In article ,
Doug Smith W9WI wrote:

RHF wrote:
- You do want to use solid wire since the signals are collected
- on the surface of the wire for the best results.

QUESTION - What's Your Opinion "Antenna Wire" : Solid -or- Stranded ?

let the debate begin ~ RHF

If the signals are collected on the surface of the wire, wouldn't you
want to use *stranded* wire? For the same gauge, it would have a
greater surface area.

Due to the skin effect I would suggest stranded would also have lower
resistance: lower losses delivering the signal from the outer parts of
the antenna to the feedline.

But I believe the difference is negligible. Really, the only
consideration for a receiving antenna should be mechanical: how hard is
it to get the antenna strung and will it *stay* strung once you string it?

I use #14 stranded, sold at Home Depot for home wiring.

I do have a 700' Beverage using solid aluminum electric fence wire.
ONLY because it was dirt cheap. The stuff is really hard to work with.
(and I managed to snap it twice trying to pull it through the woods)

What makes the skin effect occur is electrons repulsing each other. The
higher the frequency the higher the electric field flux so the
electrons tend to occupy the conductor outer skin. Even with multiple
insulated conductors bundled together the electrons would only occupy
the outside of the most outside conductors at higher frequencies.
Multi-stranded wire will not help once you go above a certain
frequency. You would have to calculate using the frequency of operation
and the size of each strand with the number of strands to know if a
litz type wire will help you increase the conductance of a wire path.

Usually this number is less then a few megahertz for most available
litz wire so that type of wire is useful for AMBCB and lower frequencies.

If the conductors are not insulated from each other then they act as one
conductor.

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Telamon
Ventura, California