Topband: WD1A
There are no perfect solutions for Beverage wire and all have problems. Military commo wire is normally used in short term tactical telephone systems and sees usage from a few days to a few weeks. As units move, the wire is recovered and reused. For longer term strategic installations multi-connector wire is used and it is much more robust. The WD1A we can currently get was designed for the newer digital telephone systems that came on line in the late 70's and 80's. It replaced the older more robust WD1 tip and ring phone systems. For bi-directional Beverage antenna systems, WD1A works well but as Paul has described. BUT there are issues in the NE with trees and limbs falling, moose and deer crossing not to mention vandalism from hunters and other wood walkers. Trying to mitigate damage from a falling branch using his strain relief is a great idea. I do the same when I attach the antenna to the trees on insulators by a very loose slip knot. You have to remember however that WD1A is not designed for long term installations. The PE and steel wire have strength but not enough to survive direct impact from trees, humans or animals. Craig K1QX ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: WD1A
Has anyone ever made any attempt to characterize the line at HF? A simple process like that would eliminate all speculation about RF performance, and make rational cost vs. performance decisions. Surely someone somewhere has made some reasonable attempt at characterizing the line. 73 Tom ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Topband: multicore phone cable as radials
Sorry for maybe a dumb question .But can you use this trpe of cable as radials/counterpoise, as I rent and cant really dug up garden to do job properly so hit on this idea. Idea is each individual strand in the cable will act as one radial. BUT I probable know the answer. Please give me your thoughts I have a 100` garden and limited to the fence line which is chicken wire, on galvanized wire supports, and also a 30`/40` steel mast which is earthed with 4 6` galvanized steel conduit tubes. Regards Jon G8CCL. ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Topband: FP
I've been listening but not able to hear FP on 160m the past few nights. Not seeing any westerly spots to see best time, so wondering if anyone West of the Mississippi has worked Or heard them 160m. If so when was the good time? Not so much up to midnight here in Kansas when I have been trying . Would be new so any info's please and Thanks. ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: WD1A
I think the characteristics of so-called WD-1 surplus phone line varies. FWIW, the two short samples of WD-1 that I have here are as follows: 115 ohms impedance, calculated from the following: .033 diameter (averaged), .0685 spacing. The dielectric constant of the insulation (polyethylene) is 2.2. I just made three transformers for someone using that line as a bi-directional Beverage, but I think more tests need to be run to see how it really works in actual practice. But so far, so good. :-) 73, Mike www.w0btu.com On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 8:43 AM, Tom W8JI w...@w8ji.com wrote: Has anyone ever made any attempt to characterize the line at HF? ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: FP
I use several 900 foot reversible made from WD-1A and found this as a good solution and a good price for wire itself. I use the KD9SV boxes that Gary designed. My big problem is that I have huge 2500 foot roll where the cardboard core disintegrated leaving a mass of tangled WD-1. Maybe someone has an idea on the best way to unravel this without cutting it? Thanks, Herb, KV4FZ n 7/23/2012 9:56 AM, Kevin Schavee wrote: I've been listening but not able to hear FP on 160m the past few nights. Not seeing any westerly spots to see best time, so wondering if anyone West of the Mississippi has worked Or heard them 160m. If so when was the good time? Not so much up to midnight here in Kansas when I have been trying . Would be new so any info's please and Thanks. ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: multicore phone cable as radials
Idea is each individual strand in the cable will act as one radial. BUT I probable know the answer. Unfortunately there is no magic. The objective of a radial is spread the electric and magnetic fields out, so they are not as intense. The only real solution is to fill a large physical area of space in terms of the fractional wavelength, like maybe 1/4 to 1/2 wave of physical space in every direction possible. This means we can fold a radial or pack radials in a group, and we still have whatever linear space that system occupies. It is very similar to an antenna, where packing 5000 feet of wire in a small one foot box results in a one foot area antenna. There just isn't any magic by any amount of folding or grouping, we still have the same area in wavelengths. We