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[TowerTalk] Silver vs Aluminum vs Copper Re: OT: Inductor

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Subject: [TowerTalk] Silver vs Aluminum vs Copper Re: OT: Inductor
From: "Jim Thomson" <jim.thom@telus.net>
Date: Sun, 3 Mar 2019 20:50:06 -0800
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
From: jimlux <jimlux@earthlink.net>
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] Silver vs Aluminum vs Copper Re: OT: Inductor
Calculator
 
> <Complicating this is there's usually a nickel flash/strike plate under
> <the silver, to prevent silver/copper migration, and nickel is magnetic
> <and lossy.
>
<The paper that was linked by another list member comments that plating 
<conductivity is often (much) lower than the plain metal, because of 
<stuff added to make the plating actually work.




   A   .25 inch  OD  tubing coil  will handle
> 41 %  more  current, due to skin effect, on 7 mhz... vs the same  .25 inch OD 
> tubing coil
> on  14 mhz.   The same  .25 inch OD  tubing coil on 1.8 mhz  will handle  a 
> whopping 2.82
> X more current... vs the same .25 inch OD tubing coil on  14.350  
> mhz.....again due to
> skin effect.   It goes to the  sq  rt of the ratio of the freqs.

I don't know about "handle more current" - the RF resistance goes up as 
the square root of frequency, so the dissipation goes up as sqrt(f) too.
..............................................................................................................................................


###  There is no nickel flash  used in the formulation, per the msds sheet for 
the  cool amp
product,  used to silver plate  cu  etc.    Power companies use it to silver 
plate the ends of cu buss bars,
where they over lap..and thats  at  60 hz.  It also works good when  Dc is 
applied to  cu buss bars...where
they overlap.  
I have managed to solve a lot of int  issues, esp  RX, when the cool amp glop 
is applied to existing contacts
on relays  etc.   I had  brand new 30A  deltrol and also P + B relays with int 
high  dc resistance  between NC and COM
contacts..and also between   NO and   COM contacts.   Once the  cool amp glop 
applied correctly,  dc resistance
dropped  to zero.   Problems solved.  

## Re-read  my post above.  As freq increases, RF current handling 
decreases....  assuming
the same cu tubing  OD is used.   .25  OD  Cu  tubing will handle  41% more  RF 
 current  on  7 mhz..
vs  14 mhz.   With SAME  RF current applied,  the  .25 OD  cu tubing will run 
hotter on 14 mhz,  vs  7 mhz. 
This is why stuff like tank coils in linear amps start off with smaller gauge  
wire on  160m... and progressively 
increase in gauge, as freq  increases.    On 10m band,  coils need to be 
quadruple the diameter  vs  160m. 
Easier said than done  however.   Saving grace is...  typ uh values on 10m band 
are really low.   This is where
strap coils work good, and are easily made..which also works  good on 12m , and 
also  6m.   I also used  strap
coils on my  40m  yagi boxes, since the required uh  was very small.  Wound 
from 1 inch wide cu strap, and  1.5 inches
ID..and  aprx  .036 inch thick cu strap.   2 x vac relays used per coil, tapped 
at  1/3  and also  remaining  2/3. 
4 x segments  result.   In the nema boxes I used,  I had plenty of length, but 
not a lot of   height and  width to play with,
so using tubing coils was out of the question for that particular application.  
 

##  aluminum tubing works  great for  yagi eles, but when using aluminum wire, 
or alumoweld wire for  wire ant applications,
is difficult to work with, and make  solid connections to. 

Jim   VE7RF
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