[TowerTalk] Pre-Stretching / Anticipating Stretching of Antenna Wire

[K8RI on TT]

On 8/6/2011 2:37 PM, Steve Sacco NN4X wrote:
> I'm about to begin building a wire antenna for 80 meters.  I'll be using
> 14ga stranded copper wire.  Since it will doubtless stretch once in
> service, I'm wondering if I shouldn't try to either pre-stretch it, or
> build it a bit short, to allow it to stretch into its proper dimension.

But what kind of stranded copper wire?  If it's regular, hard drawn, 
stranded antenna wire there will be very little stretch.  If it's MTW or 
other wire used for electrical service it will be much softer and 
definitely will stretch.
As a 75 meter antenna is not terribly critical and also affected by 
height and nearby objects it's basically cut to formula and then prune. 
If you operate in the same small portion of the band the antenna doesn't 
really need to be resonant...IF you have a tuner.  IF OTOH you want to 
move around a lot it does sometimes help to have the antenna resonant 
some where around the middle of the used area and that again is cut to 
formula and then prune.

73

Roger (K8RI)
>
> Anyone have any experience with either?
>
> 73,
> Steve
> NN4X
> EL98jh
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