Rich:
I bought 500 foot rolls of #16 AWG THHN Insulated Stranded wire from Lowe's
for around $30.00/spool.
Lowe's also has solid if you really think it would improve things, and it is
a bit cheaper.
Home Depot also has the same wire. #14 wire is about twice the price (2X
the CU).
While you are at Lowe's, buy Insulation Support wires for 24" insulation
which sells for around $10.00/box 100.
Cut these into 3 pieces each, yielding about 300 wires. Bend wires in a
vice into "U" shapes.
These wires are spring steel and are hard to cut... I used large linemen's
pliers over several
days of cutting & bending (something to do while listening for DX). My 64
foot radials needed
about 30 bent wires per radial to hold them down into the grooves cut by a
lawn edger (about 1" deep).
I am also covering over all the wires with dirt to keep the Nylon outer
jacket from deteriorating, and
be certain that Mr. Lawnmower will not get to them. BTW: "U" shaped lawn
stakes sell for $10.00/75 pcs at Lowe's.
So far, I have 20 of my planned 30 radials installed this way on a small 1/3
acre lot.
My Hy-Tower likes these radials,our backs do not.
Wilson Caselli, K1MIJ
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rich Hallman - N7TR" <rich@n7tr.com>
To: "Tower Talk List" <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 11:34 PM
Subject: [TowerTalk] Radial wire sources?
> Looking to buy several thousand feet of radial wire. What's the best
> source for this bulk need? #14 or #16 Solid Copper?
>
>
>
> Thanks...
>
> Rich N7TR
>
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