[TenTec] Re. [Ten Tec] Grounds and balanced fed verticals

[Steve Hunt]

Here's an interesting paper by Wes Stuart N7WS on the topic:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/7132619/Ladder-Line

If you look at his Equation 2 for the total loss of twin line you can 
identify the copper loss term and the dielectric loss term. For 300 Ohm 
line constructed from #16 copper wire with a polyethylene dielectric, 
the copper loss exceeds the dielectric loss until you reach 3.3GHz.

At 30MHz the two loss terms turn out to be:
Copper loss 0.264dB/100ft
Dielectric loss 0.025dB/100ft

Steve G3TXQ



On 26/01/2012 14:34, Steve Hunt wrote:
> In a typical coax line, the dielectric losses don't exceed the copper
> losses until you get above 1GHz. At HF line losses are overwhelmingly
> copper losses, and dielectric losses can safely be ignored. Do the sums
> or take a look at the chart here:
> http://rfcafe.com/references/electrical/coax.htm
>
> As Jim said, the lower matched-loss of twin lead is down to its higher
> characteristic impedance (hence lower current) and, possibly, larger
> conductor diameter. Commercial window line doesn't have a particularly
> large conductor - you can make lower-loss line yourself simply by using
> thicker wire. Also, if it's open-wire line, it wont suffer anything like
> the increase in loss when wet that the commercial window line does.
>
> Steve G3TXQ
>
>
>