Topband: Price of Copper Going Up

[donovanf at starpower.net]

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for pointing that out.  I'm sure 60% copper clad aluminum will work just as well as copper radials.

73
Frank
W3LPL

---- Original message ----
>Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2013 12:51:49 -0800 (PST)
>From: Jeff Woods <jmwooods at yahoo.com>  
>Subject: Re: Topband: Price of Copper Going Up  
>To: "donovanf at starpower.net" <donovanf at starpower.net>, "topband at contesting.com" <topband at contesting.com>
>Cc: Dennis W0JX <w0jx at yahoo.com>
>
>   Be advised that the wire in the Ebay listing is Copper Clad
>   Aluminum.  The fine print's towards the bottom.
>   While I'd have no qualms about using it for my seasonal, above
>   ground radials, some of you with higher standards and deeper
>   pockets may prefer all copper.
>   -Jeff, W0ODS
>
>   --------------------------------------------------------------
>
>     From: "donovanf at starpower.net" <donovanf at starpower.net>
>     To: topband at contesting.com
>     Cc: Dennis W0JX <w0jx at yahoo.com>
>     Sent: Thursday, February 7, 2013 8:18 AM
>     Subject: Re: Topband: Price of Copper Going Up
>     Despite the high cost of copper, there are still affordable
>     sources of copper radial wire.  For example, 16 AWG speaker
>     wire can be purchased on eBay for $52.25 per one thousand
>     feet including shipping within the U.S.
>
>     http://www.ebay.com/itm/THE-WIRES-ZONE-SW16-1000X-16-GAUGE-1000-FT-SPEAKER-WIRE-HOME-CAR-BLUE-/160851382663?pt=US_Audio_Cables_Adapters&hash=item25737d5187
>
>     Its not difficult to separate this "zip cord" speaker wire
>     to produce 2000 feet of wire, that's affordable radial wire
>     at 2.6 cents per foot.  One minor bit of caution, the wire
>     separates more easily at room temperature.  The insulation
>     hardens a bit in cold weather, increasing the effort to
>     unzip it.
>
>     Speaker wire is  N O T  suitable for antenna construction,
>     its has inadequate tensile strength.  But it works great for
>     radials.
>
>     73
>     Frank
>     W3LPL
>
>     ---- Original message ----
>     >Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2013 20:16:23 -0800 (PST)
>     >From: Dennis W0JX <w0jx at yahoo.com>
>     >Subject: Topband: Price of Copper Going Up
>     >To: topband at contesting.com
>     >
>     >For those of you planning on putting in big ground radial
>     systems, you might want to buy your wire sooner than later.
>     Either that or hedge your cost by investing in copper
>     futures! See link below:
>     >
>     >http://seekingalpha.com/article/1160971-kevin-puil-4-lb-copper-is-on-its-way
>     >
>     >73, Dennis W0JX/8
>     >_________________
>     >Topband Reflector
>     _________________
>     Topband Reflector