Using the telephone line as an aerial

stereo_steve

I love the radio station energy94, but where I live the signal isn't so great. I only have a crappy excuse of a small wire as my aerial. It doesn't sound great.

I know if I put an aerial on my roof it would sound alot better but I'm broke and it was also be alot of hassel going up on the roof.
So what I was thinking was, could i use the phone line as an aerial. I know that there are two wires not being used in the phone wire. Could I use the one that doesn't supply the power? (There is a phone socket just behind my hi-fi) I was thinking that this must help the signal, a much bigger aerial!

The reason I'm posting the message here is, does anyone know much about the phone line? Could any current come down the line that might damage my hi-fi? Or am I just being completely stupid thinking of this?

Inspector Gadget

Originally posted by stereo_steve
I love the radio station energy94, but where I live the signal isn't so great. I only have a crappy excuse of a small wire as my aerial. It doesn't sound great.

I know if I put an aerial on my roof it would sound alot better but I'm broke and it was also be alot of hassel going up on the roof.
So what I was thinking was, could i use the phone line as an aerial. I know that there are two wires not being used in the phone wire. Could I use the one that doesn't supply the power? (There is a phone socket just behind my hi-fi) I was thinking that this must help the signal, a much bigger aerial!

The reason I'm posting the message here is, does anyone know much about the phone line? Could any current come down the line that might damage my hi-fi? Or am I just being completely stupid thinking of this?

I doubt it. It's likely that interference from the phone line itself (EM field from live phone line will be thousands of times stronger than the radio station's as it's so close to the aerial) would be enought to kill it.

Sorry...
Gadget

stereo_steve

Wow! That was quick!

Your probably right but do you know would it be safe to try?

Inspector Gadget

Originally posted by stereo_steve
Wow! That was quick!

Your probably right but do you know would it be safe to try?

As long as the phone cable is intact, and any wire you expose doesn't touch the (exposed) actual phone line wires, you should be fine...

...however, radio tuners are designed based on the antenna being a certain fixed length; your radio's tuner probably won't be able to make the most of it any (big rigs that use lengths of wire as an aerial actually come with separate antenna tuners (the one with the Icom at home is the size of a VCR) as well as the radio's tuner that tune the aerial to suit your chosen frequency)

Gadget

stereo_steve

Doesn't sound too promising then I'll connect it up and see what happens.

Thanks for the help gadget