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Today's Topics:
1. Re: Spam:************, Re: Deployable radials for 80/160M
(Matthew King - KK4CPS)
2. Re: Deployable radials for 80/160M (Richard (Rick) Karlquist)
3. Re: Deployable radials for 80/160M (Grant Saviers)
4. Re: Spam:************, Re: Deployable radials for 80/160M
(mstangelo@comcast.net)
5. , Re: Deployable radials for 80/160M (Jim Garland)
6. Re: Spam:************, Re: Deployable radials for 80/160M
(Bill Wichers)
7. Re: Beverage feedline (Bill Wichers)
8. Re: Beverage feedline (k1zm--- via Topband)
9. Re: FD in the 60's (GALE STEWARD via Topband)
10. Re: Beverage feedline (Michael Tope)
11. Re: Deployable radials for 80/160M (Carl)
12. Re: Beverage feedline (Carl)
13. Re: Deployable radials for 80/160M (mstangelo@comcast.net)
14. Re: , Re: Deployable radials for 80/160M (Carl)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 13:01:59 -0400
From: Matthew King - KK4CPS <KK4CPS@gmail.com>
To: herbs@vitelcom.net
Cc: topband@contesting.com
Subject: Re: Topband: Spam:************, Re: Deployable radials for
80/160M
Message-ID:
<CAKs+UsnScb=iL8MqPyxmk0FPJCDQ4JpeE5p6FaRG2h4FQ4EjYQ@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Wouldn't stranded wire be preferred for such a use? Maybe I'm missing
something, but it seems that solid wire would be more prone to breakage.
Matt
KK4CPS
On Thu, Jun 26, 2014 at 11:33 AM, Herb Schoenbohm <herbs@vitelcom.net>
wrote:
Wish we had a Lowes here in the VI but I will look and see if Home Depot
has a solid wire equivalent. They have THHN is stranded but I am not sure
about solid insulated #14 as i have not ever seen that.
Herb, KV4FZ
On 6/26/2014 8:17 AM, Dave Heil wrote:
That seems a little too much work when Lowe's sells 500 foot spools of
insulated #14 for $45.
73,
Dave K8MN
On 6/24/2014 19 46, Herb Schoenbohm wrote:
I found a great source for radial wire at home Depot where they have
100' rolls of 14-2 packaged for under $40. Two conductors are
insulated
and one of course is not after the easy job of striping them across a
bench jig or simple having a second person hold a pocket knife while
you
pull the conductors apart you end up with 300 feet of higher quality
ground radial material. 2 each 100 foot insulated radials due to the
VF
are very close to 1/4 wave consideration and the the shorter 100 foot
bare doesn't hurt either. This of course brings up the issue of mixing
bare and insulated wire in any ground system so I use the bare
conductor
for other 80 and 40 verticals. Yet the sum of the three wires is
cheaper than buying them individually it seems.
_________________
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
_________________
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 10:46:41 -0700
From: "Richard (Rick) Karlquist" <richard@karlquist.com>
To: Dave Heil <k8mn@frontiernet.net>, topband@contesting.com
Subject: Re: Topband: Deployable radials for 80/160M
Message-ID: <53AC5C81.6070908@karlquist.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
On 6/26/2014 5:17 AM, Dave Heil wrote:
That seems a little too much work when Lowe's sells 500 foot spools of
insulated #14 for $45.
Also try:
www.interstatewire.com
Rick N6RK
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 11:13:20 -0700
From: Grant Saviers <grants2@pacbell.net>
To: "Richard (Rick) Karlquist" <richard@karlquist.com>, Dave Heil
<k8mn@frontiernet.net>, topband@contesting.com
Subject: Re: Topband: Deployable radials for 80/160M
Message-ID: <53AC62C0.5030906@pacbell.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
One issue not mentioned for radials on rather than in the ground, is the
nylon outer sheath on THHN doesn't like UV, so after a year or two the
snake sheds its skin and makes a mess. PVC just gets dry and cracks off
the wire from UV, might take a couple more years for that to happen.