can do things to change reactance and change voltage and current distribution, but in the grand scheme of things it effectively remains the same linear spatial area or LESS. The entire cable acts as one radial. If it was .1 wavelengths long physically and wired to fold the wires back and forth, it would still be .1 wavelengths long. If it had all the wires in parallel at the start end or both ends, it would still act like one wire. As a matter of fact if in parallel, all the wires inside the bundle would electrically just vanish and not carry any current, like the core wires of a stranded conductor. You can make it act like a stub and change reactance, but it won't ever get electrically bigger as a radial, just like folding wires in an antenna does not make it couple to space better. 73 Tom ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: FP
On 7/23/2012 9:56 AM, Kevin Schavee wrote: I've been listening but not able to hear FP on 160m the past few nights. Not seeing any westerly spots to see best time, so wondering if anyone West of the Mississippi has worked Or heard them 160m. If so when was the good time? Not so much up to midnight here in Kansas when I have been trying . Would be new so any info's please and Thanks. ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK I worked the FP/VA2WA on 80 cw lastnight and then tried to work him on 1824 later but he was not audible here with a 900 foot Beverage heading NNE. Don't know if they were running low power or may have changed their TX antenna but earlier this month they were very strong on 160 and now they can not be heard. Herb, KV4FZ ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Topband: WD-1A
I use several 900 foot reversible made from WD-1A and found this as a good solution and a good price for wire itself. I use the KD9SV boxes that Gary designed. My big problem is that I have huge 2500 foot roll where the cardboard core disintegrated leaving a mass of tangled WD-1. Maybe someone has an idea on the best way to unravel this without cutting it? Thanks, Herb, KV4FZ n 7/23/2012 9:56 AM, Kevin Schavee wrote: I've been listening but not able to hear FP on 160m the past few nights. Not seeing any westerly spots to see best time, so wondering if anyone West of the Mississippi has worked Or heard them 160m. If so when was the good time? Not so much up to midnight here in Kansas when I have been trying . Would be new so any info's please and Thanks. ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: WD1A
I think the characteristics of so-called WD-1 surplus phone line varies. FWIW, the two short samples of WD-1 that I have here are as follows: 115 ohms impedance, calculated from the following: .033 diameter (averaged), .0685 spacing. The dielectric constant of the insulation (polyethylene) is 2.2. By sweeping it with a carbon 250 ohm pot on one end, and a SWR meter on the other, we can find a resistance value that results in minimal SWR change. Then, by measuring pot resistance with a ohmmeter, we know one thing about it. An impedance error of 20 ohms on a 100 ohm line is as meaningful as an 80 ohm error on 400 ohm line. By measuring attenuation of a reasonable length on several HF frequencies, we could know loss. That would take minimal work and equipment, but a good method. The problem probably is there are so many types it might change between types. I just wonder why no one has ever measured anything. ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: WD-1A
If you're lucky, you might be able to grab the innermost end of the wire and pull it out of the center of the coil (I'm assuming your rotted-away reel left a coil of cable). There are actually commercial pull-out type packages of wire made similarly to this. The wire will come out with extra twists in it though. If that doesn't work I think you're stuck with a lot of untangling work if you want to make use of the wire. -Bill I use several 900 foot reversible made from WD-1A and found this as a good solution and a good price for wire itself. I use the KD9SV boxes that Gary designed. My big problem is that I have huge 2500 foot roll where the cardboard core disintegrated leaving a mass of tangled WD-1. Maybe someone has an idea on the best way to unravel this without cutting it? Thanks, Herb, KV4FZ ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: WD-1A
