What is the best Antenna Wire, for your DIY Antennas?
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- Опубликовано: 5 дек 2022
- In this video I talk about different types of wire and where you might want to use one type of wire over another in certain situations.
Coffee and Ham Radios antennas, coffee-and-ham-radios.square....
BNTECHGO 22 Gauge Silicone wire, amzn.to/3XZLfiW
BNTECHGO 26 Gauge Silicone wire, amzn.to/3Hbalp8
22 Gauge Red Black Speaker Wire, amzn.to/3uvU6LO
18AWG Speaker Wire, amzn.to/3Bfoeie
#hamradio, #antena1, #wire
I always enjoy learning from you with these videos!!!
Really enjoy watching your videos Chuck. Keep them coming 😊 Best 73’s from Ireland.
Ham for 30 years union electrician for 36 years......I deal with all types of wire everyday. Lately, The wire I like the best is 546 Flexweave from The Wireman for a home dipole. I have a 14 THHN dipole up for at least 20 years on 80m. Portable wire antennas I tried BNTECHGO, insulation is to soft and it didnt last long. I picked up some 534 26awg at a hamfest and it works well for my portable needs. Bottom line is what you have on hand or what you can get seems to work the best.
Thanks
Been using the DX Commander Classic antenna at my QTH for a couple of years. I like the wire so much, I built my DIY endfed antenna out of it. Yes, a bit heavier than needed, but it sure works great and does not kink. Makes great radials too as you can just toss it out and it doesn't tangle.
I'm with you frank but backwards. I did a dx10 wire efhw for permanent 80m-10m at home and I am tuning a dx Rapide I just got for black Friday. According to Lord Callum the alt. wire performs similar to the dx10.
I have had a couple of hams use Stainless steel or steel guy wire. Just because it was around and they have made it work. And, do be careful, I had an EFHW go up over a tree branch and later it failed where it was rubbing against the branch. Lesson learned. Thanks Chuck. Great info.
Thanks Don, My adjustiwave is stainless and it works great.
This is a good video to note. Im studying for my technician, and i have a nice little radio my grandparents bought me for my birthday this year, and im gonna try to build something for 2m/70cm. Definitely gonna go for some thicker stuff.
I use what I have laying around which is a lot of the double insulated wire.
Size range 12 and 14 AWG. It's free and works fine. I have a Fan Dipole
made with 12 AWG and it's been up for 3 years and doing fine. For me
it's about cost. If I was making and selling antennas, then I would
use a good quality wire. As far as stretching, I haven't noticed any
change in the tuning of the antenna after 3 years and the antenna
has some weight to it. As you said what is the best is a matter of
opinion. I put my antennas up, so they are easy to take down and
change. Nice video, I think this is a good answer for newer Hams. 73's Gary KF6EWO
Great audio, very professional.
Excellent Video Chuck. Happy Humpday & 73 de YFUG from southwest Germany 💯🙋♂
Greetings from Christchurch, New Zealand..... I build a Lot of 'Homebrew' Antennas ..... Now Here is a Little Something that is Totally Different ..... I am Not saying that it is Ideal, BUT This 'Wire' is Super Cheap and Extremely Strong. I have used very successfully. The 'Strands' used by Farmers as their 'Electric Fence' 'Wire' .... It is made for Outdoors and won't rust or corrode. Made from a Lot of 'Nylon Strands, Interwoven with Stainless Wire Strands. I would love to hear your comments and Feedback. I have come across a few Others that have Also used it and am happy with the performance. I have a 'Hex-Beam' made Totally from it, also the 'Counterpoise' for my Vertical Antenna .... Does Very Well in Both applications .... Best to ALL from ChCh, NZ
I went with the 14 gauge Black stranded THHN from HD. Got a 500ft spool so I could have enough to play around with.
Good topic Chuck! I love to use my bad spools of MIG wire. .035 copper coated steel for my winter ground loop out on the field after we harvest. Unbreakable in Chicago wind.
I use bad Coax shorted for experiments like loops, flower pot and VHF.
Obviously a 1 inch pipe will give the widest bandwidth at resonance so I think using the largest wire you can manage would last the longest and serve best without tuners.
Thanks Craig, that's interesting never thought of using Mig wire. Yes larger the wire the better most of the time!
