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?
"Love Trumps Hate."
"You Facist, Sexual Predator!"
" I thought a lot about blowing up the White House"
Uh Huh, What Love?
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
"If the Republicans will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop
telling the truth about them." - Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965)
“I’m not liberal/conservative, I’m anti-idiotarian.”
At some point in the last 20 years, the left moved to the center, and the right moved into a mental institution
I'm not familiar with that stuff. What's the tape itself made of?
All the world’s a stage, but obviously the play is unrehearsed and everybody is ad-libbing his lines. Maybe that’s why it’s hard to tell if we’re living in a tragedy or a farce.
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.Originally Posted by PA5COR
"Love Trumps Hate."
"You Facist, Sexual Predator!"
" I thought a lot about blowing up the White House"
Uh Huh, What Love?
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...
"If the Republicans will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop
telling the truth about them." - Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965)
“I’m not liberal/conservative, I’m anti-idiotarian.”
At some point in the last 20 years, the left moved to the center, and the right moved into a mental institution
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 :)
Resistance is futile. ;)
"People Who Don't Want Their Beliefs Laughed at Shouldn't Have Such Funny Beliefs" -AD5MB
"If someone tells you he believes in and talks to an invisible bunny named Harvey, you put him on medication and a regimen of therapy. If someone tells you he believes in and talks to God, well, that's perfectly acceptable. Why that's the case is impossible for me to fathom." - WP2XX
Latest ClubLog entries.
One must pay ohmage to those in charge.
"Everyone wants to be an AM Gangsta until it's time to start doing AM Gangsta shit."
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.
All the world’s a stage, but obviously the play is unrehearsed and everybody is ad-libbing his lines. Maybe that’s why it’s hard to tell if we’re living in a tragedy or a farce.
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!
"Love Trumps Hate."
"You Facist, Sexual Predator!"
" I thought a lot about blowing up the White House"
Uh Huh, What Love?
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote