I've tried all manor of industrial and homeowner pulleys and never found any to be suitable for long term outdoor use. For the last 25 years I've used 2.5 and 3 inch diameter sailboat pulleys (aka blocks) on all of my wire antennas and never looked back. I've never had a failure with dozens in the air.
Use the largest diameter pulley you can find. Small diameter pulleys wear the rope much more rapidly than large diameter pulleys. You can find sailboat pulleys (blocks) on ebay for reasonable prices. 73 Frank W3LPL ----- Original Message ----- From: "Hardy Landskov" <[email protected]> To: "Richard (Rick) Karlquist" <[email protected]>, [email protected], [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, September 2, 2014 9:47:43 PM Subject: Re: Topband: Outdoor rope suggestions McMaster-Carr Industrial Supply, Santa Fe Springs, CA has pulleys from $2 up to $357. About 20 different flavors. Hardy N7RT ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard (Rick) Karlquist" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]>; <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2014 12:14 PM Subject: Re: Topband: Outdoor rope suggestions > On 9/2/2014 10:06 AM, Jim Brown wrote: >> >> I'm supporting high dipoles fed by RG11 up 120 ft with the 5/16-in stuff >> that DX Eng sells. They are run though top-grade pulleys, tied down at >> the base of one tree, 100# of dry sand at the base of the other tree. >> The major issue with the rope is wear -- the pulleys must be first grade >> to avoid abrasion, which WILL eventually break the rope. >> > > Can anyone recommend some first grade pulleys? I am looking for > something bigger than what they have at hardware stores, 3 or 4 > inch. > > Rick N6RK > _________________ > Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband > _________________ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband _________________ Topband Reflector Archives - http://www.contesting.com/_topband
