How to make a radio antenna?

Question

Electronics

In a book on radio electronics for beginners (Borisov), he got to the practical part, where you need to make a radio antenna. The author gives several options on how to make an antenna, of which I chose 2. The first is to hang an insulated wire above the ceiling and run 1 end of it to the future radio. The second is to use an electrical network (socket) as an antenna. In the 1st case, it will probably be necessary to attach the wire to something made of porcelain. In the 2nd case, you will need to buy a decoupling capacitor (which I cannot find on the Internet). And the 2nd case is more dangerous for me, because. there must be a fuse in the socket, but I don’t know if it is in my socket or not! In general, tell me the correct option please. I am new to electronics.

Answer 1

Judging by the description, you want to make a detector radio. Before starting assembly, make sure you have a LF radio station in your area. As far as I know, by now most of these radio stations have closed, so the receiver may not work even with a good antenna.
And do not try to use the socket as an antenna, maybe in Soviet times it made some sense, but now, due to the abundance of consumer electronics, you can only find a bunch of interference in the socket, but not a radio signal at all. Plus it's really dangerous!

Answer 2

You shouldn't do it from a socket :-) Use the First Method!

Answer 3

Never use a socket as a ground or antenna! In those years when Borisov's book was written, ideas about electrical safety were somewhat different.
Any sufficiently long wire (five meters) will do. And DV radio stations, indeed, are almost gone. Also, if you are making a detector receiver, you will need a ground connection. The classic option is heating pipes, but given that they are now often plastic, this may not work. Of course, the heating pipe is only suitable for the signal ground of the detector receiver. It is strictly forbidden to use communication pipes for protective grounding of electrical equipment (otherwise your neighbors may be electrocuted)!