Easy and cheap option (instead of Teflon insulation): use polyethylene insulated wire. Almost all of the outdoor-type telephone wire is of this type. It's the PVC insulated wire that typically deteriorates outside. Polyethylene has a much longer life outdoors, especially the black stuff which generally is uv stabilized.
-Bill Sent from my iPhone On Jun 25, 2014, at 10:46 AM, "James Wolf" <[email protected]> wrote: > One note of caution, based on personal experience. > > I used some coated stranded #20 ga. wire here for my radials, and also for a > electric dog fence. A couple years later, during the winter the dog fence > opened up. I fixed it and it failed about three more times until spring. > All the wire in both cases was initially laying on top the ground but over a > couple years had migrated down about 1/2 inch or so. What I found was that > over time the insulation had become very hard and cracked, more so in the > damper area of the yard. This allowed water to ingress into the tin coated > copper and eat the wire. This meant that I likely had a lot less of a > radial field than I thought. I found some Teflon coated wire at a hamfest > and am using that for the radials and the dog fence. After 20 some years > now, no failures on the dog fence, so I'm pretty confident that the radial > field is still mostly intact. > I suspect that the insulation was compromised due to moisture, and it > certainly was not suitable for outdoor burial. > > Jim - KR9U > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Topband [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of rich > kennedy via Topband > Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 2014 7:30 AM > To: topband > Subject: Topband: Deployable radials for 80/160M - Summary > > Thanks to all who have responded, both to this reflector and to me directly > to my question ("... is #22 wire suitable for ~90' deployable radials ...") > > 1. Most recommend that unless there is some type of animal, person, or > vehicle traffic that would potentially cross back-and-forth across the > radial field that a #22 wire, especially insulated, should be OK. A few > reported using a lighter gauge wire (#24 on down) with success. Wire size > isn't a critical electrical variable in an installation such as mine (approx > 40 wires). > > 2. If one is concerned about #1, then #20 or #18 should be your minimum. > > 3. Most, but not all, seemed to have purchased their radial wire from > salvage, surplus, ham fests, thrift stores, etc. There seems to be multiple > online sources (I google searched "surplus #22 wire") for all variations of > wires (and wire from CAT 5 cable) suitable for radials. > > Regarding the question ("...spooling out radial wires, then re-spooling them > in the spring ..."): > > 1. Wire 'flexibility' seems to be the concern - how easy is it to un-spool > the radials, then to re-spool them without generating a tangled mess. If > possible, wire insulation or jacket material should be examined and tested > prior to the purchase. Know what you are buying. > > 2. Many users of deployable radials have purchased garden hose reel systems > or an extension cord reel (a rotary wheel type device in a sturdy frame with > a handle) - either the large (~2' x ~2') hose/cord variety or the smaller > handheld reel/cord types. > > 3. Several users like to tie the individual radials in a sequence, one to > the next, and twisting together the ends, for both deployment and > re-spooling so that there is one long continuous piece of wire. One or two > users built 'packages' of 2, 4, or even 6 wires all in parallel, especially > where the radial lengths are nearly identical. If one has radial wires of > multiple length, then he/she may want to consider color-coding the wire > groups of different lengths (or using a spray paint the ends) to 'label' > them for next seasons lowband operation. > > Apologies to those whose valid suggestions may have been left out of this > summary. > > > > > 73, Rich, K3VAT > _________________ > Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband > > _________________ > Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband _________________ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
