I used WD1A wire for my reversible beverages over a salt marsh and had terrible luck with them. They were incredibly noisy, more so than the INV-L was and I gave them up for a HI-Z triangular array which was much quieter.
It is possible the tall marsh reeds (Phragmites) blowing in the wind close to & in some cases touching the WD-1A wire may have created a static that caused the background noise. But both of my reversible beverages going NW/SE & NE/SW had the same ugly characteristics. I'm now using the WD1A for my INV-L wire and have much in reserve. YMMV 73, Gary > I use military WD1A telephone wire which cost almost nothing but UPS > for a 1 > km unused reel. > > At 500-750' for Beverages the extra RF loss tilts the wave more and > and has > excellent directivity as 2 wire reversibles. I use black electric > fence > insulators into trees at convenient intervals and the wire slides > thru them > and have removed many large limbs after storms with no breakage. The > wire > looks like a sine wave with maybe 2' between peaks and valleys. Both > ends > use rope around trees and insulators made from soft delrin rod with > a few > holes drilled to loop the wire thru in 3 very loose passes. After a > couple > of storms I take up some slack and get ready for some more limbs > bouncing on > the wire. Nothing broken going on the 4th year now for the oldest > one. > > I suspect that the telephone wire, and galvanized fence wire would > work well > over salt marshes and other places of very high ground conductivity > to add > wave slope AND directivity. > > Carl > KM1H > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Les Kalmus" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Thursday, October 24, 2013 10:21 AM > Subject: Re: Topband: Beverage Woes > > > >I use ladder line from the Wireman and from Davis RF. I think the > >conductors are copper plated solid steel. > > I bought 1/4" thick 2" wide strips of acrylic from McMaster Carr > and made > > a pair of clamps of 6" long pieces by cutting grooves for the wire > > thickness, two holes for ss bolts and one for a rope. > > These clamp the ends tightly and the acrylic is useable > outdoors. > > The ladder line is supported every 50 -75 feet by a 3-4" piece of > pvc wide > > enough to easily pass the ladder line and with a large and small > hole in > > it. The small hole is for a screw into a convenient tree and the > large is > > to pass the screwhead. > > Where there were no trees, mainly a swampy area, I used metal > fence posts > > with a piece of pvc over the post with a bolt through limit how > far down > > it slides on the post and a T on the top end. The ladder line > passes > > through the T. > > The supports are at the end only. The ladder line has a twist > every 3 or 4 > > feet and rides easily through the pvc supports. This has been up > for at > > least three years and has survived tree limbs, frost, snow and > people with > > no problems to date. > > > > I think I have pictures of the clamps if anyone is interested. > > > > Les W2LK > > > > On 10/23/2013 5:46 PM, Mike Waters wrote: > >> Whatever you use for wire, it needs to float at the supports. > Anchor it > >> at > >> only one end and tension it tightly at the other end. > >> > >> I use my own ladder line, made from .061" diameter plated steel > electric > >> fence wire and spacers made from 1/4" dia. plastic coat hangers. > Supports > >> are 10' high and 100' apart. It's taken a lot of abuse, including > large > >> tree branches falling on it and a porch roof hurled against it by > a small > >> tornado. Some supports broke during the flying porch roof > incident, but > >> the > >> wires never broke either time. > >> > >> WD-1A military telephone wire works well, if you have the right > impedance > >> matching transformers. > >> > >> Having said all this, I know that a lot of Topbanders use that > brown > >> plastic window line for their Beverage antennas. Which kind > lasts? > >> > >> 73, Mike > >> http://www.w0btu.com/Beverage_antennas.html > >> _________________ > >> Topband Reflector > >> > >> > > > > _________________ > > Topband Reflector > > > > > > ----- > > No virus found in this message. > > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > > Version: 10.0.1432 / Virus Database: 3222/6277 - Release Date: > 10/24/13 > > > > _________________ > Topband Reflector > _________________ Topband Reflector
