Bric-a-brac: Aerial Insulators from the 1920's onwards
|
These simple yet
topologically sophisticated pieces of porcelain were very common in the
early days of radio. Weak transmitting powers and basic circuit
design required a big aerial to pick up the best signal. So big was the problem of
large unsightly aerials that the government set a limit of 100 foot for
the length. |
Here are two examples of aerial insulators. Porcelain being a very good insulator, it is still used to this day. The white (and more common one) on the left uses a hole and outer guide at right angles. The brown insulator uses a wrap-around system on two orthogonal axis. Glazed porcelain also has the property that water will "bead" rather than coat, minimizing the affect of rain causing a short. It is also easy to clean and keep the chance of conductive contamination to a minimum. |
Extract from Newnes
|