To Solder or Not Solder the Ends of Stranded Antenna Wire ?

I was taught many years ago that it was always
a good Idea to Solder the Ends [1/2"~1" of my
Stranded Antenna Wire to Electrically Bond
them on both Ends in case any individual strands
should break.

+ Plus on the Feed-End the Soldered Stranded Wire
made for a better Mechanical Connection to the Hardware.

* Also the claim is that the Solder & Iron/Steel/SS
'connection' was less likely to Corrode then Copper
& Iron/Steel/SS.

? Is Soldering the Wire Ends common practice ?

=Alternatively= I have been told to only Solder the
Stranded Antenna Wire at the Feed-End; and
then Tie-a-Knot in the Far-End about an Inch or
two from the End {Overhand Knot or Loop Knot}
-and-then-to- Separate-out the individual wires into
a Porcupine {half-ball} so that the Static Electricity
could bleed-off and reduce some of the the static
'noise' on the Antenna Wire.

? Does splaying the Far-End Antenna Wires really
help to Bleed-off the Static build-up on the Wire ?

thinking about the things i do . . .
and the why of it all ~ RHF

RHF wrote:
To Solder or Not Solder the Ends of Stranded Antenna Wire ?

I was taught many years ago that it was always
a good Idea to Solder the Ends [1/2"~1" of my
Stranded Antenna Wire to Electrically Bond
them on both Ends in case any individual strands
should break.

+ Plus on the Feed-End the Soldered Stranded Wire
made for a better Mechanical Connection to the Hardware.

* Also the claim is that the Solder& Iron/Steel/SS
'connection' was less likely to Corrode then Copper
& Iron/Steel/SS.

? Is Soldering the Wire Ends common practice ?

=Alternatively= I have been told to only Solder the
Stranded Antenna Wire at the Feed-End; and
then Tie-a-Knot in the Far-End about an Inch or
two from the End {Overhand Knot or Loop Knot}
-and-then-to- Separate-out the individual wires into
a Porcupine {half-ball} so that the Static Electricity
could bleed-off and reduce some of the the static
'noise' on the Antenna Wire.

? Does splaying the Far-End Antenna Wires really
help to Bleed-off the Static build-up on the Wire ?

thinking about the things i do . . .
and the why of it all ~ RHF
.
Use a thimble and clamps to secure the wire mechanically to an
insulator. Then solder your 9:1 balun hot primary positive lead to the
antenna wire. You'll need still air, or a 100 Watt iron.

In article 55bad1be-b465-474f-8575-a8bfe05b57d4@
11g2000prv.googlegroups.com, says...
To Solder or Not Solder the Ends of Stranded Antenna Wire ?

I was taught many years ago that it was always
a good Idea to Solder the Ends [1/2"~1" of my
Stranded Antenna Wire to Electrically Bond
them on both Ends in case any individual strands
should break.

I do that too.


+ Plus on the Feed-End the Soldered Stranded Wire
made for a better Mechanical Connection to the Hardware.

* Also the claim is that the Solder & Iron/Steel/SS
'connection' was less likely to Corrode then Copper
& Iron/Steel/SS.

I suppose so, but I never mix the two in the first place. I use ceramic
insulators and there is no electrical connection between copper and
steel/iron. I must be doing something right, the oldest one is still up,
even though the coax going to it has died of old age.


? Is Soldering the Wire Ends common practice ?

As far as I know, yes.


=Alternatively= I have been told to only Solder the
Stranded Antenna Wire at the Feed-End; and
then Tie-a-Knot in the Far-End about an Inch or
two from the End {Overhand Knot or Loop Knot}
-and-then-to- Separate-out the individual wires into
a Porcupine {half-ball} so that the Static Electricity
could bleed-off and reduce some of the the static
'noise' on the Antenna Wire.

Never heard of such a thing. I use insulators at each end, and in the
old days I used a neon bulb or a 12V tail light bulb as a bleed off. I
went to gas discharge tube arrestors a long time ago. The 12V bulb made
a really nice light show on winter days when the wind was really going.


? Does splaying the Far-End Antenna Wires really
help to Bleed-off the Static build-up on the Wire ?

Again, I've never heard of such a thing, and I've been SWL'ing for about
45 years.


thinking about the things i do . . .
and the why of it all ~ RHF
.

Nothing wrong with that.

--
BDK, non-jew leader of the non-existant jew paid shills!

"BDK" wrote in message
...
Never heard of such a thing. I use insulators at each end, and in the
old days I used a neon bulb or a 12V tail light bulb as a bleed off. I
went to gas discharge tube arrestors a long time ago. The 12V bulb made
a really nice light show on winter days when the wind was really going.

What kind of buld exactly is a "12V tail light bulb"?

--

Brian Gregory. (In the UK)

To email me remove the letter vee.

"RHF" wrote in message
...
To Solder or Not Solder the Ends of Stranded Antenna Wire ?

I was taught many years ago that it was always
a good Idea to Solder the Ends [1/2"~1" of my
Stranded Antenna Wire to Electrically Bond
them on both Ends in case any individual strands
should break.
+ Plus on the Feed-End the Soldered Stranded Wire
made for a better Mechanical Connection to the Hardware.

Not a bad idea at the feed end as long as solder is conpatible with whatever
method you use to make the connection. Solder slowly deforms and can make
crimped or screw conenctions become loose over time.
I don't see any point at the other end.


