By copying and pasting the links below they do open up to a photo of typical stranded 18 or 20 gauge insulated wire.
As Mark DeLorenzo mentioned it should be available at the local big box store such as Menards or Home Depot. Stranded wire will be more flexible than with strands tinned/soldered together. Tom Jasinski Joliet, IL .............................................................. Date: Mon, 02 Jan 2017 12:06:20 -0500 From: Mark Pettifor <[email protected]> To: IRCA List <[email protected]> Subject: [IRCA] Antenna wire Greetings and a happy new year to all! I have some antenna wire that a DXing friend of mine (Chuck Mitchell, WB9NWF, from Carmel IN, S.K.) got ahold of back in the 80s. It's STILL working well, and I've not found a better wire, and over time the longer pieces keep getting used and reused and shortened, and I'd like to acquire more just like it, if I can. After decades of use, the markings on the insulation have faded away, so I don't know the manufacturer, type, gauge, etc. I have a link to some pics I took and was wondering if anyone could help with figuring out what exactly kind of wire it is, and where I might find some like it. The wire is either 18 or 20 gauge, and is of type "overcoated" stranded. That is, there are 7 bare copper conductors, probably around 30 gauge, wrapped together with a slight twist (6 around a center 7th), and they are "tinned" with some kind of overcoating to make it appear like a single conductor. The first two links show what it looks like: spacetubes.com/IMAG0072.jpg spacetubes.com/IMAG0074.jpg I cut a piece of it off the end, and it came apart, and you can see the solid bare copper wires inside, and also the coating (made of an unknown material, but it's a lot like some kind of solder) in this photo: spacetubes.com/IMAG0078.jpg. Note that this is NOT the same as coated copper wire which is then stranded together. The insulation is most likely PVC(?), as it is still pliable and not all brittle and cracked, even after being outdoors for years and years. Any ideas what kind of wire it is? Or does anyone know where I could send a sample for analysis, to find out the exact type it is, so I can order the same kind? Wire is wire, eh? Well, I can't explain it, but there's just something about this wire's electrical properties that makes it perform better than any other wire I've used. Thanks for any help or direction! Best regards, Mark Pettifor Goshen, IN KC9DOC _______________________________________________ IRCA mailing list [email protected] http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/irca Opinions expressed in messages on this mailing list are those of the original contributors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the IRCA, its editors, publishing staff, or officers For more information: http://www.ircaonline.org To Post a message: [email protected]
