What is the wire?

[Peter Louis]

Saw these kinds of wire a few times. Is it a low Voltage wire ? Thanks

[Speedy Petey]

That is one end of an FM radio dipole antenna.

- - - Updated - - -

28631

[Jeff Langhorn]

It catches frequency modulated radio signals from space:D

[John Kogel]

It catches frequency modulated radio signals from space:D
The length is critical to good reception, but also, it should face the station. For signals from space, any direction works good, but remember to wear your foil cap. :biggrin:

[Mike Clarke]

For anyone not old enough to remember.
That is premolded dipole antenna made from balanced twin-lead antenna wiring.
Twin lead wire use to be the norm before coax became common place, which coax in considered unbalanced.

[Harry Freeman]

Saw these kinds of wire a few times. Is it a low Voltage wire ? Thanks

TV Antenna wire

[Speedy Petey]

TV Antenna wireUm...no, it's a dipole FM radio antenna.

[Bob Burke]

FM antenna wire. I've got my old stereo receiver with this kind of antenna sitting 20 feet from me as I write this.

[Michael P. O'Handley]

Jeez, I feel old reading this post.

I don't think I ever saw one of those fancy little FM antenna like that until I was in my 20's.

Yeah, it's an FM entenna but when I was a kid we just took a length of TV antenna wire, nutted the ends together, split part of it and hooked it up to whatever radio we had and ran it out to the nearest tree.

No measuring - nothing scientific - just cut a long section, string it up, hook it up and then play with moving it around and changing the shape to get better reception.

I suppose none of you have never made a crystal radio either?

Mike O'Handley
Kenmore, Washington

[Mike Clarke]

Jeez, I feel old reading this post.

I don't think I ever saw one of those fancy little FM antenna like that until I was in my 20's.

Yeah, it's an FM entenna but when I was a kid we just took a length of TV antenna wire, nutted the ends together, split part of it and hooked it up to whatever radio we had and ran it out to the nearest tree.

No measuring - nothing scientific - just cut a long section, string it up, hook it up and then play with moving it around and changing the shape to get better reception.

I suppose none of you have never made a crystal radio either?

Mike O'Handley
Kenmore, Washington

Made my first crystal radio when I was around 8 or 9.
Also later had a receiver able to pick up about any frequently on most bands back then, remember stringing up the wire between the house from my bedroom window to a nearby utility pole for the antenna.
I later had a shortwave antenna in the attic.
We use to make our own dipole antenna out of the twin-lead too. Wasn't until later years I would see them pre-made. But use to use the twin lead wire all the time from the outside antenna to the TV set before coax.

[Welmoed Sisson]

I suppose none of you have never made a crystal radio either?


I built a transistor radio from a Radio Shack kit back in the early 70s. Then when I was in college, I took a class called "Engineering for non-engineers" mostly so I could understand what my boyfriend Bob* was talking about. In some of the labs we were handed breadboards and piles of components to play with, and we ended up in competitions to see whose setup could produce the loudest, most obnoxious shriek.

*Now husband Bob

[Rick Cantrell]

I built a transistor radio from a Radio Shack kit back in the early 70s. Then when I was in college, I took a class called "Engineering for non-engineers" mostly so I could understand what my boyfriend Bob* was talking about. In some of the labs we were handed breadboards and piles of components to play with, and we ended up in competitions to see whose setup could produce the loudest, most obnoxious shriek.

*Now husband Bob
When my boys were young I bought them an electronics kit from RS.
It came with a book with about 30-40 projects.
Every time they completed a project I would give them some money, I think $5.
We also built several projects that were not in the book.
Had many hours of fun with my boys doing that.
I think I still have the kit somewhere.

[Jerry Peck]

I suppose none of you have never made a crystal radio either?

I made one ... a long time go ... strung the wire for the antenna around the attic, I could listen to radio broadcasts from all over with that thing - not necessarily 'crystal' clear, if you know what I mean.

[Rich Goeken]

I made one ... a long time go ... strung the wire for the antenna around the attic, I could listen to radio broadcasts from all over with that thing - not necessarily 'crystal' clear, if you know what I mean.

There is nothing like the experience of building a "crystal" radio from scratch, hanging the wire antenna from trees, putting the "cat whisker" on the crystal-----and hearing voices and music without using any power! What a rush!

[Sam Bittinger]

[QUOTE=Speedy Petey;225154]That is one end of an FM radio dipole antenna.

- - - Updated - - -

28631
That antennae wire is still supplied with radio intercoms from Broan, Nutone and Music and Sound to name a few.

[jakson]

Generally low voltage does not require a heavy gauge wire to safely conduct the current. Most of these wires are range from the diameter of a human hair up to about three or four times that size. With low voltage wires, you can usually do anything that you require with it without worrying about being electrocuted. Most low voltage wiring comes with some type of jack that allows users to plug them into whatever gizmo's they are adapted to serve.





Thank you..
Epackpolymers.com

[Jerry Peck]

Generally low voltage does not require a heavy gauge wire to safely conduct the current. Most of these wires are range from the diameter of a human hair up to about three or four times that size. With low voltage wires, you can usually do anything that you require with it without worrying about being electrocuted. Most low voltage wiring comes with some type of jack that allows users to plug them into whatever gizmo's they are adapted to serve.


I would not use the term "low voltage" and "does not require a heavy gauge wire to safely conduct the current". One example is a car battery, which is only 12 volts (definitely 'low voltage') but I seriously doubt that you would be able to start your car with a wire of the size you are describing, or even operate the radio with a wire that size ... a wire that size would be considered about a '1 amp fusible link' and would blow.

Same thing if you were to try to use a wire that size for a door bell transformer in a house, those are typically only 12 volts to 16 volts.

What you are describing is broadcast signal radio waves, entirely different than the normal/typical "low voltage".

[Raymond Wand]

When I was a kid, if it weren't for the holes in my pockets I would have had nothing to play with. ;)

[Jerry Peck]

When I was a kid, if it weren't for the holes in my pockets I would have had nothing to play with. ;)

You had pockets? :biggrin: