[HCARC] Ground Braid

[Kerry Sandstrom]

Gary,

Of course it is basically flattened tubular.  Let me tell you why - If it 
was just a single layer of flat braid, how long do you think it would last 
with short strips of braid at a 45 degree angle that terminate on both 
sides.  It would be, in effect, a bunch of short wires each one 1.414 times 
the width of the braid long.  When you make it in a tubular form, the wires 
are really long and only end at the two ends of the braid.  The tubular 
woven braid is then just flattened.

Now lets talk about tinned braid.  There are basically three types of 
braided shield for coax cable: silvered copper, tinned copper and bare 
copper.  For microwaves cables, silvered copper is used.  For HF and VHF, 
bare copper is used.  For low frequencies, tinned copper is used.  The use 
of silvered copper provides better shielding and better stability with aging 
at microwave frequencies.  recall that the oxide of  silver is a conductor 
while the oxides of tin and copper are not.  Given a choice I'd use bare 
copper braid.

Kerry