I just ran across your channel, im subbed now..I have good luck with wire from The Wireman.....I use 16 guage for a permanently mounted 40m EFHW...It is very good wire, a little pricey but not too much higher than some junk wire I have had...I got a 66 foot piece in an inverted V and I had to tighten it twice in the first 3 months but after that it has stayed tight through 2 ice storms and the numerous high winds we get from Severe Thunderstorms here in West Central Arkansas.....73
I have never really tried liquid tape. I can think of a couple places it would be good for. Thanks for the tip, I will have to give it a try.
Just got back into Amateur Radio, after a 40 year hiatus. I'll be erecting a dipole (fan) in a primarily E - W radiation orientation. It will consist of a 1:1 current balun, and 14 ga. bare stranded copper wire. Worked well in the 80's, will work again now just the same. At the home station I had 40 meter and up. At the base station, (NAS Memphis) we had 160 meter and up. (also a couple yagis as I recall, but not what we're talking about here.) All tuned dipoles. Low cost, still effective. I still need to take measurements on the property, but am anticipating 40 meter and up again for the new home station. It will take a few years for the wire to stretch, and frankly, temperature will have more of an effect as we go from sub zero, to 90+ degrees F. Not much of either extreme, (days, not weeks) but it exists. Seriously considering a DX Commander, but that'll happen after the wire antennas are up. Being a retired old fart at this point, it's taking time to collect whats needed. Also, I use Coax Seal on the connectors. (I think that's a name brand, but searching for that, alternatives can be found as well.)
Merry Christmas Chuck. :)
Merry Christmas Adam!
You should market a new exercise routine 👍
Right?
The "Chuck Twerk" will be a viral sensation! :)
pull poles, Now recruits give me 50 PPs 🤣🤡
Great video!!!
Thanks, I hope it is helpul for people.
Hello there from Christchurch, New Zealand ..... Now here is my 5c worth .... I have very successfully used the Agricultural Electric Fence 'Cord/Wire' .... The Nylon one that has the Stainless Wire interwoven .... I twisted 2 off 'Cords/Wires' together to increase the amount of 'Metal' ..... tI is made for Outdoor use and is Very Strong AND CHEAP !!!!!.... Give it a Go and let me know what you find. Best to All from ChCH, NZ ...... Keith
CHEAP is always good!
I am a ham radio operator and for an inverted V antenna we use copper coated wire like they used to use for the old telephone wire KB0MDT
If you can find some old military twisted pair comm wire used mostly for phone or TTY, it is great stuff. One of the wires in the of the 5 or 6 in each wire is stainless steel and makes it stronger than anything I can think of, pound for pound of course. And as far as weather proof of the case - time tested and Tank approved! Mil-Spec of the God's!
I have a sangean 505 and what I pick up with just a couple of strands around my room, is amazing. But am looking at feeding a wire from the room over to the pergola in front of the granny flat. Been a long time since I had a longer antenna up. I'm in Sth. Australia, state of.
I love copper clad steel for my tree mounted loops. I use copper house wire (7strand) and it has stretched over time from wind storms, but I'd rather that than it snapping.
I use 1/16" stainless steel (wire rope) with stainless steel two bolt clamps (figure eight) with great success for everything wire. I use 3/16" Dacron antenna cordage where needed. I use M15 to M25 Chinese stainless steel pulleys with great success for everything wire. Ron W4BIN
Hi, thanks for the videos. Quick question. I have made a long wire antenna out of fine copper wire. I figured low current so thickness wouldn't matter. Am I wrong and a thicker wire would make a much better antenna? Thanks in advance.
Thicker wire would be stroger and be wide banded but not huge difference. If just listening it doesn't really matter. I'm not sure if you are putting power into the wire.
I have been using 3 mm diameter aluminium bare solid wire, for my Inverted L ant. here in Orange County Calif, has not had any corrosion or broken yet , been up 15 years so far. and cheap and light. AG6JU
I like speaker wire it’s effective price per meter is very good.
I wonder what AWG rating you need to drop to for avoiding any memory effect in the wire but still keep it as thin as possible for portable operations or to avoid issues with HOAs and/or local authorities etc?
what are you using to anchor that mast ?
I had a 40-10 EFHW in a tree for 18 months made from 22awg silicone wire. It didn't lose tune from stretching, and I replaced it with 18awg silicone because I hung a 110uH coil on the end for 80m, and I was worried about the lighter wire breaking in a severe storm with the coil.
