MGFoster wrote:
Roy Lewallen wrote:

SNIP

If pressure is maintained and no air ever strikes the aluminum again,
The contact will remain sound.

Wouldn't the complete enclosure of the Al by the packing tape reduce, or
prevent, air contact. I'm not saying I did that good a job of wrapping
the foil, I was just concerned w/ protecting the foil from physical wear
& tear.

It should help, but I honestly can't say how much. The tape should help
keep moisture out, anyway.

SNIP

That's what I mean by the difficulty of "maintaining good contact".
Your
system will work fine. For a while.


I was going to use the antenna just for portable ops, and I was hoping
it would last longer than "a while."

Surely the larger the surface area of the contact, the longer before it
fails to make contact somewhere. There's no reason not to use it, but be
on the lookout for intermod and harmonics or noise in the receiver when
the wind blows and jiggles it, and don't be surprised when it fails.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL