Topband: Wire size at base of 160M inverted L

[Mike Waters]

Even 18 AWG might be overkill, as short as it is.
Think Ohm's Law, my friend. :-)

73, Mike
W0BTU

On Wed, Dec 25, 2019, 12:16 PM N4ZR <n4zr at comcast.net> wrote:

> I'm wiring up a relay to be used to open the feedpoint of my 160M
> inverted L. My intention is to have it connect the feedpoint to the
> transmitter when the relay is activated by PTT and open the circuit on
> receive.  I will be running 1500 watts.
>
> My question is this how heavy does the wire need to be between the
> antenna side of my common mode choke and the relay, or between the relay
> and the feedpoint? The relay is rated at 16 amperes continuous, 30 amps
> switching.  I've been told that current rather than voltage is the issue
> at the base of a quarter-wave.  My normal instinct would be to use
> something like No.12 or 14 wire, but the terminals on the relay are
> roughly the diameter of #18 wire, and the center conductor of the common
> mode choke (wound with RG-400) is similarly small, so would the heavy
> wire be overkill?
>
>
> --
>
> 73, Pete N4ZR
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