Robert, that was EXACTLY what I used for my first openwire.
But in the meantime there are some outstanding spreaders available
commercially.
I wouldn't waste my time sawing and drilling PVC tubing, even though it
might save me about $20.
The finished project has too much wind resistance and sways in the wind too
much.
If one goes to all the trouble to make his own openwire, then he will be
rewarded with a feedline that is outstanding and will last many years. It
is worth spending a little bit of money on the project. After all, it's
still cheaper than coax.
I think I posted this before, not sure, but here it is again.
IMO, these are the VERY best spreaders:
http://www.hfparts.com/eng/products-spreaders.php
THE BIGGEST MISTAKE people make with openwire is, they do not properly
strain-relief the two wires; they simply solder them.
What happens then is, eventually the wind blows the line around enough that
one or both of the wires break at the point it was soldered.
Here is a picture and description of a very simple way of accomplishing the
strain relief:
http://www.dj0ip.de/modern-antennas/insulators/
The two wires slip right into the forks on each end, but they don't slip
out.
Although this example used commercial ladderline, I do it similar with
home-brew openwire.
BTW, using hair curlers for openwire went out with AM. (hi)
73
Rick, DJ0IP
-----Original Message-----
From: TenTec [mailto:tentec-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of robert
mentzer
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 6:29 PM
To: tentec@contesting.com
Subject: [TenTec] (no subject)
Back in the 50's we used curlers from the Toni Home Permanent kits for open
wire feeders. It gave you a 2¼ inch spaced feed line and was easy to build
as they had holes in the end that would take an #18 wire to wrap around the
line to hold them in place. I dont know if the kits are still in production
but one could make the spacers from almost any plastic rod thats is not too
large and drill holes for the wire near the ends. There may be other kits
with similar curlers on the market if you looked for them.
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