I purchased from surplus, six each of the larger 3 foot diameter reels of WD-1A a few years ago. One of the reels was damaged by the freight company and all of them have not weathered well in my storage area. I am in the process of using from the broken reel and have set up in the following manner to single handedly unspool the wire without tangling. With the reel laying on end, the other end is removed so the reel of wire resembles a spool of thread on a sewing machine. I used a tripod with a 5' extension pipe placed along side the reel to hold a loop made of #6 solid copper wire over the center of the reel, about 3 feet above the center of the reel. The outer loose end of the reel of wire is fed upward, through the loop of wire held by the tripod, and then outward to where I set up a take up reel to roll off the amount of wire I require for the current project. In this manner the wire unspools readily without any complications. It does have the twist representing one twist per revolution of wire unspooled. For me that has not been a problem. I am currently using WD-1A for 2-wire Beverage experimentation AND for radial wire under antennas at a new 'vertical farm'. Another method of paying out the wire I may pursue for the other reels as I use them, or respool them, is to make a heavy duty lazy susan. A heavy duty, light friction bearing, such as using a wheel housing from a dismantled vehicle, would be required under the 'table' upon which the reel of wire would be placed. I am sure there are other methods. YMMV. de Milt, N5IA -Original Message- From: Bill Wichers Sent: Monday, July 23, 2012 7:47 AM To: Herb Schoenbohm ; TopBand List Subject: Re: Topband: WD-1A If you're lucky, you might be able to grab the innermost end of the wire and pull it out of the center of the coil (I'm assuming your rotted-away reel left a coil of cable). There are actually commercial pull-out type packages of wire made similarly to this. The wire will come out with extra twists in it though. If that doesn't work I think you're stuck with a lot of untangling work if you want to make use of the wire. -Bill I use several 900 foot reversible made from WD-1A and found this as a good solution and a good price for wire itself. I use the KD9SV boxes that Gary designed. My big problem is that I have huge 2500 foot roll where the cardboard core disintegrated leaving a mass of tangled WD-1. Maybe someone has an idea on the best way to unravel this without cutting it? Thanks, Herb, KV4FZ ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK - No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2012.0.2197 / Virus Database: 2437/5147 - Release Date: 07/22/12 ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Topband: Beverage antennas
Re Craig: There are no perfect solutions for Beverage wire and all have problems. One big factor in the Northeast is Limes Disease, spread by Deer ticks, from Deer, and a few other creatures. It becomes risky to your way of life to put too much time out on Beverages in wooded areas. We need good Beverage antennas, but also need good damage control clearance of the wires. Re Tom: An impedance error of 20 ohms on a 100 ohm line is as meaningful as an 80 ohm error on 400 ohm line Thanks Tom for clearing that up. I tried early Saturday morning, while very sleepy, to get this info out. A 680 ohm line Beverage with fence wire, the error ratio is even higher. (Wide spacing is more RF forgiving, in terms of inches, than close spaced lines). But we do need to be accurate. A few years ago I had customer reports, stating they had run their two wire, fence wire Beverages, fastened vertical with good results. At that time I switched a 300 foot horizontal run to vertical, and could not see any difference. Granted this was not an instant change A to B test, but it sure is an easier installation. I haven't seen anyone frequently transpose their two fence wire Beverages in my area, but may be a good idea. 73 Bruce ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: WD1A
On 7/23/2012 6:43 AM, Tom W8JI wrote: Surely someone somewhere has made some reasonable attempt at characterizing the line. If I had a sample (which I don't), I would hook it up to a VNA and measure both Zo and attenuation. 73, Jim K9YC ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: Beverage antennas
And out here in the ARID areas of the US, Beverage antenna installation and maintenance brings on the risk of life changing encounters with rattle snakes and Gila Monsters http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gila_monster . I have seen a LOT of them in my life along the Gila River. There is no free lunch. No place is perfect, but many are close to it. To each his own. My WD-1A doesn’t rust through, but there is very little moisture to precipitate rusting of anything. Mis dos centavos. de Milt, N5IA -Original Message- From: donov...@starpower.net Sent: Monday, July 23, 2012 11:17 AM To: topband@contesting.com Subject: Re: Topband: Beverage antennas Bruce is correct that Beverage antenna installation and maintenance brings on the risk of life changing Lyme disease. Lyme disease is present in many areas of the world, but particularly in the non-arid areas of the United States, Canada and Europe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: Beverage antennas
