I don't know about you, but when I was backpacking, every ounce and square inch was very significant. Put a KX1 and a tiny roll of #26 wire into a backpack and it barely weighs anything or takes any room. 40', 50' or more of #14 wire, no matter how flexable does not compact as small as the same length of #26. Don't forget, we need an antenna AND counterpoise (or radials if you prefer). #14 won't wind up that small with that much wire if your backpacking, IMHO.
Now... if you are not backpacking and only heading out the the local park, then #14 is great. And since the antenna wire is larger, might as well take along the K2 and have fun! Matt - K7OE -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mike Morrow Sent: Saturday, July 23, 2005 11:00 AM To: elecraft reflector Subject: Re: [Elecraft] KX1 Antenna Wire - Portable antenna wire comment Sandy wrote: >Is this stuff real flexible? I've been using some old "MIL SPEC" type #26 guage >hookup wire! Scott wrote: > I am looking for a vendor for the "#26 AWG Teflon coated, silver plated wire > that is often recommended on this list for portable KX1 antennas What is the advantage of this extremely thin wire for antenna use? No matter what it's made of, 26 AWG wire is pretty fragile stuff, especially for the frequent "put up then take down" cyclic use that is typical of portable antennas. I'd suggest the use of 14 AWG (!) Flexweave wire. I know 14 AWG seems gigantic compared to 26 AWG, but if you've never used Flexweave you can't know how *extremely* flexible and durable this stuff is. The 14 AWG version consists of 168 individual copper strands. I've played around with portable wire antennas for decades and when I finally found Flexweave I knew I'd found perfection. I've never had to repair any antenna I ever made from it, even after years of cyclic use. It coils up tightly for storage, resists kinking and fraying, and even 100 feet of it is lightweight and compact. My 66-foot 40m to 10m dipole takes up very little room in a pack. One vendor is http://www.thewireman.com/wire.html , item 542 or 544. There's a natural tendency to want super small antenna components to go with our similarly compact QRP rigs. IMHO, that is a grand mistake. I've *never* come across even one portable-use situation where the use of stuff like RG-174 coax or 26 AWG wire was appropriate compared, say, to RG-58 and Flexweave. 73, Mike / KK5F _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [email protected] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
