[TowerTalk] ladder line

[Craig Clark]

>Jim



>I'm looking for a source of flexible open wire line, or of
>components to make same.  Ideas sought.
>
>Radioworks has a line made from #14 stranded copper-clad.
>That's a possibility, requiring no work.
>
>They also sell #12 superweave, which has 259 strands, and is
>insulated with PE.  I use this for antennas.  It's great to work
>with, and very robust.  Contemplating use of same for OWL...
>but would need to find spacers, to make it up.
>
>Then comes the questions about spacing/line impedance/visual and
>wind profiles.  I've always wondered about losses in ladder line,
>where 20% of the line is solid PE spacer.  What happens when this
>stuff is run at high vswr?
>
>Jim/n2ea


There is no magic in ladderline despite claims that are made to that effect.
Saxton was the last major manufacturer of ladderline. When they quite 
making open wire line their equipment was very old and economically 
unrepairable.  Their process was to heat the wire to melt plastic spacers 
at a constant spacing.   Jersey Standard Cable (JSC) came up with a 
workable solution in a windowed line. For all practical purposes it is a 
very good conductor and will handle high SWR without degradation. W7FG 
makes open wire ladder line.

One of the problems with single wire open line was if it flexed too much, 
it would fail. That's why the #16 AWG stranded makes sense.

The #12 "superweave" sounds like Davis's HD Flex-weave which is comprised 
of 259 strands of a #36 AWG wire.

There aint no such thing as a free lunch.  IMHO, ladder line is a pain to 
use and that's based upon over 10 years of using it. I like my coax fed 
antennas.


73, Craig Clark, K1QX

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