A quad will move around a lot in the wind and you want the wire to be flexible enough so that it does not break after repeated flexing that can occur at the point where the wire is attached to the spreader.
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QUAD ANTENNA HELP
- Thread starter unit_399
- Start date
The last 27 MHz quad I built was made with the standard 7/22 copper antenna wire, and the spreaders were 3/4" x 3/4" wood that I ripped from straight-grained 1x6 lumber. This made the antenna a bit heavier than it would have been with fiberglass spreaders, and that antenna danced around in some wind storms to the point that I thought for sure I'd go out in the morning and find sticks and wire hanging everywhere.
But nope- it survived them all without any wires breaking, and if they stretched I couldn't tell it. The VSWR curve stayed the same during the 2 years and some odd months it was up there. We were fortunate not to have any ice storms during that period, but the antenna did have ice on it several times and ended up none the worse for wear.
I used the wire from that quad to make a 20m meter Moxon later.
Rick
But nope- it survived them all without any wires breaking, and if they stretched I couldn't tell it. The VSWR curve stayed the same during the 2 years and some odd months it was up there. We were fortunate not to have any ice storms during that period, but the antenna did have ice on it several times and ended up none the worse for wear.
I used the wire from that quad to make a 20m meter Moxon later.
Rick