Remember the old movie Tales of the Sierra Madre were Arthur Brennen warned Boggy not to put his hand under the rock cause there is a Gila Monster there? Herb, KV4FZ Sent via BlackBerry by ATT -Original Message- From: Milt -- N5IA n...@zia-connection.com Sender: topband-boun...@contesting.com Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2012 11:39:00 To: donov...@starpower.net; topband@contesting.com Subject: Re: Topband: Beverage antennas And out here in the ARID areas of the US, Beverage antenna installation and maintenance brings on the risk of life changing encounters with rattle snakes and Gila Monsters http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gila_monster . I have seen a LOT of them in my life along the Gila River. There is no free lunch. No place is perfect, but many are close to it. To each his own. My WD-1A doesn’t rust through, but there is very little moisture to precipitate rusting of anything. Mis dos centavos. de Milt, N5IA -Original Message- From: donov...@starpower.net Sent: Monday, July 23, 2012 11:17 AM To: topband@contesting.com Subject: Re: Topband: Beverage antennas Bruce is correct that Beverage antenna installation and maintenance brings on the risk of life changing Lyme disease. Lyme disease is present in many areas of the world, but particularly in the non-arid areas of the United States, Canada and Europe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyme_disease ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: WD1A
Mike, the measurements I took here on a short (300ft) WD-1A with average height of 5ft using the method W8JI recommends with a termination resistor (pot) and MFJ-259 showed an impedance of 140 ohms on both 160 and 80 meters. I did not attempt to measure at higher freq's...de gary, kd9sv -Original Message- From: topband-boun...@contesting.com [mailto:topband-boun...@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Mike Waters Sent: Monday, July 23, 2012 10:13 AM To: topband Subject: Re: Topband: WD1A I think the characteristics of so-called WD-1 surplus phone line varies. FWIW, the two short samples of WD-1 that I have here are as follows: 115 ohms impedance, calculated from the following: .033 diameter (averaged), .0685 spacing. The dielectric constant of the insulation (polyethylene) is 2.2. I just made three transformers for someone using that line as a bi-directional Beverage, but I think more tests need to be run to see how it really works in actual practice. But so far, so good. :-) 73, Mike www.w0btu.com On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 8:43 AM, Tom W8JI w...@w8ji.com wrote: Has anyone ever made any attempt to characterize the line at HF? ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: WD1A
That's what I would like to hear. Back some years got ahold of a sample of some alleged high power 72 ohm transmission line before I bought a bunch of it. It was 80 ohms and had terrible losses. It seemed to me to be made of the same stuff as household zip cord. I reported my findings back to the owner, who then sold it for scrap. Does anyone have anything authoritative clearing C line for use at RF? It was NOT designed and manufactured for use at RF, that is for sure. 73, Guy. If I had a sample (which I don't), I would hook it up to a VNA and measure both Zo and attenuation. 73, Jim K9YC ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: Beverage antennas
Sounds like a version of Lyme disease, Tom. Sorry to hear this. Brian K3USC On Jul 23, 2012, at 4:04 PM, Tom W8JI wrote: Ticks carry many things, some that doctors are not familiar with. Installing antennas in the woods here in Georgia, I contracted Ehrlichiosis from a Lone-star tick. I was very ill, like having the flu with severe joint pain. It had a few long term effects that I still occasionally fight, over ten years later. ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: Beverage antennas - Ticks
Tom is correct. Ticks carry many bad blood bugs, both virus and bacteria. Here in buggy North Florida tick fevor is very common and it is not Lymes disease. Mountain tick fever, Texas tick fever, Southeast tick fever, the list goes on... Ticks are also the vector for spreading deadly Cytauxzoonosis to domestic cats in North Florida sourced from wild Bobcats to deer... Terry K4RX -Original Message- From: topband-boun...@contesting.com [mailto:topband-boun...@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Tom W8JI Sent: Monday, July 23, 2012 4:04 PM To: donov...@starpower.net; topband@contesting.com Subject: Re: Topband: Beverage antennas Ticks carry many things, some that doctors are not familiar with. ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Topband: Beverage antennas and Ticks
Bet there are many tick stories in the DX group. I was on active duty at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in 1957 and while I was shaving in the BOQ latrine one of the guys noticed a tick on my back. They burned it out with a cigarette. Had to go to early sick bay many days after, receiving many penicillin shots, but never missed duty. Used to operate K5USA in the evenings on CW except 10 meters as it bothered the base commanders TV. Bottom line-Ticks are really bad news. They can screw your life right off track. 73 Bruce-K1FZ Mountain tick fever, Texas tick fever, Southeast tick fever, the list goes on... Terry K4RX Ticks carry many things, some that doctors are not familiar with. Tom. __ ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: WD1A
