Dave,
You know that I didn’t say it wouldn’t work. The reason for his post was to
try to find a source of 1/4” x .058 wall tubing which apparently is not too
easy for him to find.
We are talking about an element made of aluminum tubing. Joe’s vertical is
aluminum tubing with a solid rod tip, elevated and self supporting.
Neither DXE, Texas Towers or any other primary supplier of aluminum tubing for
hams has ever offered 1/4” x .058” wall tubing to the best of my knowledge.
There is certainly no problem in making a 40m vertical that will survive 100
MPH or more without using materials that are not readily available and without
using anything smaller than 3/8” which is readily available.
If someone wanted to make a dipole using #15 wire my reaction would be the
same. Why make it using a size that’s not readily available when a more
standard size is easier and less expensive to purchase.
Stan
> On Jan 4, 2026, at 10:23 AM, David Gilbert <ab7echo@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> Why?? A suspended wire vertical would be a lot smaller than 1/8 inch and
> would work just fine.
>
> Dave AB7E
>
>
>> On 1/3/2026 7:04 PM, Stan Stockton wrote:
>> Is the need for 1/4” tubing for 40 meter verticals?
>>
>> I cannot imagine making a 40m vertical or any other HF vertical or half
>> wavelength element that would have anything smaller than 3/8” tubing at the
>> tip.
>>
>> Stan, K5GO
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>>> On Jan 3, 2026, at 8:02 PM, Joe <nss@mwt.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> I wasn't worried about stiffness.
>>> It is the telescoping to the 1/8" rod. the 0.049, it was pretty tough to
>>> get a good grip to lock the rod in place too much slop.
>>>
>>> Joe WB9SBD
>>>
>>>> On 1/2/2026 11:54 PM, K9MA wrote:
>>>>> On 1/2/2026 7:30 PM, Zack Widup wrote:
>>>>> That's where I have been buying aluminum tubing. They don't have 0.058"
>>>>> wall thickness in 1/4" diameter tubing, but the closest they have for that
>>>>> diameter is 0.049", which I suspect will work.
>>>> You don't get a whole lot of extra stiffness by going from a .049 to .058
>>>> inch wall thickness in tubing this small.
>>>>
>>>> 73,
>>>> Scott K9MA
>>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> CQ-Contest mailing list
>>> CQ-Contest@contesting.com
>>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
>> _______________________________________________
>> CQ-Contest mailing list
>> CQ-Contest@contesting.com
>> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> CQ-Contest mailing list
> CQ-Contest@contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
_______________________________________________
CQ-Contest mailing list
CQ-Contest@contesting.com
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest
|