[TowerTalk] How to support a large loop?

[Jim Thomson]

Date: Tue, 21 Sep 2010 16:33:43 -0700
From: "Jim Brown" <jim at audiosystemsgroup.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] How to support a large loop?

On Tue, 21 Sep 2010 11:01:48 -0600, W4ZW wrote:

>I just received my 1000 spool of flex-weave

My antennas are mostly up 100-120 ft in redwoods, douglas fir, 
and madrones. I have had multiple failures of flex-weave in 
antennas hung in trees and hung from towers. Indeed, virtually 
every antenna I have ever built with flex-weave has failed 
mechanically at points of connection. 

##  and here I thought that flex weave was supposed to be the ultimate wire ?
I have never used flex weave before, zero experience.    I have a friend who is putting
up a huge delta loop array, one for 40/30m.[full size]... and 2 x more for 20-10m.  [Rotatable array's
with fiberglass spreaders etc].  I suggested he use flex weave, but he balked at the price, think he 
said he needs > 1000'.     What do folks use for quads and delta loops these days...for wire ?? 



My favorite antenna wire for this sort of use is ordinary #10 
THHN house wire or solid bare #8 copper. There are several good 
ways to rig weights. Some guys have used window weights. I use a 
6.5 gal water jug filled with dry sand, which works out to about 
95 lbs.

###  Ok, what about copper clad steel,  [copper weld]... or
'alumoweld'  [aluminum clad steel].  I have only seen both of em
in solid, never stranded. 

##  12 ga  alumoweld is good for > 1000 lb tensile strength. 
and 10 ga alumoweld  is  50%  stronger than  12 ga.  Both alumo
weld, and copper weld are a bitch to work with, but are very strong ! 
If either are going through pulleys with weight's, you would want BIG
diam pulleys, cuz of the min turn radius involved.  Neither will  stretch
much, compared to plane jane, soft drawn copper, [ solid or stranded].  

later... Jim  VE7RF




73, Jim K9YC