Hi Cecil,

The only reason I was considering #10 solid wire was because it
would absolutely hold its shape with a minimum of spacers. Aside
from the fact that it is electrically overkill, you are saying that
even wire that thick could possible flex enough over time to fatique
and fail? Somehow I got it into my head that the best way to go was
homebrew ladder line, and the only way I could see doing it myself
was with this thick wire, all other wires were too messy somehow.

I checked the #554 that you suggested and it is rated for full
power. I didn't realize that #14 wire could handle that (guess I
have AC wiring in mind and not RF). So you have come to the
conclusion that this wire is the best way to go for balanced feed
line all things considered? (weather, dirt, etc.) Maybe I should
just use that and move on from this obsession about making my own
ladder line. I'll tell you that #10 was going to look cool in a
kind of science fiction movie laboratory kind of way..... It is hard
to get off that track, but maybe I am not being very practical...

I see that Radio Works also has this #14 copper-clad for about the
same price, he says that the actual impedance is approx. 390 ohms.


Now I am wondering how I got onto this do it yourself homebrew
ladder line obsession in the first place, I think it was some folks
complaining about how erratic it was with the rainy weather and when
it gets dirty, and stories of oldtimers going out and coating it
with bacon fat etc. yuk.....

So you are predicting eventual unhappiness with #10 bare copper wire
ladder line with cute little gutter spike uv/pvc ferrules as
spacers. Why do all those guys make their own ladder line...is it
because the commercial version is nearly 30 cents a foot? Or is
there some other downside they were trying to avoid?


I was going to order some stuff from Radio Works anyway, so I could
just get a chunk of that #14 ladder line......unless .......

Zeno (can't seem to really get away from this nickname....so maybe
Bill will just have to wait in the wings.....)


Cecil Moore wrote:

zeno wrote:
so why not this #10 bare copper ladder line?

For one thing, it is overkill. And if it is solid,
it is subject to failure from fatigue. Many, many
hams have had trouble with breakage of solid wire
ladder-line.
--
73, Cecil http://www.qsl.net/w5dxp

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