[Antennas] Insul wire vs bare ant wire length

Sat Nov 13 15:20:57 EST 2004

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Nelson Wittstock" <k8djc at zoominternet.net>
Subject: [Antennas] Insul wire vs bare ant wire length
> I recall reading that insulated wire for antennas needs to be a different
> length than bare wire but don't recall how much difference or which way.
I
> have wire ready for a pennant antenna but it is insulated and stripping
70+
> feet of wire does not sound like fun. By what factor do I need to adjust
> the length or would it be better to just go ahead and start stripping <the
> wire that is>?

Hi Nelson, dialectric on an antenna adds a very little electrical length, I
do not know how there could be a standard for determining this, as the
factor would seem to vary. Starting just above the desired electrical length
and trimming for the effect of the insulator seems reasonable. Not sure why
anyone would bother stripping antenna wire, if you're determined to use what
you have then adjust as above. Otherwise, 0ドル.14/Ft is so cheap it hardly
seems worth using less than perfect (new) antenna wire for anything you do.
73,
Jack Painter
Virginia Beach VA