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Re: [TowerTalk] Lamp cord as antenna feed line

To: <towertalk@contesting.com>,"Bill Tippett" <btippett@alum.mit.edu>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Lamp cord as antenna feed line
From: "Jim Lux" <jimlux@earthlink.net>
Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2005 06:05:43 -0700
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Hmm..
Since lampcord is hardly standardized, it wouldn't be surprising that there
are widely varying results.  I'd be particularly suspcious of comparing
SPT-1/SPT-2 (the zip cord you get at Home Depot, etc.) with lamp cord in
Europe.  Since the line voltage is double in EU, lamps draw half the
current, so the wire can be smaller.  When I lived in Spain (mid 80s), I
noticed that the readily available zip cord was much, much smaller than the
stuff I was used to.

Also, lamp cord is usually many small strands (for flexibility), which can
have erratic RF performance. Depending on how well connected the strands are
to each other, which in turn can depend on how oxidized the strands are,
etc.  Lamp cord isn't really designed for outdoor use.

Jim, W6RMK
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Tippett" <btippett@alum.mit.edu>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2005 5:47 AM
Subject: [TowerTalk] Lamp cord as antenna feed line


> N1LO:
>  >From what I've read, the insulation on lamp cord starts
> to get lossy once you get above 20 meter band.
>
>          Stay away from lamp cord!  ET3PMW tried this on
> 80 and 160 and it had terrible losses even there.  When
> he switched to ladder line, his signal on 80 went up by at
> least 20 dB.


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