The screw on the 120v socket might not be very useful; the longer the connection from a true ground it is, the less effective it is as a RF ground. This is because at certain lengths that happen to match to a 1/4 wavelength on some frequencies, there's a chance that the 'ground' might actually be an 'antenna'. It will work fine for anti shock, tho
While any length of wire would serve as an antenna, the fact is that he's in an apartment - and just any old wire is going to pick up gobs of noise - everything from a light dimmer, TV set, any flourescent lights - the list is practically endless. (I know, I've lived in apartments and condos for many years). So you need to use something that is somewhat more resistant to noise problems - putting a wire antenna through the built in balun on some of these MFJ tuners is one way to cut the noise down; the other is to use a good sized loop, like the 50 footer that's on the receive only coax loops page. The Carpet loop is another candidate; and it's not all that hard to build. It uses 4 or 5 conductor cable for the loop - the more you can string out, the better. Looping around the room, or around a ceiling, or (even better) an attic or crawlspace will work just fine. I've been experimenting a little with a smaller version, and sometimes the results are quite interesting. Both of those sites have links on our Loops antennas page 73s Mike
