[TowerTalk] Wire Rope

[Rob Atkinson]

I've been told that modern copperweld doesn't have anywhere near the
thickness of copper on it compared to the copperweld of 60 or 70 years
ago.   The old wire lasted.  I think W6AM used it with his rhombics
and I never heard of Don having to replace them every few years.   And
he was near the Pacific with the salt water problem.  I suggest
contacting commercial shortwave broadcasters who, in the U.S., have a
lot of rhombic antennas and find out what sort of long span wire they
use.  In general, I find it helpful to contact broadcasters whenever I
am attempting something that parallels what has been done by
commercial industry.  Those people have a knowledge base of facts and
data such as time between failure, and while their materials may be
costly, they can provide a method that can be followed to some extent
at a lower cost for a ham.

73

Rob
K5UJ