To: <topband@contesting.com>
>Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 08:55:39 -0500
>To: "BILL, VE3CSK" <<vertex@execulink.com>
>From: Craig Clark <<nx1g@top.monad.net>
>Subject: Re: TopBand: BEVERAGE ANTENNA WIRE
>Cc: topband@contesting.com
>In-Reply-To: <<199801310156.UAA26653@dayton.akorn.net>
>
>At 08:56 PM 1/30/98 -0500, you wrote:
>>I ran across what looks like a great source of very good wire for erecting
>>Beverage antennas. With the days of "wired" communication all but done in
>>the military, large spools of telephone wire are beginning to show up on the
>>surplus market. The stuff I found originally came on a roll of about a
>>mile, two conductor twisted (yes Herman-you must untwist it!).
>
>From memory of Signal School, Ft Gordon, Fall 1974 and Infantry Communications
>Data ST-7-180 FY 72 here's some more info on this stuff.
>
>US Army telephone wire is called WD-1. It comes in a number of different ways
>some easy to use, some a pain. There is another wire WD-36 called assault
>wire. However in almost 20 years of doing wire communication, I never saw any
>and wont reference it here.
>
>First of all, there are 7 wires per strand; 4 copper and 3 steel, two wires in
>a twisted pair. The coating is a heavy duty extruded plastic over nylon. The
>wire weighs 48 pounds per mile and has a maximum tensile strength of 200
>pounds (both wires.)
>
>Wire comes in a number of ways. The DR-8 is preferred as it is a reel of wire
>and carries 400 meters of WD-1. We called these Drag-eights. The second way
>you might find wire is on a MX-306 "doughnut" and this has 800 meters of wire.
>You'd only find these from a warehouse as once they are used, you throw them
>away. I suspect that most wire will be found on a RL-159 metal drum that holds
>almost 1600 meters of wire. This is a heavy spool but I don't remember the
>weight.
>
>We used the DR-8 and "doughnuts" to lay the wire but recovered it on to
>RL-159s. We'd take the wire back to base and make up new DR-8's or just use
>the RL-159s if we were laying out long runs.
>
>When you strip this wire, be VERY CAREFUL of the steel wires. They are like
>needles and will puncture your skin quite efficiently to the depth you have
>stripped the wire. Most army lineman I knew had many punctures in their
>thumbs!
>
>Hope this helps. I saw some at the Rochfield Flea Market in NH a few years ago
>but the guy wanted far more than it was worth. That's all I have ever seen.
>
>BTW, this wire would be great for a radial system too!
>
>73 Craig
>
>
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