[TowerTalk] 300' of line

[Jim Brown]

On Fri,8/5/2016 9:15 AM, Bill Cotter wrote:
> Look for "tag-ends" (end of reel) of PVC coated aluminum hardline from 
> the cable TV installers. Uncovered aluminum is also good stuff, but 
> needs to be kept off the ground.
>
> I have received thousands of feet of 1/2" and 7/8" for free to haul it 
> away. The best time to find it is when installers are replacing the 
> old lines, or putting in new stuff. 75-ohm line works great for 
> antennas that are far away from the shack. 


Excellent advice, Bill. I inherited a big spool of 1/2-in hardline from 
N6RZ's estate -- I was told to "haul it away." I'm using it for long 
runs to 50-ohm monoband antennas for 20, 15, and 10M.

When used with 50 ohm antennas, it's best used in whole-number multiples 
of a half wavelength at the operating frequency. The good news with that 
is that because many of our bands are harmonically related, there are 
physical lengths that satisfy that requirement for a tri-bander that 
covers the 20, 15, and 10M bands.

And many hams forget that a high dipole is a lot closer to 75 ohms than 
50 ohms, so 75 ohm coax is a better match.

73, Jim K9YC