At 06:14 PM 4/5/2007, Rick Karlquist wrote:
>It occured to me that the solution might be to insulate the
>aluminum wire to protect it from corrosion.
>I attempted to find a vendor who would make enameled aluminum
>magnet wire, which I think is used for some loudspeaker coils.
I assume you tried MWS in Westlake Village, CA?
http://www.mwswire.com/ They seem to make everything, but there are
things they don't carry. You might ask them if they know someone who does it
(ask for a copy of their catalog.. it's one of the prettier catalogs
around, and lots of handy tables in it)
You might check companies that supply to transformer winding
companies. (Thomas Register?) Most pole pigs /power transformers
these days use aluminum windings.
>Anyway, I had no luck at all with my search. I wonder
>if it is practical to do your own enameling at home?
Yes but... see below.. basically it's a couple pulleys that dips the
wire into the enamel, etc.
>Another thought is whether alodyning, chromiting, or anodizing
>would help. Those could be done at home.
Yes, but the tiniest little cracks provide an entrance for evil
corrosive influences... and it's hard to put enough of a coating on
to be resistant.
Your time would be better spent finding someone who makes the stuff :
someone does.. as you say, it's used in loudspeaker coils (typically
with rectangular cross section) and in power transformers.
>Rick N6RK
>
>
>
>
>Dan Hearn wrote:
> > At my former QTH in Dallas I buried some aluminum #12 radials for my
> > Hytower. They were totally corroded away in 2 years. The soil there was
> > very
> > conductive and, as I recall, alkaline. I doubt if it would be worth your
> > time to use that wire for radials. 73, Dan, N5AR
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: towertalk-bounces@contesting.com
> > [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com]On Behalf Of VE2RYY
> > Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2007 7:12 AM
> > To: towertalk@contesting.com
> > Subject: [TowerTalk] aluminium welding wire
> >
> >
> > I have the opportunity of getting three spools of .035" al. welding wire.
> > each spool is about 20 lbs.
> > I wonder how many feet we get from one spool.
> > Anybody using this kind of wire for radials on 160.meters.
> > I wonder how long the radials will last on the ground?????
> > Copper is so expensive these days....
> > I would appreciate input on this ..
> > Thanks
> > NOEL
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