I agree with Tom.
>I'd use a stranded pure copper wire (not copperweld) if I ever
>wanted to build a quad, and stress relieve it near the spreaders
>with some heatshrink over the wire!
I had a three band, 4 element quad up 88 feet at my Minnesota QTH for
several years. The wire I used was insulated, #12 stranded, copper. At the
attachment points on the spreaders I used ferrules (similar to those used on
fishing rods) with an opening of about 1/2 to 3/4 inch. The ferrules were
home-made from enameled #12 copper wire and had ends that extended about
1-1/2 inch from the center of the opening. These ends were taped to the
fiberglass spreaders with glass fiber tape and then the tape was painted
with an actinic resistant epoxy paint. The element wire was threaded though
the ferrules. The positioning of the ferrules was such that the element loop
was non-taut. This allowed the spreaders to flex independently of each other
and not be held at a fixed distance from each other. As a result it was
possible for any spreader or the element loop to move in the wind or under
the weight of ice without being subjected to forces from other elements.
There were no element failures during the several years that the quad was in
place.
Tod, KØTO
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