[Antennas] OW/LL feedline

[ab4kx@att.net]

Greetings everyone --
I see many queries regarding ladder line feedlines.
I have had *excellent* results just running insulated wire to the balanced 
output of my tuner.  I simply close the window on  the wire, slightly 
compressing it with no obvious deleterious effects. If the window frame is 
metal, I put a little electrical tape around the wire where the window closes 
on it!   I prefer #14 gauge stranded, black insulated from Home Depot at 
$13.00 (+/-) per 500 ft roll.  Great stuff.  I have made directly fed loops --
 450 ft of wire from the tuner -- strung over tree branches, doublets, end 
fed wires etc.  This is not good engineering practice, but it will get you on 
the air until your ladder line arrives.  Plastic spacers are nice, but most 
of the time I don't use any spacers and the distance between the feed portion 
of the wire varies considerably.  I do not run >100 watts, but I have had no 
problems at the 100W level.  QRV 1.8 -> 29 MHz.
FWIW & 73,
Bryan
ab4kx@att.net