Hi Bob. Thank you very much for sharing your experiences. I have always
used #14 stranded here for 40m and 80m antennas and knock on wood have
not had a wire break....I found the stranded was a lot easier to work
with and esp to solder to. I also thought the stranded would stretch
less then the solid but it may in fact be the other way around.
I see Jim has replied and I want to read what he has said and hope I can
put what he has said to use. I have been getting a lot of nice tips from
people via PM and need to start digesting it all. Thank you again !
Gedas, W8BYA
Gallery at http://w8bya.com
Light travels faster than sound....
This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
On 3/10/2019 11:55 AM, Bob Shohet, KQ2M wrote:
Hi Gedas,
I use #10 for 160, #12 for 80 and #14 for 40.
The #10 NEVER breaks – not even in frequent ice storms – only the
wire connectors that I use with them. #12 for 80 almost never breaks
and #14 breaks after enough wear and tear in 1 – 3 years especially in
a high wind environment where flexing of the outer coating is
commonplace and where significant tension is involved.
I believe that #12 THHN SOLID (not stranded) is the best compromise of
weight, strength and cost. #14 will break given enough time and the
few bucks that you save with it over #14 is not worth it. In my
experience the difference in weight should not be significant unless
you are supporting a lot of ice. I know that the Wireman sells a #13
pvc coated poly – and I used to use that but found that its life
expectancy was significantly less than the #12 THHN and #14 THHN that
I could buy for a fraction of the cost at Home Depot or Lowe’s in a
500’ spool.
I strongly recommend SOLID and not stranded because in my experience
the stranded THHN breaks more frequently than the solid.
The #14, weighing less than #12, will have less sag, but is not as
strong, will flap around more in the wind it is not as strong and is
far more likely to break under tension, especially when supporting ice
or wet snow.
73
Bob KQ2M
*From:* Gedas <mailto:w8bya@mchsi.com>
*Sent:* Sunday, March 10, 2019 11:25 AM
*Cc:* towertalk@contesting.com <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
*Subject:* [TowerTalk] Long Wire Sag
I am planning to put up a long inverted v antenna with it's feedpoint at
85' using 600' total wire (300' on each leg). The ends will be near the
ground, only 20-25 feet high.
My question is given that each leg of this antenna will be 300' long am
I better off going with a lighter weight #14 THHN insulated stranded
wire or some heavier #12 THHN stranded? I am not going to purchase a
different wire that would be better suited like copper-weld etc since I
have plenty of these other two and want to try something today.
I realize there is going to be a _lot_ of sag in either case but I am
not sure of the breaking strengths of either #12 or #14 and in the end
which will help keep the wire up higher with less sag. Any ideas?
Gedas, W8BYA
Gallery at http://w8bya.com
Light travels faster than sound....
This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
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