Great advice Peter 😃👍! Having participated in the “Strange Antenna Challenge” over a number of years, I’ve put some odd things into service as an antenna with surprising results. Three aluminum canoes on plastic saw horses as an off center fed dipole, a dipole made from paper backed foil ductwork tape, and a flexible metal bathroom “vent hose” with a strip of old roofing valley tin under it. I’ve also found a cheap source of wire and insulators for experimenting by using aluminum electric fence wire and their plastic insulators! I recently had a QSO with a station in South America that was using two pieces of discarded galvanized water pipe as a 10m dipole. My moto: If it’s metal it’s an antenna 😆! Keep bringing us those great videos 👍 73 de Dan WD4DB
Bending dipole wire back on itself saves you from cutting it too short. I still use old grey pvc coated hard drawn copper wire for my HF dipoles. The grey pvc helps to hide the wire and this type of wire is what the old G.P.O. used to use.
I use #18 Stranded Copper bare Fly Fishing line. Almost invisible and spans 66 feet no problem with lightweight supports for EFHW. Being able to avoid the weight of Unsupported Center fed coax, solves a lot of problems. Works great with a fishing reel and poles for portable too.
I'm still using the electrical wire I scavenged from my kitchen when I rewired it. Threw up a temporary EFHW using some of this, it worked well, and is still in place after three winters!
Thanks for another great video. I’m currently constructing an EFHW for 40-20-15-10 and have decided to use DX50 because it will be a permanent installation. It’s a little more expensive but as I understand it is the only wire to be specifically designed for antenna use and was developed by the military. It has a Kevlar core for strength and shouldn’t stretch. In all honesty I am a firm believer in use what you can get your hands on. Especially in the early days when you’re experimenting with different antennas.
Great videos Peter. I use for 3mm stranded, galvanised wire for my inverted v fan. Adding an electric fence insulator in the line and I get guys for the pole as well. If the wire starts to stretch and sag I simply tighten up the guys. Its been up 3 years, gets me into EU Ok. Keep up the good work.
very good topic to talk, thank you, In the streets of London, abandoned Qoover equipment with lengthy cables and flexible electrical wire can often be found. These cables can be retrieved and split into three sections, allowing them to be connected together to create a sufficient length for an antenna. This can be done at no cost. - G7UNF
Just recently tossed up one of those ZS6BKWs between 2 pine trees at 45 feet using 16ga copper stranded (and insulated), worked Botswana and Cameroon from the Mississippi coast an hour later. I call that a good wire antenna. Btw Keith Richards did the same with guitar strings when he broke one, if the string broke behind the nut or bridge (which they often do). Humble beginnings!
Good advice Peter - 35 years plus on military HF, some of the most effective antennas I've made have been either "field telephone" wire (springy, horrible to work with, high stainless steel content, difficult to cut and almost impossible to join - but worked 3KW at around 4.5/5 MHz) or even barbed wire in an emergency - but I wouldn't recommend it :-) . I think (my opinion) some of the "specialist" antenna wires are quite nice to work with, so maybe worth it for a permanent install, and I really like the "braid on kevlar core" stuff, but been a Yorkshireman only when I can find it on a well known internet auction site...
That field telephone wire. I found yards of it abandoned on Salisbury Plain. As you say, it has some copper content plus a lot of steel. Its strong and stealthy though. I've used it for an 80M doublet at my old QTH. At my new QTH with a smaller garden I'm undecided whether to cut the D10 down to a 40M doublet, or use different wire with more copper content.
I use ex military DON10 field telephone cable for all of my HF wire antennas. This is multi stranded copper reinforced with steel strands. I inherited vast quantities of this from a former government employer when they were disposing of surplus ex civil defence equipment. An old mate of mine used to swear by galvanised clothesline wire. He always had good signals. 73 de John VK4VT
I use old BT phone gray twin core cable yes it very good cable it not just copper it mixture with stainless steel it anti stretch .it hard to come by nowadays.