* Also the claim is that the Solder & Iron/Steel/SS
'connection' was less likely to Corrode then Copper
& Iron/Steel/SS.

Not sure.



? Is Soldering the Wire Ends common practice ?

=Alternatively= I have been told to only Solder the
Stranded Antenna Wire at the Feed-End; and
then Tie-a-Knot in the Far-End about an Inch or
two from the End {Overhand Knot or Loop Knot}
-and-then-to- Separate-out the individual wires into
a Porcupine {half-ball} so that the Static Electricity
could bleed-off and reduce some of the the static
'noise' on the Antenna Wire.

This is nonsense. I suspect it arises from the way americans use the same
word "static" to refer to both the high voltage static electricity that
gives you shocks after walking on nylon carpets etc, and to refer to antenna
noise. They are rather different things.

The only thing worth doing at both ends, with an insulated wire, is sealing
the wire to keep moisture out


? Does splaying the Far-End Antenna Wires really
help to Bleed-off the Static build-up on the Wire ?

Well it might affect high voltage static electricity build up I guess but
that won't be present when the antenna is connected to your receiver.


thinking about the things i do . . .
and the why of it all ~ RHF

--

Brian Gregory. (In the UK)

To email me remove the letter vee.

On 13/06/2010 10:26 PM, Brian Gregory [UK] wrote:
wrote in message
...
Never heard of such a thing. I use insulators at each end, and in the
old days I used a neon bulb or a 12V tail light bulb as a bleed off. I
went to gas discharge tube arrestors a long time ago. The 12V bulb made
a really nice light show on winter days when the wind was really going.

What kind of buld exactly is a "12V tail light bulb"?


An automotive 12 volt, 5 watt bulb (globe) with (usually) a bayonet
fitting. You can get bulbs that have dual filaments, one filament for
tail lights, the other for brake or indicator lights. The
brake/indicator light filament has a higher wattage rating (21 - 25
Watts) so the bayonet typically has staggered locating pins. This
prevents the higher wattage rating being used as the tail light filament.

http://www.eziautoparts.com.au/light...or-globes.html

New technology is seeing the incandescent bulbs being superseded by LED
arrays.

Krypsis

"Krypsis" wrote in message
u...
On 13/06/2010 10:26 PM, Brian Gregory [UK] wrote:
wrote in message
...
Never heard of such a thing. I use insulators at each end, and in the
old days I used a neon bulb or a 12V tail light bulb as a bleed off. I
went to gas discharge tube arrestors a long time ago. The 12V bulb made
a really nice light show on winter days when the wind was really going.

What kind of buld exactly is a "12V tail light bulb"?


An automotive 12 volt, 5 watt bulb (globe) with (usually) a bayonet
fitting. You can get bulbs that have dual filaments, one filament for tail
lights, the other for brake or indicator lights. The brake/indicator light
filament has a higher wattage rating (21 - 25 Watts) so the bayonet
typically has staggered locating pins. This prevents the higher wattage
rating being used as the tail light filament.

http://www.eziautoparts.com.au/light...or-globes.html

New technology is seeing the incandescent bulbs being superseded by LED
arrays.

Krypsis

But that would most definitely not light from the static electricity induced
in an antenna wire on a stormy night and would shunt away much of the wanted
signal anyway.

So I think BDK must mean something else.

Either that or he's making it up as he goes.

--

Brian Gregory. (In the UK)

To email me remove the letter vee.

On Jun 13, 12:16*pm, "Brian Gregory [UK]" wrote:
"Krypsis" wrote in message

u...





On 13/06/2010 10:26 PM, Brian Gregory [UK] wrote:
*wrote in message
...
Never heard of such a thing. I use insulators at each end, and in the
old days I used a neon bulb or a 12V tail light bulb as a bleed off. I
went to gas discharge tube arrestors a long time ago. The 12V bulb made
a really nice light show on winter days when the wind was really going.

What kind of buld exactly is a "12V tail light bulb"?

An automotive 12 volt, 5 watt bulb (globe) with (usually) a bayonet
fitting. You can get bulbs that have dual filaments, one filament for tail
lights, the other for brake or indicator lights. The brake/indicator light
filament has a higher wattage rating (21 - 25 Watts) so the bayonet
typically has staggered locating pins. This prevents the higher wattage
rating being used as the tail light filament.

http://www.eziautoparts.com.au/light...l-and-indicato...

New technology is seeing the incandescent bulbs being superseded by LED
arrays.

Krypsis

But that would most definitely not light from the static electricity induced
in an antenna wire on a stormy night and would shunt away much of the wanted
signal anyway.

So I think BDK must mean something else.

Either that or he's making it up as he goes.

Isn't that what most of us do with antennas? ;-)

Article I read in a motorbike magazine back in the 1970s.Somebody said
in that article to not solder the wires.He said that makes them brittle
and vibration can make them fail.I believe in soldering them, meself.
cuhulin

On Jun 13, 4:42*pm, dave wrote:
wrote:
Article I read in a motorbike magazine back in the 1970s.Somebody said
in that article to not solder the wires.He said that makes them brittle
and vibration can make them fail.I believe in soldering them, meself.
cuhulin

Do not tin wires that you are going to crimp.

Do not "double strike" when you crimp.

On this last, why not? Is there some weakening that occurs?