On 1/12/11 1:26 PM, K2VI wrote:
> hello to all on TT. Im waiting for this weather to become more seasonable for
> commencing this vertical antenna project. Anyway in regard to the radial
> plate installation i decided to go with the prefab Dx engineering stainless
> steel plate. Im curious if the stainless steel will conduct the Rf to the
> copper radials or will there be any loss. question # 2 is connecting the
> wires to the plate, Ive seen most solder lugs then slipping over the bolts.
> Can i simply tin the wire and wrap it directly around the bolt, use never
> seize and tighten it down then paint it with scotchkote? It just seems to be
> a long daunting job of soldering 55+ lugs if not necessary. Thanks in advance
> guys. 73
>
You could do that.
I'd crimp the lugs onto the wires. faster, more reliable (a good
crimper makes a gas tight seal between wire and lug), etc. You could
crimp on 60 lugs a few minutes (assuming your hand doesn't give out).
Wrapping the wire around the screw sort of works, but you need the right
kind of screw head (with the flat bottom and corrugations to bite into
the wire). I always find that the wire squishes out from under the
screw head, unless there's something holding it in place (on a AC
receptacle or switch, there's ridges to hold the wire. Screws on wire
also inevitably loosen up with temperature cycling, unless you use some
sort of threadlocker (I guess the scotchkote would do that..)
Crimping a flat ring lug seems awfully easy.
The other approach is to gather all 50-60 wires together (assuming they
are bare) into a bundle, and then silver solder it into a solid mass.
You might even be able to adapt a thermite (CadWeld) to basically weld it
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