@@watersstanton telephone dropping wires are characterized by their yellow color brass stray wire. These wires are highly suitable for antennas due to their strength and thin, nearly invisible appearance, difficult to spilit its coilled it self,-G7UNF
I use NYAF H07V-K PVC multistranded copper cables used for house electrical wiring, the cost is very low 0.14 Euro/m for 0.75mm², 0,24 Euro/m for 1.5mm² and 0.38Euro/m for 2.5mm² and they work very well.
I am aware that Litz wire by being multi-stranded & I believed with each strand being isolated from all others, is used in receive Mag Loop antennas to boost efficiency &/or because the length or spread of the interval that is tuned by the variable capacitor is wider due to Litz wire offers a greater amount of skin for AC to flow on compared to a single solid wire of equal diameter. I found empherically that salvaged aluminum tubing from old lawn furniture by having a lot of skin per inch of lenght gave me a very wided banded antenna meaning, on say: 6 meters, the entire 6 meter ham band was at or very near 1 to 1. Thus I suspect there may be an advantage to using a multi stranded cable with each strand insulated from the other found in the cable due to the length of interval of the band that has a great impedance for having little to no reflected power being larger than if the skin per inch was less. Of course all the strands need electrically connected in both ends so as to have AC on the skin of each.
Im a pack rat when it comes to wire. I have hundreds of feet of salvaged and spliced wire that I use for various antenna projects. Some of it has been up many years.
Hi Peter, I use Sotabeam wire. You get a 100 metre reel for 13 pounds plus postage and packaging. It thin and light and hard to see up in the air. It's been up a year and has survived the high winds over the winter months. Will you do a video on collinear antennas. Thanks David M0DUU
Ho costruito un balun 39:1 e ho molto spazio intorno a me. Ho un olmo alto 40m, e penso di mettere il balun a circa 20m d'altezza, e tirare un filo di 40m, che andrà in diagonale fino ad un palo nel mio vigneto, così dovrei avere una end-fed che risuona fino agli 80M. Secondo te vista la lunghezza e l'ovvio peso, che diametro potrei usare? Pensavo da 2,5mm unipolare. Che ne pensi? I built a 39:1 balun and have plenty of room around me. I have a 40m tall elm tree, and I'm thinking of putting the balun about 20m up, and running a 40m wire, which will go diagonally to a pole in my vineyard, so I should have an end-fed that resonates up to 80M . In your opinion, given the length and obvious weight, what diameter could I use? I was thinking 2.5mm unipolar. What do you think about it? 73 IU3OYH
@@watersstanton it allows the wire join to have no tension but keeps the tension well. Useful for joining rope or getting a frayed section out of the way.
Great advice Peter 😃👍! Having participated in the “Strange Antenna Challenge” over a number of years, I’ve put some odd things into service as an antenna with surprising results. Three aluminum canoes on plastic saw horses as an off center fed dipole, a dipole made from paper backed foil ductwork tape, and a flexible metal bathroom “vent hose” with a strip of old roofing valley tin under it. I’ve also found a cheap source of wire and insulators for experimenting by using aluminum electric fence wire and their plastic insulators! I recently had a QSO with a station in South America that was using two pieces of discarded galvanized water pipe as a 10m dipole. My moto: If it’s metal it’s an antenna 😆! Keep bringing us those great videos 👍 73 de Dan WD4DB
Hi Dan, sounds great fun!
Bending dipole wire back on itself saves you from cutting it too short. I still use old grey pvc coated hard drawn copper wire for my HF dipoles. The grey pvc helps to hide the wire and this type of wire is what the old G.P.O. used to use.
Oh yes I remember that wire.
