[Antennas] Stainless Steel Conduits

[David]

Chuck, this is a partial answer...I don't know the velocity factor for
Stainless Steel...BUT... Stainless steel, as you might have guessed, will
take longer elements compared with copper of the same O.D./I.D./and
wall-thickness.

Using an MFJ Antenna Analyzer I experimented building 2-Meter J-Poles
years ago. I used thin-wall copper water pipe in 3/8, 1/2 and 3/4 inch.

What I remember most is that the O.D. variations resulted in broader
bandwadth for ~1:1 SWR as the O.D. increased. ...trimming my purposely
longer lengths in small steps to center the antenna's minimum SWR response
on the 2-meter band

I settled on the O.D. that was strenght appropriate for the J-pole's use
because all diameters seemed to cover the Amateur 2M band OK.
-- 
David B.
W7DBH



On Thu, March 12, 2015 6:33 pm, charles berry via Antennas wrote:
** Is Steel Conduit suitable for J-Poles and Active Booms?  The price of
copper has made it extremely problematic in building antennas.  How is
steel's velocity factor different than copper?
** Thanks,Chuck BerryN7CHS
**
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