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> Ladder line spacers - pack of 50
Ladder line spacers - pack of 50
The holes are about 1/8" and they are 1" apart.
Overall length is 1.5", width is 3/8" and 1/3" thick.
A 14 gauge insulated wire is a slip fit.
The spacers come in a pack of fifty (50) @ $15.00 + postage.
The LOW loss line for a whole lot less than you thought.
Brian's envelope arrived, met with excitement and anticipation. I finally had the chance to put together a low loss feedline that might even last through the winter, ... and with a bit of luck, even spring.
The spacers dropped from the envelope, and felt smooth, strong, even tough. They allow the proper spacing, make construction of the line is simple. Made from nylon, they are flexible and smooth, sliding onto the fence wire easily. Now spacing between the spacers becomes a locally controlled issue, and with my experience, the more snug the wire is kept, the fewer spacers needed, especially if the feeder is to be installed in a straight line. No more than two to three feet between spacers, and any less is up to you. One at each bend, keeps things as they are to be. The spacers can be held in place with waxed cord, tightly knotted, for the straight runs. For the corners, a short wire tie works great, and affords a slight amount of fast rise time impulse energy protection, especially if used with a spark gap on the antenna side.
They have been in use for at least one cold time, a snow, a rain, small hail and a lot of wind. No wear is apparent, and where experience has shown to watch for wear, there is none. The conclusion is that these are a winner.. and a whole lot better than the purchased options available today.
There was no change in tuning, from snow/rain/or wind movement, other than that from the antenna itself moving, in 70 mph breezes.
What antenna? There are three each three hundred sixty foot long, center fed, dipoles, at 50 foot, switchable for directional control, used for 160 10.
The spacing between the proposed feeders will be two feet, with the length being over 100 foot runs, each. So, my next order for spacers will be for 180 of the well built spacers.
Thank you Brian, for making these very nice, very appropriate and useful spacers.
After a field test of these, I ordered enough to rebuild all of my open line feeders, with hopefully enough to build up one more run for field day. They work well, easy to put together, and even in 82 mph wind, they didn't fail.
My interest? I like low loss feedline, and use it... and if the other fellow that I am talking to, is using it too, I have a better chance of hearing him... especially if he is using the same power I am.
And for example, I used open line feeders on an edz to talk to NG7Z in Wa... last weekend, and I was using a whomping tenth of a watt.. at the tx. The antenna was 100 feet away.
With coax... The loss would have been somewhere near 1/2 an S unit... with this line.. is was somewhere near a tenth of that. Would you like to try it?
Come try Fox Hunts... or Coon Hunts... they will help you see.
Ok.. enough... I like the service too.. and finding a good product, at minimum pricing.. is a really good deal.
Thanks for the bandwidth, and thanks to Keith for doing this.
I agree with Dale 100% on these spacers.
Keith was kind enough to send me a sample of them and they are absolutely magnificent for making your own ladder line at home. Cheap, Simple, and Easy !!
For years I have made my own ladder line by cutting and drilling pieces of the gray PVC electrical conduit. Quite time consuming and not nearly as easy and accurate as Keith's parts.
It's good to hear there are a lot of hams that appreciate the value of a good open ladder antenna :-) .
