Soldering the Budwig Center Insulator

[Captain Kilowatt]

Don't try omitting the end insulators if you run very much power. The ends of a dipole are high voltage points and even 100 watts can cause arcing. Not using insulators can lead to more trouble than it is worth. Some people just use rope tied to the wire but when that rope gets wet it is no longer a good insulator and remember that high voltage thing I mentioned. I always use an end insulator,usually the egg type. For joining rope or cord I loop it up in typical fisherman's knot style where you take the end and fold it back over the twisted part and drop it thru thru the loop created at the end. When tensioned it slips tight and bolds the free end. I do the ends of both ropes to join them. It makes it easy to get apart later.

 

[SLR_65]

Again, I'm not near my machine (I'm on a smart phone while we're painting and remodeling my folks' place getting it ready to sell (they've passed on)).

I think the not using insulators was for insulated wire and anyone of a number of the plastic ropes out there these days...I'd think it would be safe.

Personally, I like the looks of what I've got and it's working....however, cleaning out the folks' place I've ran across three 10' sticks of 1/2" copper water line in the garage...hmmm, dipole elements???

 

[SLR_65]

Taking a break from painting so I took a quick look...check Dale Hunt's reply in this thread, it's just one of many giving about the same observations:

http://www.eham.net/ehamforum/smf/index.php?topic=20239.0;wap2

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Well Dale Hunt is certainly entitled to his opinion but that does not mean he is correct. For the price I will use insulators. As for tuning, I have never had to spend very much time doing it or been inconvenienced by untwisting wire. It ain't rocket science to tune an antenna.

 

[w9cll]

For the price I will use insulators. As for tuning, I have never had to spend very much time doing it or been inconvenienced by untwisting wire. It ain't rocket science to tune an antenna.

I agree I have never not used them, as for making the dipole if it take more them an hour from start to finish your doing it wrong.

 

[SLR_65]

LOL! It's not just Dale, there are lots of reports on the net of people doing the same thing. <shrug> I don't think I'd be afraid to try it, but the insulators came with my center feed, so no reason not to use them.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

LOL! It's not just Dale, there are lots of reports on the net of people doing the same thing. <shrug> I don't think I'd be afraid to try it, but the insulators came with my center feed, so no reason not to use them.

And there just as many from people saying to use insulators.Truth be told LOTS of people do something and when it does not blow up they are convinced it is the way to go. Still does not mean it was right or that there is not a better way. Simply tying a cord to the end of some types of insulated wires can, over time, cause the cord to cut thru the insulation especially in very hot areas. Sunlight will eventually cause the insulation to crack also. I still like insulators. If I was putting up an antenna just for receiving and if it was temporary I may not use insulators but anything permanent even if just for receiving I will use insulators. I have a bucket of the egg type so why not. I do not live by the old adage "there is never time to do it right but there is always time to do it over again." I come from a background in professional broadcasting and live by a little different standard than most I guess but I believe in being better safe than sorry.

 

[SLR_65]

I was talking to the guy who does the Ham stuff for our Scout Troop tonight, he does a lot of portable stuff for the Scouts, 4H, Schools, etc. and he does that all the time. Not a permanent setup, but he said several in the club do do it permanently, He said when he got into it decades ago many were saying plastic insulators wouldn't work, they HAD to be ceramic.

I think sometimes acceptance of new things comes slowly.

To do it portably I wouldn't have too many issues, for a permanent setup I'd probably use jacketed wire, do a little research on it's properties and stability and do the same for the rope.

My insulators came with the Budwig center section, and I like the center section, just nice and sealed up and not nearly as bulky as the old Unadillas I used to use as a kid or pvc ones I see being made today. Since they come with the kit, why would one toss 'em?

I do like the idea of leaving a pig tail for trimming, I'll probably do that on the next dipole, and I"m sure there WILL be a next!

I'm looking forward to my first club meeting next month, this may be a conversation starter, I'd like to talk to the guys who've done this for a period of time and see what, if any, issues they've ran into.

I'll do an update after I talk to some.

In the mean time, the new dipole is working well!

Cleaning out the folks' place though, I found the old Alliance HD-73 dual speed rotor we used to use...now to find something to go on it! (well, now to find a tower to put it on, then something to go on it!)

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

To do it portably I wouldn't have too many issues, for a permanent setup I'd probably use jacketed wire, do a little research on it's properties and stability and do the same for the rope.

While you are researching the properties and stability of the chosen wire and rope I will be on the air using my antenna that I just installed with insulators and everything. No guess work, no muss, no fuss.

 

[SLR_65]

Mine's up and running with insulators too! Very well too, though I just talked to one from the club who's using a rope dipole, has been for two and a half years, and he was sounding fine tonight too. It didn't start as a permanent thing, just a quickie after a storm...and he's just not got around to replacing it, been running fine so other projects have kept him busy, one of those you don't fix what isn't broke...(till it breaks)...

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Mine's up and running with insulators too! Very well too, though I just talked to one from the club who's using a rope dipole, has been for two and a half years, and he was sounding fine tonight too. It didn't start as a permanent thing, just a quickie after a storm...and he's just not got around to replacing it, been running fine so other projects have kept him busy, one of those you don't fix what isn't broke...(till it breaks)...

And the antenna without insulators will continue to work flawlessly.....until it doesn't. It's like using an adjustable wrench versus a box end wrenc. Both get the job done but one is really the proper one to use and will not eventually round off the head. Like I said above I have a little highet standard brought on by over 22 years of following good engineering practices. It costs almost nothing to use insulators so why not use them. As for the old timets rejecting plastic in favor of the tried and true veramic or glass....well the early plastics were not great insulators at RF and they wdre far from being what the new tbermoplazyics of today are.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I'm too lazy to correct the spelling in thr post above. Tiny touch screen and big fingers are a bad combination.

 

[StrangeBrew]

You mean I just spent the last two hours googling "tbermoplazyics" for nothing?

 

[DainBramage]

You mean I just spent the last two hours googling "tbermoplazyics" for nothing?