XHHW refers to the insulation type, not the wire material.XHHW can be copper or
aluminum.
See:https://www.multicominc.com/training/technical-resources/thhn-vs-xhhw-difference/73,Gary
K9GS
-------- Original message --------From: Rob Atkinson <ranchorobbo@gmail.com>
Date: 2/24/20 7:46 AM (GMT-06:00) To: towertalk <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] XHHW wire I have a few problems with this wire. My
experience with aluminum isthat it is not worth the trouble integrating it into
the rest of theantenna system when it comes to bonding it to other metals.
Iappreciate the light weight and lower cost but aluminum has anotherundesirable
property: It cold flows so clamps on it eventually comeloose and then you have
resistance and heat. This is why aluminumhouse wire which was tried in the
1960s came to a quick end--too manycold flows, heat and fires. I hope it
isn't coming back for thatpurpose.I have my 200 amp service drop to my home
using aluminum. I don'tlike it but I can't make the power company use copper.
Every fewyears I check the lugs on the main breaker to make sure they are
stilltight. This is one area where an IR camera would come in handy. ItWILL
cold flow eventually and you'll know it when your lights flickeror dim briefly
when a big load like A/C comes on.I was dismayed to see that QST ran an article
by some sort of RFexpert on how to construct open wire feedline using aluminum
AWG 8 ormaybe it was 6, stranded wire. Ridiculous overkill for ham power,
andhe spliced line sections together using what appeared to be steelclamps.
Those clamps will lose their grip in a few years and he'llhave problems,
besides the use of steel for RF. None of this came upin the article. Then
there was the line Z due to the spacing anddiameter of AWG 8 cable but that's
outside the focus
here.73RobK5UJ______________________________________________________________________________________________TowerTalk
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