> From: ERIC.L.SCACE@sprintintl.sprint.com
>
> Hello everyone --
>
> Here are a few small subjects that I would appreciate practical advice
> on....
>
> 1) Rope: My impression (from sailing) is that braided rope runs ever so
> much better through pulleys etc than laid rope. I noticed recently and
> at Dayton that some company is now advertising black braided nylon rope.
>
> Up till now, I had been using laid black polypropolene rope on my dipoles
> (all of which have pulleys and are counterweighted for various reasons).
> I use 5/16ths inch rope and marine grade pulleys... but my experience is
> that the rope chafes thru the pulleys and after about 4 years has to be
> replaced due to degradation in the sunlight and chaffing. So I am looking
> for a more durable, RF-transparent solution.
>
> Is black braided nylon or dacron a better answer? Phillystran? Any
> other ideas? I'd like not to have to replace this for at least 10 years.
>
> -- Eric K3NA
>
I have used white braided nylon rope purchased at the local hardware store for
just this purpose. That rope has been up for 12 years in the high-UV Colorado
environment. To date, it is not quite as flexible as it orginally was, but
runs just fine through the garden-variety pulleys that I installed at the same
time. I'm not sure I understand the concern about special pulleys and rope in
what is a very light load application.
Ron - W0OSK
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