Reading W2UP's post made me realize that a lot of people probably struggle with
splicing busted antenna wires, or tacking some extra length onto the end of a
dipole. It doesn't have to be painful. Go to the electrical department at Home
Depot (or Osh, or Chase-Pitkin, or whatever) and get a bunch of split-bolt
clamps. These little copper-and-brass marvels are meant for splicing together
multiple ground wires inside electrical junction boxes. They make very good
mechanical connections and come in a bunch of sizes. I probably have a dozen of
them in the air outdoors. Since the materials are compatible with antenna wire,
there's no corrosion to worry about, and they require just a box-end wrench and
socket wrench to assemble. The two smallest sizes you'll find are the best ones
for antenna use. They install in such a way that the splice area doesn't bend
the wires, minimizing stress on the joint. Works great, even for wires under
great stress. You can install them on existing wires without breaking the wire,
also, since the split bolt and nut come apart. I also use them to attach
multiple radials to a single wire at vertical antenna feed points.
I had an 80-meter dipole that Trey and I put up during his visit last April
(when it was about 35 degrees outside), about 60 feet up in the trees. When the
central suport rope failed, the dipole was pulled apart by trees swaying in
opposite directions in a big wind storm. (We get a lot of that here in the
Rochester area.) The #14 stranded, insulated wire was spliced a few feet from
the feed point with a split-bolt connector, but the failure occurred where the
wire itself stretched and finally broke about 15 feet farther out from the feed
point. That made a believer out of me.
--73, Rus, NJ2L
--
FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/towertalkfaq.html
Submissions: towertalk@contesting.com
Administrative requests: towertalk-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems: owner-towertalk@contesting.com
|