Hiwatt Theremin pedal

[Confuzzled]

Does anyone have the Hiwatt Theremin? I was given one but I find it to be a bit odd when it comes to the sensitivity and also noticed that the inside of the dome that the contact attaches too is missing some of it's finish. Does anyone have idea as to what they used to coat that dome? I'm guessing something conductive but not sure what to get.

Also considered adding an antenna through the dome to see if that expands it's range.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

[echorec]

I had one in 2002. By the time I sold it during my music hiatus, the dome was well-aged. It was never dropped or banged against other gear, so I imagine all of them that were played look like that. (Perhaps tapping on the surface exaggerated the echo effect? I can't recall.) --I would guess now that they were never intended to be touched and any perspiration at all was corrosive to whatever coating they had. For $99/119 (whatever it was), I don't think most people were worried about using it like Clara Rockmore.

I didn't really worry about its accuracy or sensitivity. I was the noisemaker for a friend's project, so I ran it through other effects and just hoped some of the texture fit against the full band in live settings.

As an early adopter, I can only imagine how bad some of these would look after two decades of usage. Mine wasn't this bad, but it was close and that was only after a few months of contact.

[Jero]

I had one for a while years ago! Forgot about these. Similar experiences with finish on the dome. I recall it simply had a fairly limited range, when it came to function.