Polyethylene is the best choice for covering if it can be found at a
reasonable price, or stick with bare copper or my favorite, aluminum
electric fence wire. For $50 1/2 mile of 17ga on Amazon. That's 40 66'
radials. It is strong and if only down for the summer will last. Or
just use new every year and recycle last years. You can't measure the
gain change of conductivity of copper vs aluminum.
Grant KZ1W
On 6/26/2014 10:46 AM, Richard (Rick) Karlquist wrote:
On 6/26/2014 5:17 AM, Dave Heil wrote:
That seems a little too much work when Lowe's sells 500 foot spools of
insulated #14 for $45.
Also try:
www.interstatewire.com
Rick N6RK
_________________
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 18:37:41 +0000 (UTC)
From: mstangelo@comcast.net
To: KK4CPS@gmail.com
Cc: topband@contesting.com, herbs@vitelcom.net
Subject: Re: Topband: Spam:************, Re: Deployable radials for
80/160M
Message-ID:
<79660497.19045035.1403807861794.JavaMail.root@comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Matt,
I started using surplus stranded high temperature teflon coated wire for
my radial system because I got it at a good price. It is flexible and easy
to work with but I noticed that if the ends were not sealed of if there
were breaks in the insulation it would soak up water via capillary action.
I needed more wire to finish my 36 radial system so I decided to try 14
gauge THHN insulated wire from Lowes. It is not as flexible but I should
not have to worry about it absorbing water.
Most of my radial system is in the wooded area of by property. I have some
radials on the grassy area of my yard that I move in the summer. I use the
solid wire for the permanent installation and the stranded wire for the
seasonal installation.
Mike N2MS
----- Original Message -----
From: Matthew King - KK4CPS <KK4CPS@gmail.com>
To: herbs@vitelcom.net
Cc: topband@contesting.com
Sent: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 17:01:59 -0000 (UTC)
Subject: Re: Topband: Spam:************, Re: Deployable radials for
80/160M
Wouldn't stranded wire be preferred for such a use? Maybe I'm missing
something, but it seems that solid wire would be more prone to breakage.
Matt
KK4CPS
On Thu, Jun 26, 2014 at 11:33 AM, Herb Schoenbohm <herbs@vitelcom.net>
wrote:
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 14:54:25 -0600
From: "Jim Garland" <4cx250b@miamioh.edu>
To: <Topband@contesting.com>
Subject: Topband: , Re: Deployable radials for 80/160M
Message-ID: <00d501cf9180$d1c7b000$75571000$@miamioh.edu>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Here in sunny NM, with nothing resembling grass, I just laid my sixty 120
ft
radials on the top of the desert. It's stranded 14 AWG with a brown THHN
insulation that matches the dirt. I figure in a couple of years the
insulation will pretty much be gone, and then it will just be bare copper.
Ain't nobody going to be bothered by that except the coyotes. The antenna
is 750 ft from my station, and fed with (buried) 50 ohm 1/2 inch CATV
hardline.
Don't know how Carl finds that cheap PTFE stranded wire. I wire all my
homebrew projects with it, and am always on the lookout, but never see any
at the local surplus places. Los Alamos National Labs is nearby but never
seems to have any. I'm guessing they must use something else to wire up
nuclear weapons.
73,
Jim W8ZR
------------------------------
Message: 6
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 21:24:15 +0000
From: Bill Wichers <billw@waveform.net>
To: "<herbs@vitelcom.net>" <herbs@vitelcom.net>
Cc: "topband@contesting.com" <topband@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: Topband: Spam:************, Re: Deployable radials for
80/160M
Message-ID: <255C2A20-78B3-42C6-BCB9-024E83A126B5@waveform.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
You can get solid thhn. Some codes even require it, but it is much less
common. I've seen Home Depot stock it before. Supply houses should
definitely be able to get it.
Sent from my iPhone
On Jun 26, 2014, at 11:33 AM, "Herb Schoenbohm" <herbs@vitelcom.net>
wrote:
Wish we had a Lowes here in the VI but I will look and see if Home Depot
has a solid wire equivalent. They have THHN is stranded but I am not sure
about solid insulated #14 as i have not ever seen that.
