Topband: Ladder line vs coax loss epiphany

[Rik van Riel]

On 04/30/2014 11:08 AM, Shoppa, Tim wrote:
> I briefly used the "window line" you all are discussing, before I built my own parallel line from scratch.

It is surprisingly easy to make one's own ladder line, on a budget,
from materials that are locally available.

I have made ladder line from 12ga THHN wire, 1/4 tubing, UV resistant
zip ties, and super glue.

First, I cut the 1/4 inch tubing in many pieces of equal length,
representing the distance between the wires.

Then, I string up two lines of copper wire near each other, at a
convenient to work with height. This can be done between two trees,
between a tree and the deck, etc...

To assemble the ladder line, I run a zip tie through the tubing,
around one wire, back through the tubing, around the second wire,
and then I ratchet it close.

I put spacers on about every foot and a half. Afterwards, I run
by and snip off the zip tie ends, followed by another run to put
a drop of superglue where each zip tie touches the wire.

Ladder line like this has been up both at my house, and at a
friend's place, for a few years now.

It is a lot easier to make it this way, than to run hundreds of
feet of copper wire through ready-bought spreaders.

I did take pictures at one point. If someone wants the illustrated
version of the above description, I'll type up a blog post with
pictures.

If someone has ideas on how to do it better, I am all ears :)