TopBand: BEVERAGE ANTENNA WIRE

[Craig Clark]

>Date: Sat, 31 Jan 1998 08:55:39 -0500

>To: "BILL, VE3CSK" <<vertex@execulink.com>

>From: Craig Clark <<nx1g@top.monad.net>

>Subject: Re: TopBand: BEVERAGE ANTENNA WIRE

>Cc: topband@contesting.com

>In-Reply-To: <<199801310156.UAA26653@dayton.akorn.net>

>

>At 08:56 PM 1/30/98 -0500, you wrote:

>>I ran across what looks like a great source of very good wire for erecting

>>Beverage antennas.  With the days of "wired" communication all but done in

>>the military, large spools of telephone wire are beginning to show up on the

>>surplus market.  The stuff I found originally came on a roll of about a

>>mile, two conductor twisted (yes Herman-you must untwist it!).

>

>From memory of Signal School, Ft Gordon, Fall 1974 and Infantry Communications Data ST-7-180 FY 72 here's some more info on this stuff.

>

>US Army telephone wire is called WD-1. It comes in a number of different ways some easy to use, some a pain. There is another wire WD-36 called assault wire. However in almost 20 years of doing wire communication, I never saw any and wont reference it here.

>

>First of all, there are 7 wires per strand; 4 copper and 3 steel, two wires in a twisted pair.  The coating is a heavy duty extruded plastic over nylon. The wire weighs 48 pounds per mile and has a maximum tensile strength of 200 pounds (both wires.)

>

>Wire comes in a number of ways. The DR-8 is preferred as it is a reel of wire and carries 400 meters of WD-1. We called these Drag-eights. The second way you might find wire is on a MX-306 "doughnut" and this has 800 meters of wire. You'd only find these from a warehouse as once they are used, you throw them away. I suspect that most wire will be found on a RL-159 metal drum that holds almost 1600 meters of wire. This is a heavy spool but I don't remember the weight.

>

>We used the DR-8 and "doughnuts" to lay the wire but recovered it on to RL-159s. We'd take the wire back to base and make up new DR-8's or just use the RL-159s if we were laying out long runs. 

>

>When you strip this wire, be VERY CAREFUL of the steel wires. They are like needles and will puncture your skin quite efficiently to the depth you have stripped the wire. Most army lineman I knew had many punctures in their thumbs! 

>

>Hope this helps. I saw some at the Rochfield Flea Market in NH a few years ago but the guy wanted far more than it was worth. That's all I have ever seen.

>

>BTW, this wire would be great for a radial system too!

>

>73 Craig

>

>

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