[CQ-Contest] 1/4 inch tubing

[Richard F DiDonna NN3W]

Not too terribly difficult to acquire but not cheap.  Extruders hate small
diameter product and especially hate closed hollow products because of the
die setups.  You're going to pay for that with a price premium for sure!

73 RIch NN3W

On Mon, Jan 5, 2026 at 2:16 PM <john at kk9a.com> wrote:

>
> Ø1/4" 6061-T6 with a 17ga (.058) wall is listed in my old Central Steel &
> Wire catalog but only .035 and .049 walls are shown in my newer Ryerson
> catalog.   The latter two are pretty easy to purchase at many metal
> suppliers and they should provide adequate strength for that small of
> aluminum tubing. That said, it is probably less expensive and better to
> just
> go with the next size larger tubing and use DXE's standard stock. I have
> never even imagined using Ø1/4 aluminum tubing on HF.  My homebrew Yagis
> use
> Ø1/2" tips per the ARRL Antenna book's 100++MPH element taper schedule and
> I
> never had an issue with them breaking or vibrating.
>
> John KK9A
>
>
>
> Stan Stockton K5GO wrote
> <snip>
>
> 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
>
>
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