you erect a wire for the old radios that require external antennas, with battery sets, a ground is almost required. With AC sets, the ground is reached through a condenser, or through the capacitance of the transformer. At any rate, ground is attached to the other side of the antenna primary, whether through the chassis or through a ground wire. Signals alternate back and forth through the antenna primary from the antenna wire, through the coil, then to ground, and then, when the current reverses, as it does so millions of times a second (let's say 900 kc, for example), it reverses and flows from ground through the coil, and then out the antenna.
:::
:::That said, interferance can and will be picked up by your ground, no matter what it is, as ground (the earth) is actually the other side of your antenna. If you would like static free reception at all wave lengths, disconnect your antenna primary from any ground connections (even if it is a loop antenna). Design the V-Doublet antenna that General Electric used to sell, and attach this to your radio. One side of the antenna is attached to one side of the coil in your radio, and the other side of the antenna is attached to the other side of the coil. The antenna is balanced on both sides, and usually local interferance that is received by the antenna is cancelled out by phase inversion. For the twisted lead they specify, use regular 300 ohm flat television lead, as found at Radio Shack. This antenna, as I built it, does amazing things, and is almost static free even at broadcast frequencies.
:::
:::I'll post the link in a moment. At any rate, you can, and will pick up interferance from time to time from ground connections. Sometimes computers can send interferance to the radio, or televisions, or any number of things. The trick is to balance the antenna so that local interferance is cancelled out by phase inversion. Attaching your radio to a thin long wire, and then the other side to ground, or attaching your radio simply to ground, in the case of a loop antenna, is not a balanced circuit. It will receive things well, but it'll receive everything. .....Now, go to the link in my next message.
:::
:::Thomas

My Radio Shack stocks the wire. Don't listen to anything those guys say. They're all morons. Just look for the flat brown twin lead wire. You can also try various hardware stores. Someone has to carry it. Maybe my Radio Shack stores are special. I think they suck, but they do carry a small variety of ceramic condensers capable of handling 400 volts, which is great for me!

You might be able to use fat lamp cord--wires are spaced slightly farther apart. The problem with bringing the wires too close together is signal loss due to excessive capacitance. Try fat lamp cord, though. Maybe it'll work. It's the kind that's used for most modern extension cords. Older ones used thin 16 or 20 gauge (I'm not sure which), with thinner insulation.

Thomas

Thomas,

I did have to go to 2 different stores in my area to get .1uF caps at 250V (One in one store, 2 in another). I DO miss the days where there were 4 different stores in my area that sold electronic components (caps/transistors/, etc.). Yes they ARE morons (at Radio Shack) which is why I said I HATE that store. When I was younger....say 20 years ago, I had this OLD LADY in the local radio shack that always said "if's it's not on the wall, we don't have it". Great customer service. I can get the wire from other suppliers, just want it NOW, not have to wait for Neuman (USPS) to deliver it.
Joe

:My Radio Shack stocks the wire. Don't listen to anything those guys say. They're all morons. Just look for the flat brown twin lead wire. You can also try various hardware stores. Someone has to carry it. Maybe my Radio Shack stores are special. I think they suck, but they do carry a small variety of ceramic condensers capable of handling 400 volts, which is great for me!
:
:You might be able to use fat lamp cord--wires are spaced slightly farther apart. The problem with bringing the wires too close together is signal loss due to excessive capacitance. Try fat lamp cord, though. Maybe it'll work. It's the kind that's used for most modern extension cords. Older ones used thin 16 or 20 gauge (I'm not sure which), with thinner insulation.
:
:Thomas

You may find it at an Ace Hardware or even a Home Depot type store. Quality of that 300 ohm stuff varies. I have some stuff here that uses a very stiff plastic with tiny wires... breaks if you look at it. I think the stuff I saw at Ace was of higher quality, but as I didn't buy any don't know for certain.
If you want to get exotic or fancy you could get some open wire ladder line. Compliments the "antique look". A ham radio dealer would likely have that.

I like thinking that if I do need a little electronic do-hiky thing or component from time to time I go to radio shack... my local one usually has some helpful well intended young 'dudes'... they initially may seem a little befuddled with my some-what exacting requests for parts that seem too esoteric for their experience... however for the most part they respect my knowledge and have a little fun by digging around the parts bins ad opening packages and fiddling with testing and trying things right there on the counter.
As an example, I bought a true rms multimeter that has a temperature probe which I know was far from calibrated... so they glady took probes from other meters as we dunked them in ice water and tested body temp ...and willingly swaped things about to please me.
If they know me they enjoy (or they humour me)it when I come in and I always have a little fun joking with them.
I just found out yesterday that Radio Shack has begun phasing out all discrete components.
So..I'll miss it... however I have long ago weaned myself by getting used to ordering online for all serious component needs. I guess they see how little value the parts bins have in bringing in profit for the floor space they take up.
Progress and profits... such is today's life.

When you say you're connecting the ground wire to your "water heaters" (plural), I'm scratching my head. Do you mean your domestic water heater or a radiator?

Today, domestic water heaters usually are piped up with insulating bushings on the inlet and outlet lines to avoid galvanic corrosion, in which case the hot water heater would not be grounded.

What I said applies to a gas-fired hot water heater. If it were electric, then the whole thing would have to be grounded, i.e., wired back to the neutral bus at the home's electric service panel.

And as far as thinking a water (heating supply, or hot water or other) pipe is a good ground nowadays you've always got to consider teflon tape on threaded joints... and plastic now used everywhere...So I wouldn't consider it a good 'ground' at any point except the actual entry point providing it comes in from under ground via copper pipe.

Well in my case a fifty year old house ALL of the pipes are ground with no teflon or PVC. I get nothing but MORE noise when connecting to EARTH ground. I see your point about newer homes and not being a good earth ground. Too cold to try the THOMAS method. I guess when these radios were designed there wasn't as much interference.

JOe

:And as far as thinking a water (heating supply, or hot water or other) pipe is a good ground nowadays you've always got to consider teflon tape on threaded joints... and plastic now used everywhere...So I wouldn't consider it a good 'ground' at any point except the actual entry point providing it comes in from under ground via copper pipe.