[TowerTalk] Wire Rope

[jimlux]

On 9/9/20 8:45 PM, Richard (Rick) Karlquist wrote:
> 
> 
> On 9/9/2020 8:19 PM, jimlux wrote:
>>
>> But other than hams, who would that be? The state department uses 
>> stainless steel cable folded terminated dipoles and amps that put out 
>> 1kW from 1mW drive.
> 
> AFAIK, those antennas are intentionally lossy so they "match" the
> transmitter over a broad range of frequencies, along the lines
> of the infamous MAXCOM dummy load/antenna.
> 
> Rick N6RK

Exactly - the termination dissipates a bunch of power, but so does the wire.

I suggested to someone who was involved in system design for this kind 
of thing - you know, a 6dB pad and a random dipole would work just as well..

He said - sure - but we've got these in the catalog, and can you imagine 
making a small, light weight, 6dB pad that can dissipate 750W without 
glowing?

The SS is something they like from a mechanical standpoint - it doesn't 
break, it doesn't corrode, etc. You can store it for 40 years, pull it 
out, and it works as well (or as poorly) as new (!).

With ALE, they're making good use of the "if there's a ionospheric path 
that supports the link, then EIRP isn't super important - you either got 
a path or you don't" They're not in the business of breaking pileups or 
digging out the faint DX, after all.

I covet one of those Harris SSPAs..