Topband: Bev Wire

George & Marijke Guerin gmguerin@voyager.net
Tue, 29 Jan 2002 17:42:02 +0000


Dear Mike & Others,
    I have used aluminum wire for dipoles and for top loading on a tower,
but not for receiving.  My concern is that aluminum connections "drift".
That is the metal is soft enough to flow, so a tight connection becomes
loose and without an antioxidation grease at the connection, it can become a
noise source like point source diode rectification.  Also it corrodes easily
unless it is well jacketed.
    I have had good luck making beverages with phos-bronze wire, with
copperweld, and with ordinary stranded hook-up wire.  Currently I use vinyl
jacketed stranded 20 ga. hook-up wire for one beverage and similar
phos-bronze wire for another, and am stringing a third one with 22 ga. 19
strand hook-up wire.  I use wire with medium brown and leaf green colored
vinyl insulation to make them less visible,
    73        George    K8GG