Herb, KV4FZ
On 6/26/2014 8:17 AM, Dave Heil wrote:
That seems a little too much work when Lowe's sells 500 foot spools of
insulated #14 for $45.
73,
Dave K8MN
On 6/24/2014 19 46, Herb Schoenbohm wrote:
I found a great source for radial wire at home Depot where they have
100' rolls of 14-2 packaged for under $40. Two conductors are
insulated
and one of course is not after the easy job of striping them across a
bench jig or simple having a second person hold a pocket knife while
you
pull the conductors apart you end up with 300 feet of higher quality
ground radial material. 2 each 100 foot insulated radials due to the
VF
are very close to 1/4 wave consideration and the the shorter 100 foot
bare doesn't hurt either. This of course brings up the issue of mixing
bare and insulated wire in any ground system so I use the bare
conductor
for other 80 and 40 verticals. Yet the sum of the three wires is
cheaper than buying them individually it seems.
_________________
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
_________________
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
------------------------------
Message: 7
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 21:27:57 +0000
From: Bill Wichers <billw@waveform.net>
To: Timo Korhonen <timo.korhonen@elisanet.fi>
Cc: "topband@contesting.com" <topband@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: Topband: Beverage feedline
Message-ID: <18EEC82D-275C-4E48-ACAB-68213E98E367@waveform.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
The copper clad steel center conductor won't make much difference in terms
of loss on 160m. It is an issue if you will be powering Anything through
the coax (like amps or antenna selection relays) since the dc resistance
is higher.
If you need solid copper center conductor rg6 you can get that too - its
sold for satellite systems that run dc on the coax to power the LNB at the
dish. It will generally be more expensive. Solid copper center conductor
will be listed as type BC (bare copper) in the datasheets.
Sent from my iPhone
On Jun 26, 2014, at 11:12 AM, "Timo Korhonen" <timo.korhonen@elisanet.fi>
wrote:
Hi all,
We are putting up new beverages for 160/80 at OH5Z.
I have a question regarding the feedline. We have to make
quite long runs like 1500 feet.
When looking for a low cost 75 ohm coaxial I found a Belden
RG6 type cable which is reasonably priced.
Here is a link for technical data
http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/1733139.pdf
This cable has a copper covered steel inner conductor.
Is this an issue on low frequency like 1.8 MHz with long runs like 1500
feet?
Thanks for your help
73, Timo OG9X
oh5z.wordpress.com
_________________
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
------------------------------
Message: 8
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 19:49:14 -0400 (EDT)
From: k1zm--- via Topband <topband@contesting.com>
To: billw@waveform.net, timo.korhonen@elisanet.fi
Cc: topband@contesting.com
Subject: Re: Topband: Beverage feedline
Message-ID: <8D15FB05E6DDD5A-1CFC-18E27@webmail-m226.sysops.aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
FWIW - Here at VY2ZM - I am running RG6 (standard stuff) out 3500 feet to
a distant RX antenna on the other side of my property.
I am also switching 12VDC down the line (using a BIAS Tee) - in order to
switch the hybrid coupler from NE to SW - All of this is on 160M - so I
think you will surely be OKAY with only 1500 feet of BELDEN RG6 at 160m.
73 JEFF, VY2ZM
---- Original Message ----
From: Bill Wichers <billw@waveform.net>
To: Timo Korhonen <timo.korhonen@elisanet.fi>
Cc: topband <topband@contesting.com>
Sent: Thu, Jun 26, 2014 9:28 pm
Subject: Re: Topband: Beverage feedline
The copper clad steel center conductor won't make much difference in terms
of
loss on 160m. It is an issue if you will be powering Anything through the
coax
(like amps or antenna selection relays) since the dc resistance is higher.
If you need solid copper center conductor rg6 you can get that too - its
sold
for satellite systems that run dc on the coax to power the LNB at the
dish. It
will generally be more expensive. Solid copper center conductor will be
listed
as type BC (bare copper) in the datasheets.
