[TowerTalk] question on copper wire used for hairpins and the like...

[StellarCAT]

So ... Force12 used (uses!) bare copper wire as their hairpins. I have a 80/75 rotary dipole that has a hairpin made from bare #10 wire ... it is now 11 years old and it looks dull – tarnished ... not corroded at all – just the dull brown color that copper gets to be ... is there any reason why that can’t be reused (I’m putting it back up)? I realize the skin effect will mean that only the outside such-n-such micrometers are used for conductance ... but would any resistance in the ‘tarnish’ factor in or would it appear to be the same today as it was when brand new? 

My guess is the answer is yes – it can be reused and it would continue to work as if it were brand new ... and my one point of argument towards that fact is that when it was up – for 7 years – there was no apparent change in the operation of the antenna! The SWR didn’t change, which is what the hairpin would most drastically effect ... the 2:1 bandwidth didn’t change noticeably (Q) ... 

thoughts and discussions... 

Gary 
K9RX