Date: Tue, 21 Sep 2010 16:33:43 -0700
From: "Jim Brown" <jim@audiosystemsgroup.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] How to support a large loop?
On Tue, 21 Sep 2010 11:01:48 -0600, W4ZW wrote:
>I just received my 1000 spool of flex-weave
My antennas are mostly up 100-120 ft in redwoods, douglas fir,
and madrones. I have had multiple failures of flex-weave in
antennas hung in trees and hung from towers. Indeed, virtually
every antenna I have ever built with flex-weave has failed
mechanically at points of connection.
## and here I thought that flex weave was supposed to be the ultimate wire ?
I have never used flex weave before, zero experience. I have a friend who is
putting
up a huge delta loop array, one for 40/30m.[full size]... and 2 x more for
20-10m. [Rotatable array's
with fiberglass spreaders etc]. I suggested he use flex weave, but he balked
at the price, think he
said he needs > 1000'. What do folks use for quads and delta loops these
days...for wire ??
My favorite antenna wire for this sort of use is ordinary #10
THHN house wire or solid bare #8 copper. There are several good
ways to rig weights. Some guys have used window weights. I use a
6.5 gal water jug filled with dry sand, which works out to about
95 lbs.
### Ok, what about copper clad steel, [copper weld]... or
'alumoweld' [aluminum clad steel]. I have only seen both of em
in solid, never stranded.
## 12 ga alumoweld is good for > 1000 lb tensile strength.
and 10 ga alumoweld is 50% stronger than 12 ga. Both alumo
weld, and copper weld are a bitch to work with, but are very strong !
If either are going through pulleys with weight's, you would want BIG
diam pulleys, cuz of the min turn radius involved. Neither will stretch
much, compared to plane jane, soft drawn copper, [ solid or stranded].
later... Jim VE7RF
73, Jim K9YC
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