[TowerTalk] [YCCC] newest bestest radial material ever!

Fri Aug 17 18:04:43 EDT 2007

I get the imsa spec insulated stuff from Clifford of Vt.  They will cut to
order, but there is a minimum that isn't too bad if I remember right.

David Robbins K1TTT
e-mail: mailto:k1ttt at arrl.net
web: http://www.k1ttt.net
AR-Cluster node: 145.69MHz or telnet://dxc.k1ttt.net

> -----Original Message-----
> From: towertalk-bounces at contesting.com [mailto:towertalk-
> bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of jeremy-ca
> Sent: Friday, August 17, 2007 20:16
> To: w1eqo at shaysnet.com; towertalk at contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] [YCCC] newest bestest radial material ever!
> 
> Where do you get your copperweld? I used to buy #12 rural phone wire in
> 1000' spools but its been discontinued wherever I check.  Im going to need
> at least 10K feet. Ive found #14 at a few places.
> I also bought full spools of #14 stranded copperweld but that stuff turned
> to rust in a few years when used as antenna wire, never mind ground
> radials.
> 
> Carl
> KM1H
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <w1eqo at shaysnet.com>
> To: <w2lk at earthlink.net>; <yccc at yccc.org>; <towertalk at contesting.com>;
> <cq-contest at contesting.com>
> Sent: Friday, August 17, 2007 12:46 PM
> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] [YCCC] newest bestest radial material ever!
> 
> 
> Not exactly aluminum wire, but...
> 
> A while back I had a conversation with Copperweld regarding their
> "aluminum-weld wire". It is a steel wire coated with an aluminum jacket.
> 
> I was told that it would not last much longer than a "couple of years" in
> contact, or buried in the ground. The problem was not the aluminium, but
> the dissimilar junction that occurs everywhere the aluminum jacket gets
> nicked or broken thru. These will turn to dust in short order.
> 
> For raised radials, no problem. Another reason to use raised radials.
> 
> On the other hand, there is not a similar problem with copperweld. That
> product will last many years in the ground.
> 
> Copperweld wire is cheap if ordered from the factory. The downside is the
> minimum order size...about 1000 lbs. Then there is trucking, and what to
> do
> with the spool once it arrives.
> 
> 
> Jim, W1EQO
> w1eqo at shaysnet.com
> 
> 
> 
> Original Message:
> -----------------
> From: Les Kalmus w2lk at earthlink.net
> Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2007 12:24:07 -0400
> To: yccc at yccc.org, towertalk at contesting.com, CQ-Contest at contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [YCCC] [TowerTalk] newest bestest radial material ever!
> 
> 
> Any thoughts on how this stuff will survive on the ground?
> 
> Les W2LK
> 
> Richard (Rick) Karlquist wrote:
> > Last year I bought some aluminum wire in coils like you describe.  I
> > think it was a company
> > in Ohio and may very well have been Malinco.  Anyway, they had a 50 lb
> > minimum and charged
> > something like $3 and change per pound.  This is way cheaper than
> > McMaster.  I wholeheartedly
> > agree that alloy 1100 is the hot setup.  BTW, did you know it also is
> > the most corrosion resistant?
> > The stuff I got was annealed to practically wet noodle consistency :-).
> > Wonderful to work with.
> >
> > Rick N6RK
> >
> >
> >
> > K1TTT wrote:
> >
> >> I just found the newest bestest radial material I have ever used!  And
> over
> >> the years I have used a lot of them.  It ain't cheap, but at this point
> in
> >> the 80m 4-square project that doesn't much matter any more.
> >>
> >> It is Alloy 1100 Aluminum Wire .125" Diameter(just under 8ga), 12-lb
> Coil,
> >> 792' Coil, McMaster-Carr part number 8866k15.  They sell it for $150
> and
> its
> >> enough for 12 radials for 80m.  it comes with a tag from
> www.malinco.com,
> >> they don't seem to have an on-line order system so probably only deal
> in
> big
> >> quantities.
> >>
> >> If you want something a bit cheaper they have 2016' coils of .080
> (about
> >> 12ga) for $146.
> >>
> >> This stuff comes in a coil, which kind of worried me a bit until I cut
> off
> >> the tie wraps and it just sat there... no spring to it at all.  It is
> easy
> >> to cut with small wire cutters, and easy to hand wrap around bolts and
> >> itself to make eyes.  It can also be uncoiled and doesn't get kinked,
> you
> >> don't have to roll it out like Copperweld or other stiffer wires.  I
> found
> >> it easiest to just stick the coil over one arm and uncoil it as I
> walked
> >> from vertical to vertical to connect them up.
> >>
> >> Btw, even with just the radials connected around the square this new
> >> 4-square is MUCH better than the old hanging around a tower.  I can
> take
> an
> >> s9+ ve3 and make them disappear off the back.
> >>
> >> David Robbins K1TTT
> >> e-mail: mailto:k1ttt at arrl.net
> >> web: http://www.k1ttt.net
> >> AR-Cluster node: 145.69MHz or telnet://dxc.k1ttt.net
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >>
> >>
> >>
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> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
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