[net.ham-radio] Open wire feedline

mrh@aluxz.UUCP (HUDOCK) (03/19/85)

I need help in locating a manufacture of 
open wire feedline.

Any help in locating some would be appreciated.

thanks
mike hudock
aluxz!mrh

jhs%Mitre-Bedford@d3unix.UUCP (03/20/85)

Three possible sources of open-wire feedline:

1.  Make it yourself.  Various ham handbooks tell how to make spacers.
    Wooden dowel, drilled through the ends and boiled in paraffin to make
    it waterproof, was one way the old timers used.  You tie the feedline
    conductors to the ends of the dowels with short wires through the holes.

    Or use polystyrene dowel cut to suitable lengths or sheet cut into
    strips of suitable length.

    With polystyrene you can use the same trick of drilling holes and tying
    the wires on, or you may be able to MELT the wires into the ends of the
    spacers, for example if you use bare Copperweld wire.

    Another method I have seen used is to start with PCV tubing, available
    at any hardware or building supplies store.  Cut it to the desired
    length of spacer.  Then slice each short length of tubing on a band saw
    to get 4 or 6 or so spacer strips.  Then notch the ends to a width
    just tight enough to force the wires into.  Or use the melting method
    mentioned above.  NOTE:  Source #2 below used this method when he made
    some feedline for me a few years ago.


2.  Dick Austin, of Austin Custom Antennas, PO Box 357, Sandown NH 03873,
    has been known to sell open wire feedline.  I don't know if he is
    currently interested in doing so or not as he is now almost busier
    than he wants to be making antennas.

3.  U-Do-It Electronics in Needham, MA, has rolls of OWL available.
    I don't know who the vendor is but I'm sure they could tell you and
    that the stuff is probably available a lot of other places.

This could be a good little specialty business for sombody who wants to go to
the trouble.  There are 400,000 lazy hams out there to buy the stuff, and
every one of them is a potential customer as soon as they find out how one
should REALLY feed an antenna!  It's funny to see how the lore of open wire
line has already been almost forgotten except by the guys with the REALLY
big signals on 160, 80, and 40 meters.  It's almost time for the world
to "discover" this hot new technology for eliminating feedline losses and
making antennas work well on all bands!

					-73,
					  John S., W3IKG

P.S.  Archeologists are working on a rumor that the ancients had some
secret knowledge in antenna design, too.  There is highly convincing evidence
in the form of ancient Log Books that some hams used to have 20 over S9
signals in Europe on 80 and 40 meters!  There is growing suspicion that
the rumored "Delta Loop" antenna may have something to do with this
performance, though the evidence that remains today is primarily in the
suggestive shape the ancients chose for the ANTENNA SYMBOL in their
religious diagrams:

				______________
				\            /
				 \          /
				  \        /
				   \      /
				    \    /
				     \  /
				      \/

(Seriously, try a Delta Loop fed at the bottom with heavy open wire line on 40
or, if you have the sky hooks for it, on 80.  You'll NEVER go back to trap
dipoles, I guarantee you!)

  * * * * * * *    S P A R K   G A P S   F O R E V E R   * * * * * * * * *

ERWINVL.DLOS@XEROX.ARPA (03/20/85)

MIKE,

MANY OF THE HAM RADIO SUPPLY STORES CARRY THIS ITEM IN STOCK ALTHOUGH IT
IS NOT NECESSARILY "OPEN WIRE" BUT RATHER IT IS WIDE SPACED INSULATED
"OPEN WIRE". IT IS AVAILABLE IN 300 AND 450 OHMS Z. THE OLD STYLE
UNINSULATED OPEN WIRE FEEDER IS RATHER HARD TO FIND. SUGGEST YOU CONTACT
DAVE HALLIDY AT A HAM RADIO STORE IN PLANO TEXAS CALLED "TEXAS TOWERS".
DIRECTORYINFO CAN GIVE U THE #. GOOD LUCK--

                              VAL L. ERWIN, W5PUT