Sent from my iPhone
On Jun 26, 2014, at 11:12 AM, "Timo Korhonen" <timo.korhonen@elisanet.fi>
wrote:
Hi all,
We are putting up new beverages for 160/80 at OH5Z.
I have a question regarding the feedline. We have to make
quite long runs like 1500 feet.
When looking for a low cost 75 ohm coaxial I found a Belden
RG6 type cable which is reasonably priced.
Here is a link for technical data
http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/1733139.pdf
This cable has a copper covered steel inner conductor.
Is this an issue on low frequency like 1.8 MHz with long runs like 1500
feet?
Thanks for your help
73, Timo OG9X
oh5z.wordpress.com
_________________
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
_________________
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
------------------------------
Message: 9
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 18:05:38 -0700
From: GALE STEWARD via Topband <topband@contesting.com>
To: TopBand <topband@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: Topband: FD in the 60's
Message-ID:
<1403831138.29108.YahooMailNeo@web121104.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Interesting thread!
My first FD was in 1963 as a newly minted General. The group had all wire
antennas set up top of Huntington Mt (PA). Most of the other guys were
pretty much fone ops so I got a crack at 20 & 40 CW with a Collins S-line.
Thought I was in radio heaven! The S-line was about 1000% better than what
I had at home. No keyers, just a straight key and Vibroplex bug.
I remember that 6M conditions were good. One of the ops had installed a 6M
halo (remember those?) up in a tree on this mountain. I remember them
working into KP4 with about 10W.
Good memories!
73, Stew K3ND (ex K3ZOL)
________________________________
From: "wa8wzg@wa8wzg.net" <wa8wzg@wa8wzg.net>
To: TopBand <topband@contesting.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2014 11:27 AM
Subject: Topband: FD in the 60's
Hot Springs, Ar, circa 1967,, Heathkit? SB-301 and SB-401 combo, dipoles
all 5 bands,, Army surplus gen, 10kw diesel ,, on top of Red Mountain,,
,call was club call at the time , WA5BRF,, Big Red Flower,,, 15 years old
and got my first taste of contesting and been hooked ever since,, !!?
Thanks to all for bringing back some good memories!!
Sent on the Sprint? Now Network from my BlackBerry?
_________________
------------------------------
Message: 10
Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 18:52:32 -0700
From: Michael Tope <W4EF@dellroy.com>
To: topband@contesting.com
Subject: Re: Topband: Beverage feedline
Message-ID: <53ACCE60.5050403@dellroy.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Timo,
According to ARRL's TLW program, your RF insertion loss for 1500ft of
RG-6 cable should be around 7dB. This is based on Belden 8215 which uses
a solid dielectric which makes it more lossy than your 1189A which is a
foamed dielectric, but less lossy than 1189A because it uses a copper
shield whereas 1189A uses an aluminum shield. These two opposing factors
seems to balance out as TLW predicts about 10% greater loss for 8215
than does the loss vs frequency table on the 1189A data sheet, so if
anything 1500ft of 1189A at 1.8 MHz might be a bit better than the same
length of 8215.
If you want to run DC thru this cable to power a switch or pre-amp, the
loop resistance (inner conductor + shield) for 1500ft will be around 49
ohms. For a 100mA load that will be ~5 volts of drop between the source
and load.
FWIW, 1189A doesn't appear to be rated for outdoor use whereas 8215 is
rated for direct burial. OTOH, 8215 uses an all copper shield so its
probably very expensive compared to the aluminum shield cable (like
1189A) used by the CATV industry.
I buy 1000' rolls of Commscope F660BEF Gel Coated Direct Bury RG6 from
these guys for $48 US per roll (I think this is the same stuff
recommended by W8JI):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/CommScope-F660BEF-Direct-Burial-RG6-Cable-Flooded-Coaxial-Undeground-Gel-Coated-/160693197034?pt=US_Video_Cables_Adapters&hash=item256a0f98ea#shpCntId
It looks like they ship to Finland if the overseas shipping doesn't
raise the price too much (UPS shipping is $25 just to go a few miles
from Phat's warehouse to my door here in Los Angeles). Perhaps there is
a cableTV/satellite distributor closer to Finland with better terms.
