[TowerTalk] phillystran for wire dipoles in trees

[Jim Jarvis]

Jim,

I've run 160 and 80m carolina windoms in trees varying from 80 to
140' high, in Vermont and Maryland.  I have them made from #12
PE insulated superflex wire, which has a breaking strength above
175 lbs, and is easy to handle.

I hold them up with olive drab dacron rope...variously 1/4" or 1/8".
The latter has 700 lbs tensile strength, the former something like 2200lbs.

Routinely ran a kw.

All I do is shoot gametracker string over the top of the trees, pull up the
1/8" and pull up the antenna.  Forget the pulleys.  Had ONE antenna come
down,
in 10 years, and put it back up in under an hour.  Never lost a rope.  DID
break the wire, that one time.

Phillystran isn't particularly resistive to abrasion.  Not well suited for
being in trees.

n2ea
jimjarvis at ieee.org