[CQ-Contest] 1/4 inch tubing

[Joe]

Mine starts at that 1/8" rod and goes up 1/8" in size every 4 feet, 
Minus 6" of telescoping joints.
It's the last remaining vertical of a 3 element phased array. I sold the 
other two after I moved
to a place that did not have the land for the array anymore.

It's been up for 20+ Years now. And has survived many BIG winds. Some 
exceeding 90 Mph!
In a big storm I do admit it looks like a Larsen 5/8 wave for 2 meters 
on a car rooftop going 80 down the interstate.
Like seen here,
https://imgur.com/a/cECEybW
But it has out lived most of those trees near it in that picture.
Most of those trees have been blown over and are now laying on the ground.

Joe WB9SBD

On 1/5/2026 4:37 AM, Stan Stockton wrote:
> Dave,
>
> You know that I didn’t say it wouldn’t work.  The reason for his post was to try to find a source of 1/4” x .058 wall tubing which apparently is not too easy for him to find.
>
> We are talking about an element made of aluminum tubing.  Joe’s vertical is aluminum tubing with a solid rod tip, elevated and self supporting.
>
> Neither DXE, Texas Towers or any other primary supplier of aluminum tubing for hams has ever offered 1/4” x .058” wall tubing to the best of my knowledge.  There is certainly no problem in making a 40m vertical that will survive 100 MPH or more without using materials that are not readily available and without using anything smaller than 3/8” which is readily available.
>
> If someone wanted to make a dipole using #15 wire my reaction would be the same.  Why make it using a size that’s not readily available when a more standard size is easier and less expensive to purchase.
>
> Stan
>
>> On Jan 4, 2026, at 10:23 AM, David Gilbert<ab7echo at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> 
>> Why??  A suspended wire vertical would be a lot smaller than 1/8 inch and would work just fine.
>>
>> Dave   AB7E
>>
>>
>>> On 1/3/2026 7:04 PM, Stan Stockton wrote:
>>> Is the need for 1/4” tubing for 40 meter verticals?
>>>
>>> I cannot imagine making a 40m vertical or any other HF vertical or half wavelength element that would have anything smaller than 3/8” tubing at the tip.
>>>
>>> Stan, K5GO
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>>>> On Jan 3, 2026, at 8:02 PM, Joe<nss at mwt.net> wrote:
>>>> I wasn't worried about stiffness.
>>>> It is the telescoping to the 1/8" rod. the 0.049, it was pretty tough to get a good grip to lock the rod in place too much slop.
>>>>
>>>> Joe WB9SBD
>>>>
>>>>> On 1/2/2026 11:54 PM, K9MA wrote:
>>>>>> On 1/2/2026 7:30 PM, Zack Widup wrote:
>>>>>> That's where I have been buying aluminum tubing. They don't have 0.058"
>>>>>> wall thickness in 1/4" diameter tubing, but the closest they have for that
>>>>>> diameter is 0.049", which I suspect will work.
>>>>> You don't get a whole lot of extra stiffness by going from a .049 to .058 inch wall thickness in tubing this small.
>>>>>
>>>>> 73,
>>>>> Scott K9MA
>>>>>
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