[Jeffhs]

I wouldn't waste my money on any of those plug-in TV antennas. They don't work well and could damage your TV, as the only thing standing between the wall plug and the twinlead or coax that connects to the VHF antenna terminals is a coupling network, consisting of little more than a capacitor or two. If the capacitor shorts, look out for fireworks, as another poster to this thread noted. (That cylinder atop the wall plug on some of the older units is there just for show; there's nothing much in there except the coupling network.)

If you are in a very strong signal area these antenna jigs might work (for black and white; I wouldn't think of using one on a color set, even if I lived within spitting distance of the stations), but don't expect miracles in the suburbs, let alone fringe areas. I live in a small town right at the edge of the coverage areas of all seven Cleveland TV stations, and wouldn't think of using such a poor excuse for an antenna on my set (it wouldn't work very well, anyhow; rabbit ears or even standard outdoor antennas don't work well here either, which is why almost everyone here has cable). The fantastic claims being made for these plug-in TV antennas (great reception "better than cable", etc.) are only high-pressure advertising ploys. The units themselves are almost always disappointments in real-world use.

BTW, Zenith used the term "Wavemagnet" in connection with its detachable loop antennas for their old Trans-Oceanic 3-way (battery/AC-DC) AM/SW portables. The label was also applied to the antennas used with the company's late-1940s-early-1950s table and portable radios; but again, this was just an advertising term, as the antenna itself was nothing more than a conventional wire-loop type mounted to the back of the receiver. IMO, they didn't work any better or worse than any other manufacturers' radios that used the same type of antenna. In fact, many if not most sets which used the pancake-loop antenna also had external antenna terminals, to which a long-wire broadcast antenna could be connected in fringe areas. These external terminals on AC/DC sets were booby traps for the unwary, however, as they often carried the full line voltage (depending entirely on which way the AC plug was inserted in the wall socket). Many unsuspecting people were severely shocked or killed when they touched the external antenna terminal and ground at the same time, and the plug was in the socket in such a way that the hot side of the AC line was connected directly to the chassis. This often happened with AC/DC radios used in bathrooms, although the fuse or circuit breaker on that circuit ordinarily kicked out as soon as the chassis touched ground, either directly or through the very low resistance of a wet human body. (In this day and age of GFCI outlets, which are required in all bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms, etc. in new homes, however, the protection circuit would swing into action and open the circuit immediately upon detecting such a short.)

I was not aware that some of these gutless-wonder plugin TV antenna gizmos had only one metal prong (the other being plastic) on their AC plugs. How on earth did they work if they were connected to only one side of the line?

To heathkit tv: Anthony, there are people in this world who are just that naive (or stupid) to go ahead and connect their TV sets' antenna terminals directly to the AC line, without benefit of a coupling capacitor or anything else. These folks learn the errors of their ways in a hurry when one of two things inevitably happens: the TV shorts out, catches fire and burns the house down, or, if they are lucky, all that happens is the front end of the set is so severely damaged that the set must be junked. Unfortunately, however, if someone connects a TV's antenna terminals directly to the line, it will almost always cause an explosion and/or start a fire inside the set, whether or not the TV is plugged in and/or powered on.