[TowerTalk] Wire antennas

[stu]

I have run 1500 watts into a #14 THHN 3 band dipole without any
problems. You have to be sure that it does not contact anything
conductive (including trees) or it will arc over however. Took it down
last fall to do some work and found a few places that looked like
someone burned the insulation off with a torch where I ran it thru a
tree. The end that was out in the open had none of this. Showed this to
the wife along with an explanation of the higher it is the better :)
When I was first licensed I had a dipole whose ends came down to within
5' of the ground, now she doesn't seem to mind the fence post & 20' of
1.5" pvc holding up the one end so much once she seen that. If anyone
has used antennas of different wire sizes have you noticed much
difference in the way of efficiency or tendency to arc over when running
an amp?
Steve KG8TX

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