Gary, was your 140 ohm WD-1A made from .0393 (1mm) diameter wires, spaced .118 center-to-center? My math says that should be a little over 140 ohms. But the stuff I was talking about was a different diameter and spacing (.033 diameter and .0685 center-to-center spacing.) The same math says it's ~115 ohms, but I had no way of measuring a piece less than a foot long. 73, Mike www.w0btu.com On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 1:49 PM, kd9sv kd...@comcast.net wrote: Mike, the measurements I took here on a short (300ft) WD-1A with average height of 5ft using the method W8JI recommends with a termination resistor (pot) and MFJ-259 showed an impedance of 140 ohms on both 160 and 80 meters. I did not attempt to measure at higher freq's...de gary, kd9sv ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: WD-1A
Great idea Bill. Unfortunately the yard man, every time he would cut the grass with a string trimmer he would pick up the mass of WD-1A and move it to another spot. it is in a Gordian Knot that would even be a challenge to Alexander the Great! 73, Herb, KV4FZ On 7/23/2012 10:47 AM, Bill Wichers wrote: If you're lucky, you might be able to grab the innermost end of the wire and pull it out of the center of the coil (I'm assuming your rotted-away reel left a coil of cable). There are actually commercial pull-out type packages of wire made similarly to this. The wire will come out with extra twists in it though. If that doesn't work I think you're stuck with a lot of untangling work if you want to make use of the wire. -Bill I use several 900 foot reversible made from WD-1A and found this as a good solution and a good price for wire itself. I use the KD9SV boxes that Gary designed. My big problem is that I have huge 2500 foot roll where the cardboard core disintegrated leaving a mass of tangled WD-1. Maybe someone has an idea on the best way to unravel this without cutting it? Thanks, Herb, KV4FZ ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: FP
I worked the FP at 0155 last night on 160 M with a good signal here although there was deep slow qsb. He had a good signal for quite a while afterward. I heard him work a couple stations in Texas shortly after I did. His signal was also very good on 80 M. Dick, K4IQJ .. On Jul 23, 2012, at 1:56 PM, Kevin Schavee wrote: I've been listening but not able to hear FP on 160m the past few nights. Not seeing any westerly spots to see best time, so wondering if anyone West of the Mississippi has worked Or heard them 160m. If so when was the good time? Not so much up to midnight here in Kansas when I have been trying . Would be new so any info's please and Thanks. ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: WD1A
Gary, was your 140 ohm WD-1A made from .0393 (1mm) diameter wires, spaced .118 center-to-center? My math says that should be a little over 140 ohms. But the stuff I was talking about was a different diameter and spacing (.033 diameter and .0685 center-to-center spacing.) The same math says it's ~115 ohms, but I had no way of measuring a piece less than a foot long. Since the field extends outside the dielectric, all bets are off. Even if the strongest area of electric field is between the conductors, we really don't know the percentages of what dielectric are involved. That's why a measurement is best. Tuning between a frequency where length is and odd 1/4 wave and even 1/4 wave electrical and adjusting for most constant SWR would hit pretty close. I think to make any meaningful tests, I'd use either 50 feet or 100 feet of line. Anyone with a movable power meter, antenna tuner, and transmitter, as well as an antenna analyzer, could probably measure loss and impedance as well as any VNA. 73 Tom ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: Beverage antennas
- Original Message - From: Bruce k...@myfairpoint.net To: topband@contesting.com Sent: Monday, July 23, 2012 3:56 PM Subject: Topband: Beverage antennas Re Tom: An impedance error of 20 ohms on a 100 ohm line is as meaningful as an 80 ohm error on 400 ohm line Thanks Tom for clearing that up. I tried early Saturday morning, while very sleepy, to get this info out. A 680 ohm line Beverage with fence wire, the error ratio is even higher. (Wide spacing is more RF forgiving, in terms of inches, than close spaced lines). But we do need to be accurate. ** Wide spacing is also more prone to unbalance wheras close spacing and twisting promotes good balance. A few years ago I had customer reports, stating they had run their two wire, fence wire Beverages, fastened vertical with good results. At that time I switched a 300 foot horizontal run to vertical, and could not see any difference. Granted this was not an instant change A to B test, but it sure is an easier installation. I haven't seen anyone frequently transpose their two fence wire Beverages in my area, but may be a good idea. 73 Bruce ** That barely qualifies as a subjective test and 300' for Topband isnt that directive/effective to start with.Try it at 1 wavelength or more in a controlled test. Carl KM1H No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1424 / Virus Database: 2437/5149 - Release Date: 07/23/12 ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: Beverage antennas