About your wire winder - 1) use a figure 8 wind around the tips of the winder to avoid putting a twost on it. 2) avoid winding it tightlyamd you'll minimize the memory effect. Figure 8 winding will keep the wire in place without its having to bee wound so tight. My personal preference is to use kite winders that have a built-in shock cord keeper.
Did you ever make the video on how to straighten wire?
Copper clad aluminum doesn't tolerate flexing. Pure copper stretches.
Electric fence wire long runs, copper for coils.
What kind of glue do you use in your heat shrink operations?
Would solid copper wire be better than braided as far as RF is concerned, and thicker (lower gauges) or thinner (higher)?
(for rf, not necessarily for longevity).
I prefer stranded as it holds up to bending better in my experience. Also, RF, as I understand it, only rides on the 'skin' of the wire / conductor. Hence so many loop antennas being made from aluminum tape and PVC pipe. No idea on the glue used in heat shrink, but found heat shrink with glue advertised as a product type. Just don't remember where at present. (memory is the second thing to go I was told. can't remember what the first was..... )
Good video. Just a note though. You show the different sizes, but not stripped. In general the insulation is proportional to the wire gage. But the gage refers to the wire inside, not the insulation. Your video seems to imply looking at the outside will tell you the gage. Look at high voltage wire. Super thick insulation for a relatively small gage. Twin speaker and lamp cord wire, used by many of us, comes in all sizes (of insulation) for the same gage wire.
simple Copper, that has a high conductivity and is plenty available for prices all hams can afford.
Some hams electric fence wire, some make NVIS antennas out of it. I am going to be happy if I can get a 40 Meter antenna on my place.
Good info here.. I like the test too. Like you showed that silicone wire isn't going to stretch enough to worry about
Thanks Andy' I enjoy testing also.
My OCFD is vinyl coated Stainless Steel and has 40lbs of cast iron weights going up a tree to a pulley with paracord to keep it tight yet lets the tree move in the wind.
Nice that antenna should be around for a while for sure, great using weights and pulley.
I bet you have a nice wide flat swr.
@@radiotests I do it's a Fritzel FD4, works really nice...
I have been tempted to try silver wire for an antenna, at 39.00 dollars a foot or $3,900.00 for 100 feet it’s probably not worth it, I do use silver wire for my speakers and yes there is a big difference
#TeamReplay even if a few days late.
How do we contact you about just buying some wire?
WD-1A-50 Military field telephone wire. Or have some steel wire industrial gold plated. It want corrode and is the best conductor (HF only travel’s over the skin of the wire not trough the core like dc current)
Depends on your needs. On my side I have gauge 26, has sag so wind or ice can't break it, it moves in the wind, no big difference in SWR. Do I make contacts? Hell yeah!
Is it stealthy? Yep! Was it cheap? Yep! (Amazon BNTECHGO silicone wire).
It takes my 110W no pb (skin effect). I may try next to throw at it a 1/2 kW.
I run 100 watts with that wire all the time , it works!
I was told that the wire size is how many of the wires can be put side by side in an inch. I am not sure if that is true. But it does work out to a point. How many bare #12 wires can you put side by side in an inch? I have never tried it but take the wire and the outside size of it and see how many of them will fit in an inch. It may not matter. The idea that the larger wires can get less of them in an inch is still a good way to look at it.
Not sure I know there are different amounts of wire in the the sheathing , usually the more smaller diameter the less rigid the wire is if that makes sense?
@@KK6USYHamRadioAdventures The wire without anything on it. You can put 12, #12 wires in an inch!
@@donaldsmith3048 Oh ok I misunderstood.
My first proper wire was 29 gauge. Now I know it was overkill.
Anyone have a source for a PTFE jacketed wire similar to what Chameleon uses?
I'd like to know as well!
The best wire is the free wire that your Elmer gave you!! Maybe you could be a bit more American and mention Elecraft rather than just the offshore rigs? 👍👍👍
Power delivered to wire antenna vs. awg ( size )? Does it matter? 100W?
Ga.26 will take your 100W no problem. And it's stealthy.
Just check your mechanical needs in your particular situation, YMMV.
That's what I use at my home QTH. Nobody sees my longwire antenna lol. Even me sometimes I need to check whether it's still in the air or down lol.
