Staples and twin lead
 

Is is a bad thing to hold twin lead 450 ohm feedline in place with staples?
I'm thinking the kind that come from a staple gun or the insulated ones you
drive with a hammer.
If not, should I put the staples through the dielectric or over the wires?
Thanks.
Bob AB0OD

I will be interested to see the replies. I have
mine hung with a series of TV coax cable clips. I
use the portion that goes over the coax to contain
one of the wires. I have not noticed any
difference, pre and post hanging. I was careful
to avoid hard right angles.

--
73 es cul

wb3fup
a Salty Bear

"Robert McCown" wrote in
message
. ..
Is is a bad thing to hold twin lead 450 ohm
feedline in place with staples?
I'm thinking the kind that come from a staple
gun or the insulated ones you
drive with a hammer.
If not, should I put the staples through the
dielectric or over the wires?
Thanks.
Bob AB0OD

W7TI wrote in
:

On Sat, 26 Jul 2003 13:02:35 GMT, "Robert McCown"
wrote:

Is is a bad thing to hold twin lead 450 ohm feedline in place with
staples? I'm thinking the kind that come from a staple gun or the
insulated ones you drive with a hammer.
If not, should I put the staples through the dielectric or over the
wires? Thanks.
Bob AB0OD


__________________________________________________ _______

As long as you don't damage the dielectric, it should be ok. I've
installed thousands of feet of twinlead for TV reception using staples
and never had a problem.

For transmitting, you must keep in mind any possible arcing due to
damaged dielectric, but the mere presence of a metallic staple should
not make any difference in SWR or losses.


Ideally, the twin lead should not touch walls. It was always mounted using
those insulated screw-in standoffs.

On Sat, 26 Jul 2003 13:02:35 GMT, "Robert McCown"
wrote:

Is is a bad thing to hold twin lead 450 ohm feedline in place with staples?
I'm thinking the kind that come from a staple gun or the insulated ones you
drive with a hammer.
If not, should I put the staples through the dielectric or over the wires?
Thanks.
Bob AB0OD


Hi Bob,

Stapled to what? Untreated wood? In the rain? THAT would look like
a fair sized resistor hung on the line. Insulate the staples? You
still have the same resistor now capacitively fed. Would you notice
with either circumstance? Odds I would offer is 50:50.

Are you the type to chase down the last 1dB? You would have to squint
hard at the S-Meter to see it. If you chase below 1dB, switch to
ceramic standoffs.

73's
Richard Clark, KB7QHC

The staples won't have any noticeable effect at HF frequencies but I
strongly agree with all of those who recommend spacing the feedline away
from any surface with standoffs.

David KG2LI