Aluminum Electric Fence wire can be found at County Co-ops
as well as the typical home improvement centers.
I used aluminum welding wire radials for 4 years at a previous
location with good results. I simply shoved the ends on the wires
into a 'ground block' along with a short piece of tinned braid to the
coax. A tinned copper wire and plently of Penetrox or AL-NO-OX
is another (better) solution.
I expect that aluminum electric fence wire is less brittle than
the welding wire I used and is therefore a better choice.
Tom N4KG
On Mon, 12 Nov 2001 ValErwin@aol.com writes:
>
> Tower Dudes:
>
> I found the cheapest source of radial wire to be uninsulated,
> Aluminum electric fence wire. It is sold by Home Depot and
> is found in the fencing section NOT the electrical section of the
store --
>
> The wire, 17 ga., is sold in 400 meter rolls and is superior to Cu
> wire in that it is more resistant to soil corrosion when buried than
> Cu wire here in the Dallas, TX area --- other soil conditions may
tell
> a different story. My radial field under my HyTower has been in the
> ground now for 3 years and only shows a slight greying-type corrosion
> on the wire surface.
>
> The only disadvantage I have found is that a "special" solder
> (available at Ace Hdw.) must be used if you cannot find a
> workaround like I did. --- I attached the ends of all radials
> to an aluminum plate via Al nuts/bolts at the antenna base.
>
> GL
>
> Val
> W5PUT
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