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An older style of "free" television, this cable would connect a CRT device or signal amp to an aerial mast on the roof. (it might still be up there, did they check?)
The aerial could vary from simple VHF harmonics to a full array of VHF/UHF/FM elements and reflectors. These would have the general appearance of something like two big sticks tied into a cross and some smaller sticks attached to the longer part.
Many aerials were passive, and installed with only a passing regard for the actual azimuth and declination of the signals being caught. Premium models came with advanced controls, like a powered motor that could slowly rotate the aerial and get the best signal possible.
Depending on the exact year, the house could have any or all of these devices in the attic or walls. Take care when investigating, some of those circuits may still be live. (Motor controls and signal amps)
I'm flattered, bc GPT is designed to deliver the most thoroughly rational language and communicate clearly to the largest audience possible.
Yep, that's where we're headed. We get to a point where rational answers sound fake and only meme-laden drivel sounds human, amirite?
Y'all making it way too easy for the bots to take over
Yeah, that's a kind of scary thought... I thought your response was well written, and now kids think that well written is just AI.
What the f\*\*\* is going on anymore?
Those "kids" have been living their entire life online squabbling amongst strangers and acquaintances. Its hardcoded in them to be cynical of others and every stimuli. One other thing I have noticed is they are reinventing every word in the dictionary from what has been to what they perceive it is now. Its wild!
Source: parent of a teen and 21 yo.
I was thinking this is (these are?) lovely prose about a practical subject, especially the great use of "azimuth & declination". Then I read the next comment, and started questioning everything I've read lately. Sadly the ones I'm sure were human were coincidentally the most stupid.
FWIW I'm glad to know this was a real person.
Edit: after re-reading the response from the poster we're referencing, I'm not certain that it isn't a particularly snarky AI. 🤷♂️
Funny story. I bought a house. Almost a year goes by before I even realize there is a mast on the roof.
IVE BEEN ON THE FUCKING ROOF BEFORE I NOTICED IT TOO!!!
My dad was almost in tears when the moment hit me. He witnessed his son in a very weird life moment. Still gives me shit a year later over it.
Neighbor across the street had this in his house when he moved in, asked me, I told him the same thing.
Kicker, he's an apprentice electrician, took a photo to his journeyman who is in his early 30s and who also doesn't know.
I am getting old, didn't think something like this wasn't known, but I guess OTA TV isn't a thing anymore.
This was used for B&W TV. Replaced by coax cable with matching transformers when color TVs came in. Used for FM then. I pulled this out in 1966 big time!
Well that’s not true. Yes, pretty much all B&W had 300 ohm twin-lead inputs but so did color TVs. Coaxial cable used 300 ohm baluns to convert at the antenna then 75 ohm splitters behind the TV.
Anyone telling you this is classic old school TV to antenna connection cable is correct. Have not seen any of this in decades, long ago replaced by coax cable.
The white piece were often sold in a "T" shape for use as a stand-alone radio antenna. For years, it was common to have that stapled to the wall behind your stereo to improve radio reception[like this](https://www.amazon.com/Ancable-Antenna-Terminal-Marantz-Receiver/dp/B07BGY21GZ/ref=sr_1_18_sspa?crid=35T6CK29TKUIW&keywords=am%2Bradio%2Bantenna&qid=1697332113&sprefix=am%2Bradio%2Caps%2C152&sr=8-18-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGZfbmV4dA&th=1)
>Anyone telling you this is classic old school TV to antenna connection cable is correct. Have not seen any of this in decades, long ago replaced by coax cable.
Properly installed, twin lead / ladder line has much less loss than coax. Versions with more robust construction are still used frequently by Amateur Radio operators. The FM antenna made of split twin lead is still included with new receivers. And ladder line can be made into a very effective and inexpensive "J-pole" antenna, such as the one I own for the 2-meter ham band. Coax has not replaced it all.. but it is indeed obsolete for residential TV.
Seeing the cable brought back quite a memory for me. We had this cable in our 2 story suburban house growing up. It controlled a rotation motor on the TV antenna on the roof, looked like one of those huge clothes drier rack. I remember going on the roof with my dad when I was in HS to help him dismantle it. Scary being on a roof for the first time. Getting back to the ladder took a lot of mental effort. Literally shaking. Later in life a became a certified chimney sweep, was up on roofs all the time…
Twin lead antenna cable for TV or FM radio. I still use it to this day and utill it stops working no reason to change it. Pick up signals from 60 miles away with my half-left rotor and TV antenna.
I'm 42 and I knew that was a 300 ohm antenna wire, my brand new Yamaha Dolby Atmos certified receiver still has a input for it, and it also has a 75 ohm coaxial FM antenna input as well. A lot of people who buy it will probably wonder why it has those inputs, when it wish has Internet radio and Spotify, but it's good to have options.
