On Tue, 17 May 2005 11:49:23 -0400, "cooltube"
wrote:

I can't believe that No one reads anymore?
The wire is Hard Drawn Copper, not plastic coated or Copper clad!
Someone got a nice deal for $9.99, went to Canada where maybe they have
other things to do but complain:-)
******

Even hard drawn copper stretches with time.

Copper clad is not that bad if the cladding is thick enough. A vendor
can improve profits if the copper cladding is kept to bare minimum.
There are two real problem with copper cladded steel. One is the
plating process itself. If it is not uniform and thick enough t hen
mositure can penetrate the copper plating and cause the underlying
steel to rust. Once that happens the radiation resistance goes south
big times. The second issue is that any protective coating on the
copper is missing or damgaed will cause copper to oxide. Copper
oxides are not conducting. The antenna performance then goes south in
a big hurry.

Even hard drawn copper is subject to oxidation if not protected. While
the effects of copper oxides on the very thin surface is marginal at
frequencies below 30 MHz., they can be disastorous at frequencies in
the VHF regions and higher.

james