Part 8

For the “aërial” get three or four hundred feet of wire--No. 16 galvanized wire will do, though aluminum or copper wire is better--some insulator knobs, and two cross spreaders three feet long. The parallel wires in the aërial should be at least two feet apart, and the aërial should be placed as high as possible so that surrounding buildings, etc., will not interfere with the wireless wave. The bare wires, wherever they are fastened to poles or trees must, of course, be wound around insulators. For a ground connection, fasten an ordinary insulated wire to a water pipe or to a piece of iron pipe sunk five feet in damp ground. A safety switch may be made, like the drawing, from a piece of wood six inches square and an inch thick, a piece of stiff brass three inches long and a half inch wide, and three round-headed brass screws.

This completes the separate parts of the receiving apparatus. To connect it up for use, follow the circuit diagram. One wire from the aërial leads through the safety switch to the tuning coil. From the tuning coil carry an insulated wire to the detector, and from the detector to the ground. The receiver has two wires leading from it--one to a point between the detector and the tuning coil, and the other to a similar point between the detector and the ground. When not in use the aërial should be connected directly with the ground by means of the safety switch. Where two wires are connected they must of course have the insulation scraped off so that bare wire rests against bare wire.

When you have learned to translate your messages you will be able to do quite a bit of wireless eavesdropping, and your receiver will click with countless messages.

THE END

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:

Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.

Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.

Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.

Archaic or alternate spelling that may have been in use at the time of publication has been retained.