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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 11/21/2012 2:38 PM, Robert Bruninga
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:48c5740bbef0cb8ae9c6a9e9002bd3db@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">
<pre wrap="">Initial HF Test Results:
J Lesson! Do not use magent wire, use
thick insulated wire for your dipoles so you can see them and so they
don't end up in a million knots!
</pre>
</blockquote>
<br>
The all-time best wire I have found for field HF wire and dipole
antennnas is the Wireman #532 or #534. This is STRANDED Copperweld
(copper-plated steel) wire with a polyethylene jacket. Unlike the
traditional bare single-strand Copperweld, it doesn't recoil into an
unmanageable tangle when you release the tension on the end -- it's
rather limp and supple, but still strong and doesn't stretch. The
plastic jacket keeps it from corroding like bare copperweld.<br>
<br>
#532 is 18-guage equivalent with an O.D. of .090 inches, while the
#534 is 26-guage equivalent with an OD of .050". <br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E"
href="http://www.thewireman.com/antennap.html"><http://www.thewireman.com/antennap.html></a>
<br>
<br>
To store this wire, I make bobbins out of the signboard often used
for political campaign and real estate agent yard signs. This stuff
is constructed exactly like corrugated cardboard used in shipping
cartons, but is translucent white polypropylene plastic instead of
the usual brown kraft paper. It weighs virtually nothing, is
rather stiff, and of course is waterproof. Every election night
about midnight, I cruise around town and grab half a dozen or so of
these now-useless signs from public spaces like parks, roadway
right-of-ways, etc. <br>
<br>
I cut these signs up into the h-shaped bobbins shown below and glue
two such pieces together to make a really stiff form. The wire
starts by being threaded through two or three holes drilled through
the center of the form. I then wind the wire strand around the
ends, and stick the free end into one of the corrugated tubes at the
end for storage. When unwound, the form becomes an
ultra-lightweight end insulator for the wire with excellent RF
properties. It's also highly visible, a useful advantage around
field day sites, public demos, etc. Sometimes I spray paint these
forms safety-warning dayglo orange.<br>
<br>
<img alt="" src="cid:part2.02040201.06080008@aol.com" height="360"
width="480"><br>
Made from the sign for a losing congressional candidate in
California's central valley. Grabbed from a highway rest stop on
I-5......<br>
<br>
<hr size="2" width="100%"><br>
--<br>
<br>
Stephen H. Smith wa8lmf (at) aol.com <br>
Skype: WA8LMF<br>
Home Page: <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://wa8lmf.net">http://wa8lmf.net</a><br>
<br>
<br>
Acer 756 Netbook: Versatile Inexpensive Platform for Ham Apps<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://wa8lmf.net/netbook">http://wa8lmf.net/netbook</a><br>
<br>
High Quality Calibrated Static Maps for Any APRS App <br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://wa8lmf.net/aprs/PM9_StaticMap_Export.htm">http://wa8lmf.net/aprs/PM9_StaticMap_Export.htm</a><br>
<br>
Vista & Win7 Install Issues for UI-View and Precision Mapping<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://wa8lmf.net/aprs/UIview_Notes.htm#VistaWin7">http://wa8lmf.net/aprs/UIview_Notes.htm#VistaWin7</a><br>
<br>
"APRS 101" Explanation of APRS Path Selection & Digipeating <br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="http://wa8lmf.net/DigiPaths">http://wa8lmf.net/DigiPaths</a>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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