Topband: Deployable radials for 80/160M - Summary

[Carl]

Around this area small gauge Teflon wire at electronics surplus shops sells 
for less than PVC insulated as its of almost no value to recyclers. Partial 
to full reels are available.

Carl
KM1H


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Wichers" <billw at waveform.net>
To: <jbwolf at comcast.net>
Cc: <topband at contesting.com>; "rich kennedy" <astro_maryland at yahoo.com>
Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2014 6:03 PM
Subject: Re: Topband: Deployable radials for 80/160M - Summary


> Easy and cheap option (instead of Teflon insulation): use polyethylene 
> insulated wire. Almost all of the outdoor-type telephone wire is of this 
> type. It's the PVC insulated wire that typically deteriorates outside. 
> Polyethylene has a much longer life outdoors, especially the black stuff 
> which generally is uv stabilized.
>
> -Bill
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jun 25, 2014, at 10:46 AM, "James Wolf" <jbwolf at comcast.net> wrote:
>
>> One note of caution, based on personal experience.
>>
>> I used some coated stranded #20 ga. wire here for my radials, and also 
>> for a
>> electric dog fence.  A couple years later, during the winter the dog 
>> fence
>> opened up. I fixed it and it failed about three more times until spring.
>> All the wire in both cases was initially laying on top the ground but 
>> over a
>> couple years had migrated down about 1/2 inch or so.   What I found was 
>> that
>> over time the insulation had become very hard and cracked, more so in the
>> damper area of the yard.  This allowed water to ingress into the tin 
>> coated
>> copper and eat the wire.   This meant that I likely had a lot less of a
>> radial field than I thought.  I found some Teflon coated wire at a 
>> hamfest
>> and am using that for the radials and the dog fence.  After 20 some years
>> now, no failures on the dog fence, so I'm pretty confident that the 
>> radial
>> field is still mostly intact.
>> I suspect that the insulation was compromised due to moisture, and it
>> certainly was not suitable for outdoor burial.
>>
>> Jim - KR9U
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Topband [mailto:topband-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of rich
>> kennedy via Topband
>> Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2014 7:30 AM
>> To: topband
>> Subject: Topband: Deployable radials for 80/160M - Summary
>>
>> Thanks to all who have responded, both to this reflector and to me 
>> directly
>> to my question ("... is #22 wire suitable for ~90' deployable radials 
>> ...")
>>
>> 1.  Most recommend that unless there is some type of animal, person, or
>> vehicle traffic that would potentially cross back-and-forth across the
>> radial field that a #22 wire, especially insulated, should be OK.  A few
>> reported using a lighter gauge wire (#24 on down) with success.  Wire 
>> size
>> isn't a critical electrical variable in an installation such as mine 
>> (approx
>> 40 wires).
>>
>> 2.  If one is concerned about #1, then #20 or #18 should be your minimum.
>>
>> 3.  Most, but not all, seemed to have purchased their radial wire from
>> salvage, surplus, ham fests, thrift stores, etc.  There seems to be 
>> multiple
>> online sources (I google searched "surplus #22 wire") for all variations 
>> of
>> wires (and wire from CAT 5 cable) suitable for radials.
>>
>> Regarding the question ("...spooling out radial wires, then re-spooling 
>> them
>> in the spring ..."):
>>
>> 1.  Wire 'flexibility' seems to be the concern - how easy is it to 
>> un-spool
>> the radials, then to re-spool them without generating a tangled mess.  If
>> possible, wire insulation or jacket material should be examined and 
>> tested
>> prior to the purchase.  Know what you are buying.
>>
>> 2.  Many users of deployable radials have purchased garden hose reel 
>> systems
>> or an extension cord reel (a rotary wheel type device in a sturdy frame 
>> with
>> a handle) - either the large (~2' x ~2') hose/cord variety or the smaller
>> handheld reel/cord types.
>>
>> 3.  Several users like to tie the individual radials in a sequence, one 
>> to
>> the next, and twisting together the ends, for both deployment and
>> re-spooling so that there is one long continuous piece of wire.  One or 
>> two
>> users built 'packages' of 2, 4, or even 6 wires all in parallel, 
>> especially
>> where the radial lengths are nearly identical.  If one has radial wires 
>> of
>> multiple length, then he/she may want to consider color-coding the wire
>> groups of different lengths (or using a spray paint the ends) to 'label'
>> them  for next seasons lowband operation.
>>
>> Apologies to those whose valid suggestions may have been left out of this
>> summary.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 73, Rich, K3VAT
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