[TowerTalk] Re: [Amps] Relays for RF switching

[Michael Tope]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Geoff" <geoffrey at jeremy.mv.com>

> <i>Actually woven braid is the worse possible thing to use. The best
> would be
> something like thin wide copper foil, and a close second would be flat
> parallel strands that are NOT twisted. The worse case situation would be
> a
> loose-woven conductor. The reason is skin effect.</i>
>
> I suspect that very few of us will worry about that at HF as amp
> manufacturers have used braid for decades with no problems.
>

Amost all of the interconnects in the ETO Alpha 78 RF
deck are made with silver plated copper braid. Most of
them are flooded with solder so that they are essentially
rigid, but the connections between the tube anodes and
the plate choke are flexible braid (no solder filling) as
are the ground connections between the bandpass
CW/SSB select relays and the chassis. That is not to say
that smooth flat conductors aren't the best, but I wonder
if the difference is really all that significant for very short
connections (1 to 2 inches) at HF frequencies. The
Alpha 78 seems to be a good amplifier, but if filling those
flexible braid connections with solder will improve efficiency
on 10 meters, I am all ears.

73 de Mike, W4EF..............................................