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Re: [TowerTalk] Force 12 Aluma-o-weld wire

To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Force 12 Aluma-o-weld wire
From: Grant Saviers <grants2@pacbell.net>
Date: Fri, 4 May 2018 09:16:40 -0700
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
I've never heard of aluminum clad MIG welding wire. Bare or very thin copper flash over many steel alloys are common, flux cored and solid. Not enough copper thickness to be useful for antennas. Solid aluminum MIG wire in various alloys. Usually a very soft temper so also useless for antennas.

Clad copper-aluminum-steel combinations are used in high voltage distribution systems but I doubt anything of a size small enough for Linear Loading antennas. http://www.rmjtcable.com/products/bare-conductor/

I use solid aluminum electric fence wire for elevated radials, available 9 to 17 ga. High-tensile US made in my experience with 8 elevated radials of 12.5 ga x 125' for my 160m vertical has demonstrated strength and very little stretch. My guess is good solid Al wire in 9 ga is strong enough that it has replaced aluminum clad for weight, cost, and ease of use reasons for fencing. At 35ksi yield that is more than 300# tension. My F12 86' 80m rotatable dipole was LL before I changed it to a Tornado variable inductor. The YagiMech analysis showed it needed the LL wire truss for strength among other mechanical weaknesses. 9ga Al fence wire would have been strong enough to replace what was there originally.

I have a carton (1000'?) of 11.5 gauge Alum-Clad steel electric fence wire I bought in 2011 from Kencove.com. I couldn't find it on their web site today. Free to first request if you pick it up. I found it impossible to work with. Check other farm/ranch suppliers for a source if you must have clad steel.

Grant KZ1W
Redmond, WA

On 5/4/2018 7:30 AM, jimlux wrote:
On 5/4/18 5:59 AM, Richard Thorne wrote:
Local welding supply shop should have it.


Just curious, what would one use aluminum clad steel for in welding?



Rich - N5ZC

On 5/4/2018 7:46 AM, Julio Peralta wrote:
What would be a suitable replacement for the Aluma-o-weld wire that F-12 uses on their antennas. I did a google search for Aluma-O-weld and didn't
find anything.


Julio, W4HY

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