[PVRCNC] Wire for ground radials and beverage antennas

[Barry Baker, K4CZ]

I recently purchased 1 mile of wire (stranded & insulated) from a seller on
eBay.  The wire was recommended by Bill W4ZV in a posting on the Topband
reflector.  I just received the wire last week (2-3 weeks after purchase).
It's a large, heavy roll (about 40 lbs.).  It looks like it meets the specs
provided but I haven't used/tested it yet.  The two pairs can be split
relatively easily (no, it's not twisted pair) but the price is still a good
deal even if you don't separate it.  My total cost was $100 including
shipping for 5000+ feet (10,000' after splitting)....much cheaper than the
$35 for 500' of 14 guage at Home Depot that I had been using for ground
radials.

The seller claims to have over 150 miles of wire and seems to post a new
roll every couple days on eBay.  If you're interested, add his name
(lupo2371) to your notify list.  Pay the "buy it now" price ($65 + $35 for
shipping) to make sure you don't get outbid.

Additional info below.

73, Barry K4CZ




Topband: Source for WD-1A Field Wire
Bill Tippett btippett at alum.mit.edu 
Thu Apr 17 09:25:18 EDT 2008 

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WY7I wrote:

 >What source do you know of for radial wire...best? cheapest?
         This may be one of the best deals on wire I've
ever seen.  1 mile of WD-1A Field Wire for ~$80 shipped.  A
pair can be split into 2 single pieces which can be used
for single wire Beverages or for radials at a delivered cost
around $0.0076 per foot ($80/10,560').  Wire for one 600'
Beverage would cost $4.55 or 60 130' radials would cost $59.
Don't get carried away bidding up the listing below because
he claims to have 150 miles of it.  He'll also ship via UPS
instead of the USPS Priority quoted.  He's a relatively new
seller but has a 100% rating.  If you use PayPal you have
buyer protection to $200 (or at least I do).

http://tinyurl.com/5kzth7

         Field Wire is extremely strong and would be great for
2-wire Beverages "as is" or for single wire Beverages or
radials when split.  Hope this helps some of you!  I have
no connection with this guy other than being a customer.

                                         73,  Bill  W4ZV


I'm getting questions about WD-1A so here's the
complete mil-spec for it:
http://www.dscc.dla.mil/Downloads/MilSpec/Docs/MIL-DTL-49104/dtl49104.pdf
It's 4 strands of tinned copper and 3 strands of galvanized steel
~29 gauge wires per side of the twin conductor.  The 7 wires have
slightly larger diameter than 20 gauge wire.  The breaking strength
of the insulation for the twin pair is 170 pounds which I assume
becomes 85 pounds if the pair is split.
If you need more data please read the spec above.
                                 73,  Bill  W4ZV