Topband: 160M Helical Vertical

[Bill Wichers]

To add to what Gerry mentioned about the legal limit voltages, I would
suspect the tape may be more prone to arcing than a round wire due to
the concentrated charges at the "sharp" edges being more prone to corona
discharge. Personally, I'd just use a wire as I doubt there would be
much difference using a tape and the tape is likely to be both more
expensive and more difficult to work with.

  -Bill

> Another thing to keep in mind is that at legal limits the voltage at
the
> base of a short loaded vertical can be very significant and might
short
> between windings. Also the tape clearly has to handle the high current
and
> not negatively impact radiation efficiency by adding significant
element
> resistance.
> 
> 73, Gerry VE6LB/VA6XDX
> VE6 QSL Bureau Team
> DXCC Field Checker
> ve6lb at telus.net
> 403-251-0384
> http://www.qsl.net/ve6lb
[snip]