> Gary, WD-1A military field phone wire is strong, lightweght and very > inexpensive. It is available on E-bay. Be sure to use a spring and > a > counter weight at one end to absorb the movement of the branches and > reduce the friction. This method will also mitigate somewhat the > tendency for a tree limb to envelope the wire and cause additional > problems with wind and moving branches. > > Herb Schoenbohm, KV4FZ >
Hi Herb, Yes it is light & rugged and it may be the right solution. I used to have some for my beverage although it's gone now. The WD-1A I had was hard to solder well, it was not shiny wire and seemed to have this oxide layer on it I had to work with. Think it was from the Vietnam era. I just can't use springs or pulleys where I'm at. The radial plate is 350' from the house & at the edge of a salt marsh and I have to shoot with that spud gun, through small openings in the heavy foliage to just get the wire up there. There's just no place to run a pulley or spring up so I can't have a counterweight at the end. What I have to do is tie the rope at the end to a long thin branch on the ground, one big enough to pretty much stay in place but light enough it can pull upwards a bit with wind blowing the trees. No way to isolate the wire from the tree branches & movement at all. All considering I get a pretty fair signal out but the antenna conditions are pretty Spartan. 73, Gary KA1J _________________ Topband Reflector