Apparently folding back can cause surprises! th-cam.com/video/0UwaIc3GdSA/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Vp3E53obzX34AqCK
I use #18 Stranded Copper bare Fly Fishing line. Almost invisible and spans 66 feet no problem with lightweight supports for EFHW. Being able to avoid the weight of Unsupported Center fed coax, solves a lot of problems. Works great with a fishing reel and poles for portable too.
Thanks for sharing! 73 Peter.
I'm still using the electrical wire I scavenged from my kitchen when I rewired it. Threw up a temporary EFHW using some of this, it worked well, and is still in place after three winters!
A home cooked antenna!
@@watersstanton Exactly! 😂
Thanks for another great video. I’m currently constructing an EFHW for 40-20-15-10 and have decided to use DX50 because it will be a permanent installation.
It’s a little more expensive but as I understand it is the only wire to be specifically designed for antenna use and was developed by the military.
It has a Kevlar core for strength and shouldn’t stretch.
In all honesty I am a firm believer in use what you can get your hands on. Especially in the early days when you’re experimenting with different antennas.
I use the kevlar stuff, it cuts easy but is super strong. I have been using mine for over a decade no issues.
Yes Kevlar was originally designed for military use. We have been selling it for around 20 years now in various sizes.
Love your videos. Because of you I've been enjoying an end fed random wire antenna using the LDG 9:1 unun all winter. Thank you!
Great to hear!
Great videos Peter. I use for 3mm stranded, galvanised wire for my inverted v fan. Adding an electric fence insulator in the line and I get guys for the pole as well. If the wire starts to stretch and sag I simply tighten up the guys. Its been up 3 years, gets me into EU Ok. Keep up the good work.
Sounds great!
very good topic to talk, thank you, In the streets of London, abandoned Qoover equipment with lengthy cables and flexible electrical wire can often be found. These cables can be retrieved and split into three sections, allowing them to be connected together to create a sufficient length for an antenna. This can be done at no cost. - G7UNF
Interesting!
Just recently tossed up one of those ZS6BKWs between 2 pine trees at 45 feet using 16ga copper stranded (and insulated), worked Botswana and Cameroon from the Mississippi coast an hour later. I call that a good wire antenna.
Btw Keith Richards did the same with guitar strings when he broke one, if the string broke behind the nut or bridge (which they often do). Humble beginnings!
Many thanks and great results. 73 Peter
I did the same exact thing with the hard drawn copper. LOL..
"Ohh this is the good stuff here."
It's like trying to work with a Slinky.
Good advice Peter - 35 years plus on military HF, some of the most effective antennas I've made have been either "field telephone" wire (springy, horrible to work with, high stainless steel content, difficult to cut and almost impossible to join - but worked 3KW at around 4.5/5 MHz) or even barbed wire in an emergency - but I wouldn't recommend it :-) . I think (my opinion) some of the "specialist" antenna wires are quite nice to work with, so maybe worth it for a permanent install, and I really like the "braid on kevlar core" stuff, but been a Yorkshireman only when I can find it on a well known internet auction site...
That field telephone wire. I found yards of it abandoned on Salisbury Plain. As you say, it has some copper content plus a lot of steel. Its strong and stealthy though. I've used it for an 80M doublet at my old QTH. At my new QTH with a smaller garden I'm undecided whether to cut the D10 down to a 40M doublet, or use different wire with more copper content.
I use ex military DON10 field telephone cable for all of my HF wire antennas. This is multi stranded copper reinforced with steel strands. I inherited vast quantities of this from a former government employer when they were disposing of surplus ex civil defence equipment. An old mate of mine used to swear by galvanised clothesline wire. He always had good signals. 73 de John VK4VT
Great video really helpful thanks for making and posting 🙂👍
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for sharing, lucky to get old telephone wire.. 73.
Thanks for watching!
I use old BT phone gray twin core cable yes it very good cable it not just copper it mixture with stainless steel it anti stretch .it hard to come by nowadays.
There seems a lot of old BT wire about!
