Help! I'm a clueless beginner!

Hello! I am a London based complete beginner, with only a one day workshop of playing under my belt. Today I purchased a second hand (yet pretty much untouched) Etherwave Moog Theremin Standard. I have mounted it, plugged into a socket, switched it on, and nothing happens. I have plugged it into a portable PA that I used ages ago for my singing gigs, so I am not sure if that's the issue...

Can anyone help?

If the PA is operational (check it with a microphone), your second hand Etherwave is most probably not operational. If another London based thereminist could jump by with his instrument for a differential diagnose, that could be of great help.
Besides of that, there is always the opportunity to send your theremin to France to get it diagnosed and fixed if needed. Just search on Facebook or Instagram for “Theremingenieur”....

If the PA is operational (check it with a microphone), your second hand Etherwave is most probably not operational. If another London based thereminist could jump by with his instrument for a differential diagnose, that could be of great help.
Besides of that, there is always the opportunity to send your theremin to France to get it diagnosed and fixed if needed. Just search on Facebook or Instagram for “Theremingenieur”....

Thank you Thierry, yes my PA works with my microphone. The guy who sold me his theremin said it was working fine last time he used it, but that was two years ago. He's coming by on Thursday to check if I'm doing something wrong, and he's willing to give me a refund if it doesn't work (at least).
I am also a bit confused by the terms "grounding the theremin" or "make sure your power is grounded"... Could that be the issue? I will contact you on FB anyway

You might worry about grounding issues, later... These can - in some circumstances - provoke distorted sound, ghost tones, an unstable pitch field, but they won’t prevent your theremin from producing sound at all.

Thanks so much... I've finally managed to get it to work! No idea what I was doing wrong... But now trying to figure out how to tune it properly, and how to adjust the volume as it's very low.

Hi Monica, do you have the theremin mounted on a microphone stand and not too near (metal) objects?

Hello, it's not on a mic stand (though I've ordered one), but on a stomach level high wooden stand for vases, so like a very tiny square table. No metal object around, apart from the pa, which is about 20cm from the pitch antenna, but nowhere near the volume antenna.

Right now, it seems I can only adjust the volume on the pa (but as soon as I turn it a bit higher it goes into distortion), but if I turn the volume knob on the theremin itself nothing changes.

Monica,
The volume nob doesnt make the instrument louder, it adjusts the sensitivity of the volume loop