Topband: 2 wire beverage question

[Tom W8JI]

> ON4UN states in his book that the wires for a 2 wire reversible beverage 
> must be installed side by side, but also may be placed one above the other 
> with satisfactory results.
> Did someone try this? How satisfactory is satisfactory?

There is no difference at all.

If the feed system is right, and the line is properly constructed, it would 
all work virtually the same. It does not matter if one wire is above the 
other, or if they are side-by-side.

Absolutely the best construction method would be a twisted or transposed 
line, twisted or transposed at fractions of a wavelength, but even using the 
best twisted or transposed installation it would be difficult to tell from 
an untwisted line if the conductor was very close spaced (a few inches or 
less).

What does make a difference is the wire used, and how the line behaves as a 
transmission line. I would not use telephone, insulated wire twisted pair, 
or field phone wire, because they are very poor transmission lines that are 
lossy and heavily affected by water.

The wire layout of good line, however, is meaningless (except for 
transposing or twisting which can help maintain balance).