Topband: Outdoor rope suggestions

[Jim Brown]

On Tue,9/2/2014 7:47 AM, Carl wrote:
> Im going to be needing 500-1000' spools of polyester double braid rope 
> for supporting some more wire antennas in the harsh enviroment up 
> here. The 5/16" is rated at 3400 tensile and the wire will be about 
> 50#. ID likely tension it to about 200-250# to reduce sag 

Hi Carl,

I'm supporting high dipoles fed by RG11 up 120 ft with the 5/16-in stuff 
that DX Eng sells. They are run though top-grade pulleys, tied down at 
the base of one tree, 100# of dry sand at the base of the other tree. 
The major issue with the rope is wear -- the pulleys must be first grade 
to avoid abrasion, which WILL eventually break the rope.

My longest span is about 250 ft. Something like four years ago, I bought 
a 500 ft spool of 7/16-in and had the climbers put it on one end. Never 
got around to doing the other end. They climb every 4-5 years, and each 
time I have them examine the ropes. So far, no reports of wear.

73, Jim K9YC