Using two inch Electric Fence Tape for Antenna

[KK4AMI]

I want to build a 134 ft multi-frequency dipole. The neatest stuff I have ever seen is the 2 inch electric fence tape that my brothernlaw uses on his horse farm. The tape has 12 strandsof stainless steel wire going through it. I figure I can pull the wire out of it and trim each of the 12 to tune them to the bands I want. Then the tape will keep the antenna from breaking. Does that sound possible. Is stainless steel wire a good choice for a 100 watt antenna?

[PA5COR]

I made several OCF antenna's from it for other ham's never got complaints.
It won't rust ;)
The resistance might be a bit higher, but the loss of 1 or 2 watts is negligable on 100 watts.
Some tried side by side tests, nobody could hear a fraction of a difference.
The stainless steel wire i used was one strand of 316 type welding wire, 1/20 th of an inch and a full size OCF for 80 -10

[NQ6U]

I'm not familiar with that stuff. What's the tape itself made of?

[KK4AMI]

I made several OCF antenna's from it for other ham's never got complaints.
It won't rust ;)
The resistance might be a bit higher, but the loss of 1 or 2 watts is negligable on 100 watts.
Some tried side by side tests, nobody could hear a fraction of a difference.
The stainless steel wire i used was one strand of 316 type welding wire, 1/20 th of an inch and a full size OCF for 80 -10

Thank you PA5COR, that's kinda what I heard. I was worried the stainless steel wire would be too small in diameter. The tape kinda reminds me of white webbing in a lawn chair. Its got to be pretty strong because it is supposed to dissuade a 400 kg horse. :) I was going to reinforce the ends then put grommets in it to string it up.

[PA5COR]

The lint is made of ultra violet resistant stuff, and will be up years, our local D.I.Y shops have the same stuff in different sizes depending on the animals you want to keep in.
If you want it up for very long,weave a thin aramide guying line through it for extra ( gale force) strength.
That way it will probably stay up in a tornado ;)

Just build it and make contacts ;)
The s.s. wire is also lots stronger as copper wire, springy, don't bend it in sharp bends, and it will last very long.
The Fritzel FD-4 i have here is made of s.s. steel wires and a few copper thin wires woven in a steel cable of 1/10th inch, you could pull a car with it...

[KC2UGV]

GO FOR IT!!!

Yeah, the resistance is a couple of ohms more than copper, but It Will Work (TM). And, it wont rust, as 'Cor said :)

[KJ3N]

Yeah, the resistance is a couple of ohms more than copper, but It Will Work (TM).

Resistance is futile. ;)

[N8YX]

Resistance is futile. ;)
One must pay ohmage to those in charge.

[NQ6U]

I did a Google search for "electric fence tape." Looks like interesting stuff for antenna construction all right. I do wonder if the strands being so close together might cause problems with interactions if you're thinking of tuning each one separately to a different band as in a fan dipole but WTF, the only way you'll know for sure it to try it out.

[KK4AMI]

I did a Google search for "electric fence tape." Looks like interesting stuff for antenna construction all right. I do wonder if the strands being so close together might cause problems with interactions if you're thinking of tuning each one separately to a different band as in a fan dipole but WTF, the only way you'll know for sure it to try it out.

I saw it at "Tractor Supply" where all us productive rednecks hang out. A 900 ft roll for about 70 dollars. I thought hmmm, check with you all to see if its been done!

[N8YX]

What I would do is this:

Take 204 feet of the stuff and make a doublet - 102' per side - feed it with 450-ohm window line and a balanced tuner. No need to 'cut' anything then and you'll get coverage of all HF bands.

-or-

Take all 900 feet and make a big horizontal loop. Feed with aforementioned window line and tuner...

[WØTKX]

Doesn't even need to be exactly the same length on either side. An OCF that fits the installation works well, you might have to play games with the feedline length for certain frequency ranges... but compared to an OCF with coax it's not as likely to happen.

Yes, I have a negative attitude about coax, as it needs to be kept in it's proper place(s).

We all have our hangups, eh? :mrgreen:

[NQ6U]

What I would do is this:

Take 204 feet of the stuff and make a doublet - 102' per side - feed it with 450-ohm window line and a balanced tuner. No need to 'cut' anything then and you'll get coverage of all HF bands.

Especially if you short all the strands together at both ends of each side. That will have the effect of making it a large-diameter element and increase your bandwidth.

[PA5COR]

It certainly would lower the resistance, but broadening the bandwidthmight only be noticcable on 10 or 12.

For the lower bands it would hardly be noticable.

The thunderbugle design of the OCF had hoops of 3 to 6 feet to broadband the OCF.... 6 feeet gave more broadbanding of course.


I feed mine with a 1.5 KW 1:6 balun and a 1:1 directly after the 1:6 to keep H.F from the coax if you want to feed it with coax.

If you use ladderline, watch the length, depending on how high etc, you can tinker with the length of the feederline to get the sweetspots right.
A good tuner does the rest, ( LL tuner)

[W5GA]

I'm not familiar with that stuff. What's the tape itself made of?
It's UV stabilized poly.

[W5GA]

Its got to be pretty strong because it is supposed to dissuade a 400 kg horse.
The only reason it disuades the horse is cuz it's hooked to a 2kv or higher electric fence charger. Without that being attached, they'll walk right through. Plenty tough enough for an antenna though...just don't pull it too tight, or you'll break the wires without breaking the poly. The only place you might have trouble with is at the ends. Go to the same Tractor Supply and get some of the "hooks" that are used to attach the tape to a "T" post. They're triangular, so you can tie them off with a piece of rope, and they'll keep the tape from bunching up at the end.

[AA4HA]

Some folks will get all excited about it being stainless steel and not some super pure form of copper. Don't pay too much attention to them and let them get back to their gold plated RCA connectors on their stereo setup.

I have been using 316 stainless for antenna wire for many years now. Compared to the other losses you may see in an antenna/ feedline system the use of stainless is negligible.

That tape looks like a real interesting product. I may give some of that a try on some of the Beverage antennas I have out there (now THAT is such an efficient antenna! <j/k>).

[N8YX]

Some folks will get all excited about it being stainless steel and not some super pure form of copper. Don't pay too much attention to them and let them get back to their gold plated RCA connectors on their stereo setup.

But...but...your ESSB signals will achieve a fullness and clarity with an oxygen-free copper antenna that is far superior to any other aerial! I read it on the audio forum! :yes:

[NQ6U]

Some folks will get all excited about it being stainless steel and not some super pure form of copper. Don't pay too much attention to them and let them get back to their gold plated RCA connectors on their stereo setup.

Don't forget to have those connectors sent to Nunavut to be gummed by toothless Inuit women first. It improves the fidelity.

[WØTKX]

I may give some of that a try on some of the Beverage antennas I have out there (now THAT is such an efficient antenna! <j/k>).

Awww, 'cmon. Signal to Noise doesn't matter. Keep the preamp on, and NEVER use the attenuator. :mrgreen:

[KA9MOT]

Hmmm..... I have 1200' of Stainless fishing line I bought on ebay for $7. That would make one hell of a loop!

[KG4CGC]

Thickness? Sounds interesting.