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Re: Topband: Balloon Supported Vertical

To: TopBand List <topband@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: Topband: Balloon Supported Vertical
From: Gary K9GS <k9gs@gjschwartz.com>
Date: Mon, 08 Nov 2021 18:41:27 -0500
List-post: <mailto:topband@contesting.com>
Use Hydrogen!73,Gary K9GS
-------- Original message --------From: W7TMT - Patrick <W7TMT@outlook.com> 
Date: 11/8/21  4:54 PM  (GMT-05:00) To: Mark - N5OT <r-emails@n5ot.com>, 
TopBand List <topband@contesting.com> Subject: Re: Topband: Balloon Supported 
Vertical Regarding the helium…Be advised the gas used by the party stores these 
days is almost always a mixture and not pure helium. That’s means considerably 
less lift. You’ll likely need to source the good stuff from a industrial gas 
supplier.W7TMT________________________________From: Topband 
<topband-bounces+w7tmt=outlook.com@contesting.com> on behalf of Mark - N5OT 
<r-emails@n5ot.com>Sent: Monday, November 8, 2021 1:17:53 PMTo: TopBand List 
<topband@contesting.com>Subject: Re: Topband: Balloon Supported VerticalBeen 
There Done ThatYou might want to figure the weight of what you have to lift.  
One wouldthink it was, like, duh, you make a wire vertical and fill a 
balloonfull of helium and ... but it turns out you need to be careful about 
theweight of the wire and insulators and you need to project how muchhelium you 
can use and how much lift you will need and ... all that.Just saying all that 
because the last thing you want to find out is,after you've got it all 
together, you just can't get it up in the air.I seem to recall I needed more 
like a 3 or 4 foot balloon to lift mine.And be careful of the sticker shock on 
the gas.  I thought it was a lotof money 20 years ago.  Rumor has it, it has 
not gone down in price.The first one worked well until I had a bad wind.The 
second one had some kind of corona arc off the top of the wire whichpopped the 
(relatively expensive) balloon after only a couple minutes oftesting it out.  
Or something.  It popped on a clear calm day but underFull Power.Anyway, that 
wrecked my day.  I decided it wasn't fun any more and havebeen using more 
conventional 160 meter verticals since.I think we wrote it up in the NCJ but 
don't remember and have sleptsince then.Oh sorry, you asked where to get the 
balloons.  I think I got mine froma party supply store.  It was not mylar.Note 
- Googling reminds me of these facts:Helium can lift 1 gram per litre.A balloon 
2 feet in diameter will contain 118 litres of helium.That will lift 118 grams 
of antenna, = 4.1 ounces.132 feet of bare #18 solid copper wire weighs 10.4 
ounces.A 2 foot balloon filled with helium will not lift a 160 vertical made 
of#18 wire, not to mention any extra line or insulators, etc.But a 4 foot 
balloon will lift a little over 2 pounds.Now I'm having nightmares again.73 - 
Mark N5OTOn 11/8/2021 2:48 PM, Dick Bingham wrote:> Greetings All>> I want to 
try a balloon supported Vertical for 160.> Any advice on sources for balloons? 
Mylar material> and diameters up to 2-feet would be my choice.>> 73. Dick/w7wkr 
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