[TowerTalk] Wire

[K9MA]

You can clean corroded copper with muriatic (hydrochloric) acid, 
available at any hardware store. I keep a small plastic bottle of it 
handy, and just dip the end of the wire in it, then rinse with water. 
Just be very careful with the stuff. Also, don't leave the original 
container anywhere near anything that can corrode. If the cap doesn't 
seal absolutely perfectly, it the vapor will destroy all metal in the 
vicinity. I store mine outside in a covered plastic bucket.

73,
Scott K9MA

On 3/11/2021 5:15 PM, Dave Sublette wrote:
> Thanks to your excellent advice, all the rope and pulleys for rebuilding
> the 80M foursquare are on order and being shipped.  Jim, K9YC mentioned his
> experience with Flexweave and got me to thinking.  My 80 meter dipoles in
> the foursquare array are made from #13 Flexweave.  Now I didn't have
> breaking problems like Jim did because the weak link in my system was the
> center insulators.  The wires and sometimes the feedline pulled out.  They
> were the Batwing things that TenTec sold.  So I finally made some from
> cutting boards and replaced them.
>
> My problem with the Flexweave is trying to rework connections on the old
> wire.  That wire grows copper oxide unlike any other wire I have ever
> seen.  It is the dickens to clean it off so it will take solder or crimp
> connections.
>
> So I am considering just cutting new dipoles fromTHHN, probably #14.  There
> won't be nearly the stress that K9YC experiences since they are hanging
> vertically.  There is probably no more than 150 pounds of tension on the
> top half as it is pulled out from the tower and the tower doesn't move in
> the wind like a tree would.
>
> So I think the stretch problem would be minimum and the strength ought to
> be adequate for my use.
>
> Anyone see anything wrong with that?
>
> 73,
>
> Dave, K4TO
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-- 
Scott  K9MA

k9ma at sdellington.us