@@watersstanton telephone dropping wires are characterized by their yellow color brass stray wire. These wires are highly suitable for antennas due to their strength and thin, nearly invisible appearance, difficult to spilit its coilled it self,-G7UNF
Great job as usual Peter...
Paul K1YOU
I use NYAF H07V-K PVC multistranded copper cables used for house electrical wiring, the cost is very low 0.14 Euro/m for 0.75mm², 0,24 Euro/m for 1.5mm² and 0.38Euro/m for 2.5mm² and they work very well.
Many thanks.
We have lots of bore pumps here
When they put a new pump in i try to get the old 3 or 4 core 2.5mm cable
Anywhere from 70 to 600ft lengths
Thanks, you can't beat experience.
👍Thanks for video Peter.
I am aware that Litz wire by being multi-stranded & I believed with each strand being isolated from all others, is used in receive Mag Loop antennas to boost efficiency &/or because the length or spread of the interval that is tuned by the variable capacitor is wider due to Litz wire offers a greater amount of skin for AC to flow on compared to a single solid wire of equal diameter.
I found empherically that salvaged aluminum tubing from old lawn furniture by having a lot of skin per inch of lenght gave me a very wided banded antenna meaning, on say: 6 meters, the entire 6 meter ham band was at or very near 1 to 1.
Thus I suspect there may be an advantage to using a multi stranded cable with each strand insulated from the other found in the cable due to the length of interval of the band that has a great impedance for having little to no reflected power being larger than if the skin per inch was less. Of course all the strands need electrically connected in both ends so as to have AC on the skin of each.
I do remember litz wire, but have never used it. I seem to remember it was used in LW and Mw radio antennas?
The air also conducts thanks peter if only we could use air instead of wire and use a laser to determine the wavelengjt
Im a pack rat when it comes to wire. I have hundreds of feet of salvaged and spliced wire that I use for various antenna projects. Some of it has been up many years.
Join the club!
What about power handling peter , if your running legal limit wint thin wire just burn up.
Hi Peter, I use Sotabeam wire. You get a 100 metre reel for 13 pounds plus postage and packaging. It thin and light and hard to see up in the air. It's been up a year and has survived the high winds over the winter months.
Will you do a video on collinear antennas.
Thanks David M0DUU
Stainless steel wire?
Ho costruito un balun 39:1 e ho molto spazio intorno a me. Ho un olmo alto 40m, e penso di mettere il balun a circa 20m d'altezza, e tirare un filo di 40m, che andrà in diagonale fino ad un palo nel mio vigneto, così dovrei avere una end-fed che risuona fino agli 80M. Secondo te vista la lunghezza e l'ovvio peso, che diametro potrei usare? Pensavo da 2,5mm unipolare. Che ne pensi?
I built a 39:1 balun and have plenty of room around me. I have a 40m tall elm tree, and I'm thinking of putting the balun about 20m up, and running a 40m wire, which will go diagonally to a pole in my vineyard, so I should have an end-fed that resonates up to 80M . In your opinion, given the length and obvious weight, what diameter could I use? I was thinking 2.5mm unipolar. What do you think about it?
73 IU3OYH
Many thanks. You are very lucky to have lots of romm. I think the 2.5mm should be OK. 73 Peter.
Do you know how to program aor dv1 digital communications receiver
Have you tried downloading the user manual?
Copper coated ALUMINUM stranded speaker wire works dandy. 73 DE W8LV BILL
,,,,,,,,,, a d makes your signals louder! Thanks Bill
Alpine Knot works well
New one on me. Thanks.
@@watersstanton it allows the wire join to have no tension but keeps the tension well. Useful for joining rope or getting a frayed section out of the way.
Use DX10 wire it keeps your RF below 5 degrees..
I prefer speaker wire because it makes your signals louder!
Beware CCA ~ Copper Clad Aluminium. It’s cheap and brittle.
I use steel wire / steel rope works well😆
Interesting!