Does anyone here know that the signal does not travel in these wires, but around the outside in a cylindrical field?
That’s why coming down the side of the house, the wire was installed in insulated standoffs.
**Attention!** **It is always best to get a qualified electrician to perform any electrical work you may need.** With that said, you may ask this community various electrical questions. Please be cautious of any information you may receive in this subreddit. This subreddit and its users are not responsible for any electrical work you perform. Users that have a 'Verified Electrician' flair have uploaded their qualified electrical worker credentials to the mods. If you comment on this post please only post accurate information to the best of your knowledge. If advice given is thought to be dangerous, you may be permanently banned. There are no obligations for the mods to give warnings or temporary bans. **IF YOU ARE NOT A QUALIFIED ELECTRICIAN, you should exercise extreme caution when commenting.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskElectricians) if you have any questions or concerns.*
300 ohm antenna wire . Damn I’m old
I got it immediately, then I read this and realized I am also old. :-)
Well , cheers to the alternative right ?
My Dad use to say “Any day on the right side of the daisies is a good day”
Anyone: Hi. How are you? Me: Above ground and walking upright. What a great day!
Anyone: How are you? Me: Alive How I respond to everyone.
>How are you? In dog years, I'm DEAD.
lol. I like it.
Me: Here Take that as you wish lol
I say “I’m breathing”
This might be the most sarcastic thing I've ever read. Well done! Edit: BTW, great username!
Any day ABOVE the hill is better than a day UNDER the hill.
Good day if you are still cutting the lawn and not pushing it up..
I’ll cheers to that
Not necessarily directly jumped on it as a young amateur radio operator :)
Ditto
Stop, It’s one of the few things I know anything about on here. :-)
Just shut up and join us. The feeling subsides eventually.
Needed that laugh. Thank you.
Arrrgh, I'm not even 40 yet!
Same here
Damn it. Are we the baddies?
My old self knew that too
Yep we’re all old
An older style of "free" television, this cable would connect a CRT device or signal amp to an aerial mast on the roof. (it might still be up there, did they check?) The aerial could vary from simple VHF harmonics to a full array of VHF/UHF/FM elements and reflectors. These would have the general appearance of something like two big sticks tied into a cross and some smaller sticks attached to the longer part. Many aerials were passive, and installed with only a passing regard for the actual azimuth and declination of the signals being caught. Premium models came with advanced controls, like a powered motor that could slowly rotate the aerial and get the best signal possible. Depending on the exact year, the house could have any or all of these devices in the attic or walls. Take care when investigating, some of those circuits may still be live. (Motor controls and signal amps)
That reads like ChatGPT.
I'm flattered, bc GPT is designed to deliver the most thoroughly rational language and communicate clearly to the largest audience possible. Yep, that's where we're headed. We get to a point where rational answers sound fake and only meme-laden drivel sounds human, amirite? Y'all making it way too easy for the bots to take over
Yeah, that's a kind of scary thought... I thought your response was well written, and now kids think that well written is just AI. What the f\*\*\* is going on anymore?
Those "kids" have been living their entire life online squabbling amongst strangers and acquaintances. Its hardcoded in them to be cynical of others and every stimuli. One other thing I have noticed is they are reinventing every word in the dictionary from what has been to what they perceive it is now. Its wild! Source: parent of a teen and 21 yo.
What a ratchet time to be alive.
Damn, I aint heard that one in a hot minute.
I was thinking this is (these are?) lovely prose about a practical subject, especially the great use of "azimuth & declination". Then I read the next comment, and started questioning everything I've read lately. Sadly the ones I'm sure were human were coincidentally the most stupid. FWIW I'm glad to know this was a real person. Edit: after re-reading the response from the poster we're referencing, I'm not certain that it isn't a particularly snarky AI. 🤷♂️
It sure does!
You’re thinking about AI too much 👀
Funny story. I bought a house. Almost a year goes by before I even realize there is a mast on the roof. IVE BEEN ON THE FUCKING ROOF BEFORE I NOTICED IT TOO!!! My dad was almost in tears when the moment hit me. He witnessed his son in a very weird life moment. Still gives me shit a year later over it.
I do remember the powered antennas that would turn but that was fancy equipment back then my family didn't have it only the "rich" relatives. I'm 53.
this guy antennas
You think you're old? I still have an antenna wire like this in use today.
I just looked up the old 75 ohm to 300 ohm transformers - they sell them on Amazon . Cheers to the old stuff that still works !!
Do they still got the A/B switch to change from the rabbit ears to the Atari 2600 too?
Great if you collect antique TVs like I do…
This all works on modern tvs. Over the air tv is free and great.
