UK Cable Thickness for best Longwire

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nay27uk
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UK Cable Thickness for best Longwire

Post by nay27uk »

Right what is the best UK Gauge wire to make a Multi Band Longwire from?

Got a nice bit tree approx 200 Feet from my window that I intend on putting some sort of pulley system on so that at night I can take my Multi Band Longwire and hoist it from a specially created connection point outside my window over to the tree and hoist up into the tree via the pulley system.

Made some terrible pictures of what I plan.

Thinking of using this for my SW listening and when I pass my Foundation using it (at Night Only) For HF work (cant have any antenna of any sort here but my idea is it would be classed as a temporary antenna that I believe from reading is allowed, A bit like a temporary tower is allowed.

Anyway I just need to know in UK Wire gauge what would be the best thickness to purchase for the run to the tree for both HF RX and TX.

Here are a few bad pictures I made in MS Paint earlier.


Pulley system on the tree with no long wire up. This pulley system will be the Washing Line pulley kind of thing.
pully ststem no wire.jpg
Now with the Long Wire attached to it and with the quick release box I intend on making at my window, this meens that at night I hook the long wire to a box outside my window walk it over to the tree and hoist it up, when done the longwire all comes inside the house leaving only the box outside the window and the pulley on the tree.
pully ststem with wire.jpg
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Re: UK Cable Thickness for best Longwire

Post by Admiral »

Sorry, I have no idea if there is an optimal gauge, I use green PVC coated garden wire and it works very well.

https://www.therange.co.uk/hardware/gen ... arden-wire
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Re: UK Cable Thickness for best Longwire

Post by nay27uk »

Thanks admiral I will look into that and some TX/ RX tuners
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Re: UK Cable Thickness for best Longwire

Post by DX-Digger »

It depends on how much power you plan to use.
If you are QRP 5 to 10W then .25mm would work. This would make the wire quite light, Obviously if you start using say 1mm pvc covered wire mains wire say, the weight factor is significant and would require fairly strong support.
One comment I will make don't try to make the longwire as tight as a bow string, all that will happen is it will stretch and eventually fail, or where it connects to tree or house will fail.
Try to get it as high as you can, and dont forget a small drip loop at the house end so if it rains water will not run into your equipment or house!
Good luck look forward to seeing to pictures of your STEALTH Longwire :thumbup:
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Re: UK Cable Thickness for best Longwire

Post by paulears »

Longwire aerials are surprisingly heavy - so much so that thinner wire can often snap under it's own weight. Solid core cable is ok for short term use, but eventually fractures. Stranded cable can be better, and the easiest source is twin speaker cable, split down the middle. 60+m is a pretty long length, so I'd be looking for something quite substantial.
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Re: UK Cable Thickness for best Longwire

Post by nay27uk »

Ok thanks all for the pointers.

As I say it would come back in after every use so not to many worries about snow and weather etc with the wire.

The point on not making it too tight I will remember that as I would have gone and cut it to be tight, I will remember to give it a little slack when I cut it.

Yeah 60M is a lot but unfortunately it is the only tree big enough to hide a pulley on or that is high enough for the wire all the other trees are all baby ash trees and this one is a nice big old pine.

I know a MultiBand Longwire has to be cut at a certain length for each band so I could even use some sort of rope from the antenna to the tree if the tree is further away than the longest section of antenna.

I was thinking a 100M role of the blue Flex wire, the blue wire in a flex for something you plug in the wall socket, something like a 100M roll of This at 1.5mm thick

Yeah it would only be for 10W Max as thats all foundation will allow and until I pass it will be for Receive only.
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Re: UK Cable Thickness for best Longwire

Post by Buick Mackane »

Plan B :lol: :lol: Sorry pal couldn't resist :D

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Re: UK Cable Thickness for best Longwire

Post by Tigersaw »

I use this stuff;
http://www.nevadaradio.co.uk/antenna-ac ... 100m-drum-
its very expensive, but heck its strong. You can tension it to middle C over 30m and no problem. I also tried to break it - attached it to a hiab and lifted over 100kg of crowd control barrier before it gave up.

Very flexible too. Just thinking, seeing as you intend to take it up and down often.
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Re: UK Cable Thickness for best Longwire

Post by nay27uk »

Ha ha that is about right Buick.
Thanks tigersaw I did see a YouTube video using that so yeah it is another idea I will consider.
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Re: UK Cable Thickness for best Longwire

Post by nay27uk »

OK just purchased this stuff at a very good price indeed altogether with 24 hour postage it came to £14.99 for a 100M drum.
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Re: UK Cable Thickness for best Longwire

Post by Admiral »

nay27uk wrote:OK just purchased this stuff at a very good price indeed altogether with 24 hour postage it came to £14.99 for a 100M drum.
Looks good, I hope you didn't order the Hi-Vis yellow, not great for a stealth antenna.
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Re: UK Cable Thickness for best Longwire

Post by nay27uk »

Admiral wrote:
nay27uk wrote:OK just purchased this stuff at a very good price indeed altogether with 24 hour postage it came to £14.99 for a 100M drum.
Looks good, I hope you didn't order the Hi-Vis yellow, not great for a stealth antenna.

Funny you should say that Admiral, after paying for it I realised I had forgot to choose Brown and had in fact ordered the Yellow Hi Vis I missed the radio selection buttons when ordering, anyway a quick phone call to them sorted that little mistake out and Brown is now on it's way.
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Re: UK Cable Thickness for best Longwire

Post by Black_Pirate »

i dont know it its of interest but cheap speaker wire could be used...light cheap and both cores could be soldered to try....and the same shop does steel core washing line....all for a few quid...I wonder....????
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Re: UK Cable Thickness for best Longwire

Post by Allan666 »

I bought 50m of 1.6 miilameter hard drawn copper wire from Moonraker.I cut the wire in half then I Fitted a di-pole plastic center,Fed it with 300 ohm ribbon into a 4 to1 Ballun then coax cable through my loft to HF set via a ATU.Works much better than my other HF aerial (full size G5RV)And it tunes across All HF bands with good results....PS I have never been happy with end fed wire aerials and Unans.. ( Sorry spell check not working lol )
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Re: UK Cable Thickness for best Longwire

Post by nay27uk »

Hi Allan unfortunately I can't have anything centre fed mate as the antenna is going from my flat over to the tree across a communal garden/walk through where no antennas of any description are allowed by the housing association, so my antenna needs to be stealth and be able to be put up and taken down easy so a center fed would not be stealth enough as the feed point would be right where the path is so has to be fed at the flat window end
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