What may be more destructive is a slow velocity factor in the insulated wire. There is no way to estimate that, you just have to measure it. If the VF is low, then you get into the same kind of problems as one has in designing BOG's (beverage on ground), where the signal already on the wire is moving much slower than the signal in the air, just about to induce the wire. Telco C wire was not designed with anything RF in mind. The dielectric might be something exotic specifically designed for long life, and a VF slow as molasses. 73, Guy. On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 9:32 PM, ZR z...@jeremy.mv.com wrote: - Original Message - From: Bruce k...@myfairpoint.net To: topband@contesting.com Sent: Monday, July 23, 2012 3:56 PM Subject: Topband: Beverage antennas Re Tom: An impedance error of 20 ohms on a 100 ohm line is as meaningful as an 80 ohm error on 400 ohm line Thanks Tom for clearing that up. I tried early Saturday morning, while very sleepy, to get this info out. A 680 ohm line Beverage with fence wire, the error ratio is even higher. (Wide spacing is more RF forgiving, in terms of inches, than close spaced lines). But we do need to be accurate. ** Wide spacing is also more prone to unbalance wheras close spacing and twisting promotes good balance. A few years ago I had customer reports, stating they had run their two wire, fence wire Beverages, fastened vertical with good results. At that time I switched a 300 foot horizontal run to vertical, and could not see any difference. Granted this was not an instant change A to B test, but it sure is an easier installation. I haven't seen anyone frequently transpose their two fence wire Beverages in my area, but may be a good idea. 73 Bruce ** That barely qualifies as a subjective test and 300' for Topband isnt that directive/effective to start with.Try it at 1 wavelength or more in a controlled test. Carl KM1H No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 10.0.1424 / Virus Database: 2437/5149 - Release Date: 07/23/12 ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Topband: WD1/TT
When I was in the Army in 1958 to 1960, the field commo wire was WD1/TT. This was a twisted pair of steel and copper stranded insulated wire. It had no jacket over the twisted pair. The official way to splice it was with a square-knot and twist the loose ends after the end of the knot. Then wrap each splice with electrical tape. We ran many mile of this wire and had to pick it up when the Group moved position. Our Commo Sgt said that this is the worse job in the Army in WarTtime. Almost nobody doing this came back vertical. 73..Price W0RI ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
Re: Topband: Lyme Desease
This off-topic discussion about ticks (I've never worked T1CK on 160m ;-) is certainly an eye-opener. Since I've moved to Missouri, I've certainly had my share of tick bites, many of them from being out in the 'antenna pasture'. Around July 2008, something happened to me that my doctor never could explain. Basically, my energy level took a huge nosedive. For a couple of months, all I could do is lay on the couch feeling dizzy. I thought it was either mono (an employee had it shortly before I got sick and was off work for two months) or Lyme disease. I still have not got my strength and mental/physical energy back 100%, but I am a lot better now than I was then. After all this discussion about tick-borne diseases here, I will certainly do things differently the next time I walk back into the weeds (where my antennas are) again. BTW, Herb, we had a few laying hens and got some guinea hens (because we heard they kept the tick population down) the last place we lived in Missouri. Forget it. Guineas always nest out in the weeds instead of in the henhouse, and so predators eventually kill them at night every time. They were a complete waste of time and energy. We just spread tick granules on the lawn, and that insecticide helps keep them down. 73, Mike www.w0btu.com On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 8:28 PM, Herb Schoenbohm he...@vitelcom.net wrote: There are several natural predators of ticks and having chickens and guinea hens in the yard will do wonders, ___ UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