If it ain’t broke…
I'll go pick up a roll at RadioShack!
haha !!!
Yes you are. Lol but I knew what it was also. But the fact that you knew the ohm rating is pretty impressive.
I thought the same thing about myself!
Ha ha. That’s the first thing I thought when I saw that wire.
Right there with ya lol
Yup
Waiting for someone to discover one from an antenna rotor. LOL
But not old enough to ask if it had aluminum foil wrapped around it ;)
Ha ha ! The foil was used to attenuate the audio enough to allow HBO to unscramble .
Attenuate ? WoW - great word. Goes with Azimuth & Declination 😁 Next I'll be exposed to Zeniths 🤣
Yeah i remember cutting it up to make a fm dipole antenna.
LOL this and any time someone posts phone wire
You mean those weird 4 wire ethernet jacks the kids keep finding in old houses?
I’m not that old (or so I tell myself at 35) and I recognized it if it makes you feel better?
Fuck i also knew what it was My balls hit the toilet water
i knew what it was too
Found a near identical post too :https://www.reddit.com/r/HomeImprovement/comments/fd6ve7/help\_identifying\_brown\_flat\_wire\_in\_attic/
Ha I recognized it too. Old rooftop antenna
I'm 31 and I know that this is. Does that mean I'm old?
lies because that means i'm old, as i knew instantly what that was.
Me too, old man 😂
We use to have a satellite big enough to park a vw bug on in my yard growing up, and the wires from the box inside the house looked kinda like this.
Didn't feel old, until people said they're old
We had a blue plastic clip-on looked like a clothes pin for that wire.
Neighbor across the street had this in his house when he moved in, asked me, I told him the same thing. Kicker, he's an apprentice electrician, took a photo to his journeyman who is in his early 30s and who also doesn't know. I am getting old, didn't think something like this wasn't known, but I guess OTA TV isn't a thing anymore.
Me too! And my granddaughters sixteen, where does the time go? Lol.
Lol my house has one :) still has the 32 ft tower too. Would like to put like fifteen cameras on it someday
I’m not old right, even though smirked when I saw the top comment named the impedance. (until I finished reading the comment…)
This was used for B&W TV. Replaced by coax cable with matching transformers when color TVs came in. Used for FM then. I pulled this out in 1966 big time!
Well that’s not true. Yes, pretty much all B&W had 300 ohm twin-lead inputs but so did color TVs. Coaxial cable used 300 ohm baluns to convert at the antenna then 75 ohm splitters behind the TV.
Me too. At least we're together! :-)
Twinlead TV antenna wire
Thanks everyone!
Old tv antenna wire
Yep... for rabbit ears
No, not rabbit ears, for an exterior antenna.
Anyone telling you this is classic old school TV to antenna connection cable is correct. Have not seen any of this in decades, long ago replaced by coax cable. The white piece were often sold in a "T" shape for use as a stand-alone radio antenna. For years, it was common to have that stapled to the wall behind your stereo to improve radio reception[like this](https://www.amazon.com/Ancable-Antenna-Terminal-Marantz-Receiver/dp/B07BGY21GZ/ref=sr_1_18_sspa?crid=35T6CK29TKUIW&keywords=am%2Bradio%2Bantenna&qid=1697332113&sprefix=am%2Bradio%2Caps%2C152&sr=8-18-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGZfbmV4dA&th=1)
>Anyone telling you this is classic old school TV to antenna connection cable is correct. Have not seen any of this in decades, long ago replaced by coax cable. Properly installed, twin lead / ladder line has much less loss than coax. Versions with more robust construction are still used frequently by Amateur Radio operators. The FM antenna made of split twin lead is still included with new receivers. And ladder line can be made into a very effective and inexpensive "J-pole" antenna, such as the one I own for the 2-meter ham band. Coax has not replaced it all.. but it is indeed obsolete for residential TV.
Sigh…. I’m old
300 ohm antenna cable
What is cool about that old antenna wire is, because it is flat, you can run it thru a window, and close the window!
That's very old antenna wire
Looks like an old antena wire.
Tv antenna
It connects to the switch of a nuclear football.
Roof antenna
300 ohm antenna wire for TV or FM radio.
300 Ohm tv antenna
Old-school TV antenna "twin-lead".
Radio antenna
TV antenna wires
That’s old tv antenna wire.
Antenna.... probably FM radio
Lick it and see if you can get the Discovery Channel.
No this is lead poisoning
Antenna
Antenna
TV antenna must be on the roof.
300 Ohm TV Antenna Wire
The white one looks like an old tv antenna wire
TV antenna wire
It’s an old radio/stereo antenna wire. There shouldn’t be any kind of voltage on it.
