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[TowerTalk] quickie beverage tips for the snowy northeast

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Subject: [TowerTalk] quickie beverage tips for the snowy northeast
From: ke3q@msn.com (RICHARD BOYD)
Date: Wed Feb 26 11:01:39 2003
I was out messing with "snowbound" beverage wires this morning and came up with 
a couple ideas.  The wires were already rolled out, under the snow, but I was 
able to pull them up out of the snow, for the most part.

  1.. When you have "snowpack" like we have here in Maryland, you can walk on 
top of the snow easily, unlike a week ago when it was knee-deep or deeper and 
difficult going. 
  2.. It's very quick to put up beverage supports in this kind of snow -- I'm 
using busted lengths of Polygon guy rod and it jams down into the snow easily, 
by hand.  In fact, the ground is thawed enough under the snow that the rod 
pokes into the dirt some without even hammering it.  Before the snow melts it 
should be quick to tap the rod down further to make them continue to stand even 
when the snow melts. 
  3.. Readily available non-conducting alternatives to scrap guy rod would be 
fiberglass electric fence posts available at farm supply stores (e.g. Southern 
States or FCA)f and perhaps from Home Depot or Lowe's.  Or, fiberglass 
gardening poles that I've seen in green fiberglass.  The beverage wire can 
attach directly to these non-conducting supports without insulators.  Electric 
fencing is typically attached with a short length of wire twisted onto the 
fence wire on each side of and around the non-conducting post. 
  4.. Beverage wire also readily available, Home Depot and Lowe's, 500' spool 
of 14 gauge insulated for $15, 12 gauge for $20 as I recall.  I'm using 14.  
The 500' length should be close enough to what you want to work even without 
measuring, just for a quickie beverage. 
  5.. If you can, have the feedpoint of the beverages near your coax entry to 
the house or hamshack to keep the coax requirement low, e.g. 20-50'.
You should be able to install a 500' beverage in 10 minutes under the current 
conditions, once you've assembled the materials.

73- Rich, KE3Q
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