[Amps] Decline of homebrewing?

[Roger (K8RI)]

A dipole that will last is something I can build in a few minutes 
including the choke, support rope, and coax.that will take far more than 
the legal limit and will outlast me.  True, I've built many at many 
locations and have "everything on hand.", BUT I have very limited use of 
my left hand. (Another reason for using crimp connectors.) Try doing 
this with just one hand. <:-)  Like hams learn to adapt parts, a person 
can learn to adapt as well.  Of course, it helps greatly that I grew up 
on a farm.

Center  and end insulators on e-bay, coax from many sources, crimp 
connectors, likewise..
I already have a tower, but a line over a tree to haul up an inverted V, 
or the upper end of a sloping dipole.

They "can be" quick, simple, and robust, IF and I emphasize the If you 
know the antenna basics and where to find the parts.  I use Copper split 
nuts and never solder wire antennas. OTOH the ones I do put up are 
usually under considerable tension. Tension on the order of between 100 
and 200#

Being cheap served us well for many years, because we could find quality 
surplus parts for low prices.  Not so much now days. Cheap means DIN 
connectors with low temp molded plastic that were meant for use in 
machine assembly, not hand soldered.  These are the same connectors that 
are used in big name computers and ham gear. It  means undersize wire, 
poor insulation, poor quality parts. Cheap now gets us cheap parts most 
of the time.

73, Roger (K8RI)

On 1/5/2017 11:40 AM, Bill Turner wrote:
> ------------ ORIGINAL MESSAGE ------------(may be snipped)
>
> On Thu, 5 Jan 2017 09:05:32 -0500, Jeff wrote:
>
>> , and while I agree the term "homebuilt dipole"
>> shows a lack of technical sophistication,
> REPLY:
>
> Why is everyone knocking the term "homebuilt dipole"?
>
> Try building a dipole that will withstand years and years of rain,
> ice, snow and hurricane force wind and see just how hard it is. A
> dipole is more than pieces of wire. It includes the center insulator,
> balun, coax and the interconnections between all the above.
>
> Certainly it's not rocket science, but it's also not something to be
> slapped together in a few minutes if you want it to last.
>
> Been there, done that.
>
> 73, Bill W6WRT
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