73, Mike W4EF.............
On 6/26/2014 8:12 AM, Timo Korhonen wrote:
Hi all,
We are putting up new beverages for 160/80 at OH5Z.
I have a question regarding the feedline. We have to make
quite long runs like 1500 feet.
When looking for a low cost 75 ohm coaxial I found a Belden
RG6 type cable which is reasonably priced.
Here is a link for technical data
http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/1733139.pdf
This cable has a copper covered steel inner conductor.
Is this an issue on low frequency like 1.8 MHz with long runs like
1500 feet?
Thanks for your help
73, Timo OG9X
oh5z.wordpress.com
_________________
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
------------------------------
Message: 11
Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 09:57:45 -0400
From: "Carl" <km1h@jeremy.mv.com>
To: "Grant Saviers" <grants2@pacbell.net>, <topband@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: Topband: Deployable radials for 80/160M
Message-ID: <1719A3EADD9644648AF0CE3598F53A3D@computer1>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=response
Around here that wire gets pretty well corroded after a few years just in
the air from acid rain and salt laden fog off the ocean 20-30 miles away.
I wonder what that does to the conductivity? OTOH my yagi elements from a
different alloy are still rather shiny after 30-40 years.
THHN for wire antennas seems to hold up the PVC layer 10-15 years then
becomes fodder for elevated radials.
Carl
KM1H
Subject: Re: Topband: Deployable radials for 80/160M
One issue not mentioned for radials on rather than in the ground, is the
nylon outer sheath on THHN doesn't like UV, so after a year or two the
snake sheds its skin and makes a mess. PVC just gets dry and cracks off
the wire from UV, might take a couple more years for that to happen.
Polyethylene is the best choice for covering if it can be found at a
reasonable price, or stick with bare copper or my favorite, aluminum
electric fence wire. For $50 1/2 mile of 17ga on Amazon. That's 40 66'
radials. It is strong and if only down for the summer will last. Or
just use new every year and recycle last years. You can't measure the
gain change of conductivity of copper vs aluminum.
Grant KZ1W
On 6/26/2014 10:46 AM, Richard (Rick) Karlquist wrote:
On 6/26/2014 5:17 AM, Dave Heil wrote:
That seems a little too much work when Lowe's sells 500 foot spools of
insulated #14 for $45.
Also try:
www.interstatewire.com
Rick N6RK
_________________
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
_________________
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
-----
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2014.0.4592 / Virus Database: 3986/7753 - Release Date: 06/27/14
------------------------------
Message: 12
Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 10:37:49 -0400
From: "Carl" <km1h@jeremy.mv.com>
To: "Bill Wichers" <billw@waveform.net>, "Timo Korhonen"
<timo.korhonen@elisanet.fi>
Cc: topband@contesting.com
Subject: Re: Topband: Beverage feedline
Message-ID: <E54BD3403B3D4D41BA59306BE2C7ADA8@computer1>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=original
RG-6 with a CCS center conductor is all about the same as far as RF or DC
loss is concerned. Figure on .35dB/100' at 2MHz.
When I used 750' of RG-6 to feed the RCS-4 Beverage switch 25 years ago I
had no problem with the switching. I also used a small preamp at times.
That cable didnt last one winter before critters destroyed it and I ran
.412" CATV hardline which was already pretty much obsolete. That is still
in
service and yearly tests show no additional loss which is .13dB/100'.
The 1/2" 75 Ohm CATV hardline comes in a hair less at .09dB/100'. I use
the
3/4" for transmitting on HF since it was the most used during the network
construction and I was given huge amounts of partial to almost full reels
when the installation contractors left for Indiana for their next
job....real gypsies!
I use 7/8 and 1" for VHF and up.
Carl
KM1H
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Wichers" <billw@waveform.net>
To: "Timo Korhonen" <timo.korhonen@elisanet.fi>
Cc: <topband@contesting.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2014 5:27 PM
Subject: Re: Topband: Beverage feedline
The copper clad steel center conductor won't make much difference in
terms
of loss on 160m. It is an issue if you will be powering Anything through
the coax (like amps or antenna selection relays) since the dc resistance
is higher.