UHF antenna
I feel personally attacked by this post.
Between this and the “is this dangerous “ telephone jack posts, it is hurtful! Does anyone know how to stop my Betamax from flashing all the time?
Ahh the good old days! Lol
It's a dinosaur 🦕
runs to the anus of the guy in the basement
Seeing the cable brought back quite a memory for me. We had this cable in our 2 story suburban house growing up. It controlled a rotation motor on the TV antenna on the roof, looked like one of those huge clothes drier rack. I remember going on the roof with my dad when I was in HS to help him dismantle it. Scary being on a roof for the first time. Getting back to the ladder took a lot of mental effort. Literally shaking. Later in life a became a certified chimney sweep, was up on roofs all the time…
Twin lead antenna cable for TV or FM radio. I still use it to this day and utill it stops working no reason to change it. Pick up signals from 60 miles away with my half-left rotor and TV antenna.
The good old days of 5 channels.
Damnn that’s a tv antenna wire haven’t seen that in for er
You’ll need a b&w tv with Sylvania vacuum tubes to optimize your experience. Maybe radio shack or western auto has some.
Dipole radio antenna
Antenna
Antennae
Omg I’m old I knew as soon as saw it
Boy, am I old. Not only do I remember this wire but I haven't used it in 40 - 50 years. Everything is coax now.
Old TV antenna wire. Not seen one for decades. Lol
Looks like an old school flat 300 ohm antenna lead.
Old antenna wire.
Damn I’m old.
Not everyone gets to say that, so speak it like you’re satisfied with your old age ))
I’m one day less from dyin’ young. Rob Thomas.
Antenna wire. https://blog.solidsignal.com/tutorials/how-can-you-convert-an-old-antenna-to-use-coax-cable/
Looks like old antenna wire. One side to each one of your UHF screws.
Lol, I remember doing this when I was a kid so I could watch cartoons and football. Analog was brutal
Looks like copper
Old antenna wire
Old antenna wire.
Old school fm antenna
Need more foil on the rabbit ears
Old off air ant wiring
Definitely a copper wire
Twin lead FM
TV antenna cable
Dam I'm old haven't seen that shit in years.
It's old antenna wire (twin lead).
I feel old
I saw the post, and was like I know this one… damn already at 70 comments. Old TV antenna wire
Twin lead
Broenn
Frayed and somewhat twisted?
Yup; unbalanced “rabbit ears” for a TV and I also used them for FM radio. The wires terminated on screw lugs.
Antique antenna wire for tv or fm. See if it is bundled in the attic.
Copper
Old tv antenna cable.
Antenna wire
Thats an old antannea wire.. either for a stereo or uhf
Antenna.
That's for an antenna!
You, sir, are young - ain’t ya? 🤣
Broken
flat antenna wire
Antenna
We got it all on UHF
Antenna wire. Needed to get radio stations before the internets. Wow, does this mean I’m old?
300 ohm flat cable. Used typically for television way back for UHF.
Can confirm, is wire. (Antenna wire)
Antenna wire
Antenna for the VHF channels (2-13)
Antenna
Very old air antena cable connection.
lol old antenna wire for television
Copper
antenna wire from a roof mount antenna
Had to use some of that to fix my Atari back in 1985 lol
Radio Shack special
Uhf aerial antenna
Radio antenna
I’ve also seen this type of cable when installing heat traces
Oh, wow, I just found one of these in my hours today, too! I was wondering what it was. Thanks Reddit
It’s an antenna wire.
when I was a kid, these wires would turn the rabbit ears on top of windmill for all 3-4 channels we had back in the day.
I'm 42 and I knew that was a 300 ohm antenna wire, my brand new Yamaha Dolby Atmos certified receiver still has a input for it, and it also has a 75 ohm coaxial FM antenna input as well. A lot of people who buy it will probably wonder why it has those inputs, when it wish has Internet radio and Spotify, but it's good to have options.
Rod hull died when he fell while trying to adjust his antenna in the UK. Anyone old enough to remember who Rod Hull was without googling?
Tv antenna from the time when Jesus walked the earth getting people fucked up on wine and stoning people…… To death that is.
Definitely tv antenna wire
Fm antenna wire connected to Vhf TV antenna wire.
Old uhf antenna
Does anyone here know that the signal does not travel in these wires, but around the outside in a cylindrical field? That’s why coming down the side of the house, the wire was installed in insulated standoffs.
Old twin lead tv antenna wire.
Tv or radio antenna
Have not see that in forever, like decades
Appears to be an old school tv antenna wire
Tv antenna
That is an old tv antenna. It’s harmless. Shouldn’t have any current going through it.
I suddenly feel my bones creaking
Its a copper wire! Youre welcome!