[TowerTalk] Do I need an insulator on the ends of my dipole?

K9MA k9ma at sdellington.us
Sat Jun 27 00:05:25 EDT 2020


I've used monofilament fishing line as insulators on temporary antennas 
for years, and never had a problem.  I suppose UV would weaken it 
eventually, so you might have to replace it every few years.

73,
Scott K9MA


On 6/26/2020 22:34, john at kk9a.com wrote:
> I always use an insulator in my dipoles. One might say what is the harm of
> using an inexpensive insulator however it appears that you are trying to be
> as stealth as possible so I am guessing that you just do not want to see
> one. I am not sure what voltage is on the dipole ends, maybe 750 peak?  The
> trouble with nylon rope is that it holds moisture and minerals which are
> conductive.  Perhaps there is a heavy duty fishing line or maybe even
> weedwacker string that could be used as an insulated support line.
>
> John KK9A
>
>
> Kevin Zembower KC3KZ
> Hello,
>
> I'm replacing my 40/20/10M fan dipole with an even more stealthy one,
> using small gauge insulated stranded copper-clad steel. The suspension
> goes from a post in my back yard, to a mast on the peak of my roof, to a
> tree in the front of the yard. At both ends, there's at least 10 feet of
> nylon cord.
>
> Currently, there's a ceramic insulator at each end of the dipole,
> between the dipole wire and the nylon cord. Do I need any kind of
> insulator? Isn't the nylon cord an insulator? I can work out the
> mechanical stress with thimble eyes. Why do I need an insulator?
>
> I only run 100W maximum with my system max.
>
> Thanks for your advice and guidance.
>
> -Kevin
> KC3KZ
>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> TowerTalk mailing list
> TowerTalk at contesting.com
> http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk


-- 
Scott  K9MA

k9ma at sdellington.us



More information about the TowerTalk mailing list