But to be on the safe side, allow for a dissipation of 1 watt per foot
length of dipole wire which will then get warm in the centre, somewhat
above
ambient, when in a slight breeze.

But the current distribution isn't linear, and the loss is I^2R, so I would
think you'd have to know the max current, and work it that way.


--
KC6ETE Dave's Engineering Page, www.dvanhorn.org
Microcontroller Consultant, specializing in Atmel AVR