Is that a SOA 60 i spy in the background? ❤
I look for cheap wire. I've used everything from CAT5e to XPLE Tinned Copper. Whatever I can find.
How is that pole held upright? Just a stake in the ground?
Hi Ryan, Yes, I use a cement form stake from Home Depot with some 3D printed pucks to fit the inside of the mast. It works really well.
@@KK6USYHamRadioAdventures Oh that sounds interesting. Not so much for backpacking, but I am in the car frequently. How long do you use?
@@ryanjennings5050 not sure what you mean on "how long you use"? I have one set up for the carbon 6 from sotabeams also.
@@KK6USYHamRadioAdventures How long is the cement stake?
@@ryanjennings5050 Oh, 18" and pretty heavy for backpacking. I use mine for camping or from a vehicle. The one for my portable mast is made with a tent stake since the mast is smaller and lighter. ruclips.net/video/EEiMp1Ge7Zs/видео.html
22 gauge = 0.759 mm
26 gauge = 0.455 mm
Speaker wire is always stranded copper. It's just like AC line cord. The only difference is AC wire has insulation with a much higher voltage rating.
Gold wire would be best, but cost and availability might be just a bit of an issue.
LOL Right?
OK, no 1. I do treat my antennas that way. You ever get a wire stuck in a tree? Lol, no 2. I don't break em though. I only have experience with yalls silicon wire, the Kmack wire, some 26 ga stuff from dx engineering, speaker wire, cat 5 cable stripped, and DX10. All for different projects/experiments/applications. I will say I do nothing "soft" and break a lot of stuff, but well you know "death before dismount" and all that. That 26 Guage stuff works for qrp operations but I find the dx engineering wire to be a bit brittle when yanked on so you do have to treat it like qrp stuff. I've got 22guage poly stealth on order for my K6ARK 100w linked efhw experiment based on Adam's rec. So there's that, but I didn't know yall just sold that wire...food for thought and future experiments.
That's good info Happy Ham looks like you have used most of the same wire I have. We don't sell just the wire, it did kind of sound like it when I mentioned others just buying wire.
@KK6USY Ham Radio Adventures dang, thought I missed an update at the wire guys shop yall got over there. Lol. I've got some of yalls wire as back up in my back up kits because 1 is none... but I don't think I'm a cannibal for fun 🤔 and will only use it if necessary. Maybe selling 80m spools of your wire might be on the horizon! (if you contact your supplier and ask for pre-spooled lots like Callum does? You wouldn't have to wind spools of wire for Ape lol. Id buy some. Tnx Chuck
Ah,...a 12 gauge shotgun is larger than a 20 gauge. I since a trend here; smaller is larger indeed.
For portable deployments I use an irwin chalk line with stainless trolling fishing wire. Use a k6ark matching unit that can be stored in the chalk line door for adding the chalk powder. Just a thought.
The best antenna wire is no antenna wire ... but when you need a antenna wire coaxial 11 meter than rg56 or rg58 old...
Just tell people you wanted to know what a bass feels like on the end of a line....that will shut them up and make them run to their vehicles and lock the doors...lol
You can get some funny looks trying to throw a rock with string attached over a pine tree limb in a park too.
Thhn 12awg stranded. Tie to post and stretch it. Will last a decade.
Jay, I forgot to mention a lot of Hams like to pre stretch their wire! Thanks for watching and the comment!
Long ago I was putting up a 2 Element “Cubex” Quad at my first QTH. I was given a long roll of solid 14 gauge cloth covered solid wire. We stripped off the cloth insulation and then we stretched it. This wire was free and was given to me by an a guy who worked for the Telephone company. It lasted as long as I had the quad up at my First QTH -about 6 years. When I moved I still had enough wire left over from that big roll to wind the quad a second time. Rinse and repeat. Fast forward to the current era and I lost my tower and a 7 element Yagi in Hurricane Ida. Got my home repaired and I’m finally going to put up some kind of wire antennas up. My climbing days are well behind me. I’m keeping my butt on the ground. I began my ham career with wire antennas and I’m going to end it with wire antennas. 😂 good presentation on wires. 73 de KZ5Y dah di dah
Heck if you do that dance at the park, just tell them your doing a TikTok, and this generation will be fine with it.
A One That Made From COPPER
Whatever you can afford.
MOTOROLA
Joking right?
Aluminum isn't "somewhere in the middle," it's #3, just after copper.