If you need solid copper center conductor rg6 you can get that too - its
sold for satellite systems that run dc on the coax to power the LNB at
the
dish. It will generally be more expensive. Solid copper center conductor
will be listed as type BC (bare copper) in the datasheets.
Sent from my iPhone
On Jun 26, 2014, at 11:12 AM, "Timo Korhonen" <timo.korhonen@elisanet.fi>
wrote:
Hi all,
We are putting up new beverages for 160/80 at OH5Z.
I have a question regarding the feedline. We have to make
quite long runs like 1500 feet.
When looking for a low cost 75 ohm coaxial I found a Belden
RG6 type cable which is reasonably priced.
Here is a link for technical data
http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/1733139.pdf
This cable has a copper covered steel inner conductor.
Is this an issue on low frequency like 1.8 MHz with long runs like 1500
feet?
Thanks for your help
73, Timo OG9X
oh5z.wordpress.com
_________________
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
_________________
Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
-----
No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2014.0.4592 / Virus Database: 3986/7753 - Release Date: 06/27/14
------------------------------
Message: 13
Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 15:13:34 +0000 (UTC)
From: mstangelo@comcast.net
To: Carl <km1h@jeremy.mv.com>
Cc: topband@contesting.com, Grant Saviers <grants2@pacbell.net>
Subject: Re: Topband: Deployable radials for 80/160M
Message-ID:
<1832929880.19769221.1403882014626.JavaMail.root@comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
One option for outdoor use Polyethelene PE covered wire.
One good source is Dog Fence Wire:
<http://www.ebay.com/itm/14-Gauge-Heavy-Duty-Superior-Pro-Dog-Fence-Wire-Solid-for-Invisible-Fence-/400264279386?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d319c355a#ht_3626wt_1124>
It is meant to be used outdoors but the price is higher than other
alternatives.
Mike N2MS
----- Original Message -----
From: Carl <km1h@jeremy.mv.com>
To: Grant Saviers <grants2@pacbell.net>, topband@contesting.com
Sent: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 13:57:45 -0000 (UTC)
Subject: Re: Topband: Deployable radials for 80/160M
Around here that wire gets pretty well corroded after a few years just in
the air from acid rain and salt laden fog off the ocean 20-30 miles away.
I wonder what that does to the conductivity? OTOH my yagi elements from a
different alloy are still rather shiny after 30-40 years.
THHN for wire antennas seems to hold up the PVC layer 10-15 years then
becomes fodder for elevated radials.
Carl
KM1H
------------------------------
Message: 14
Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 11:16:44 -0400
From: "Carl" <km1h@jeremy.mv.com>
To: "Jim Garland" <4cx250b@miamioh.edu>, <Topband@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: Topband: , Re: Deployable radials for 80/160M
Message-ID: <30FAC4C9CF43426DBE79523B71DB6665@computer1>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
reply-type=original
This area still has a huge amount of electronics related industry. BAE and
Raytheon included.
When a military contract has been shipped the left overs get scrapped
unlike
a small commercial or research outfit where nothing is wasted.
We also have a fair amount of business failures which adds to the surplus
market.
Carl
KM1H
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Garland" <4cx250b@miamioh.edu>
To: <Topband@contesting.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2014 4:54 PM
Subject: Topband: , Re: Deployable radials for 80/160M
Here in sunny NM, with nothing resembling grass, I just laid my sixty 120
ft
radials on the top of the desert. It's stranded 14 AWG with a brown THHN
insulation that matches the dirt. I figure in a couple of years the
insulation will pretty much be gone, and then it will just be bare
copper.
Ain't nobody going to be bothered by that except the coyotes. The
antenna
is 750 ft from my station, and fed with (buried) 50 ohm 1/2 inch CATV
hardline.
Don't know how Carl finds that cheap PTFE stranded wire. I wire all my
homebrew projects with it, and am always on the lookout, but never see
any
at the local surplus places. Los Alamos National Labs is nearby but never
seems to have any. I'm guessing they must use something else to wire up
nuclear weapons.
73,
Jim W8ZR
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