Q Bob, W3GD, asks, “I recently bought several hundred feet of stranded #14 Teflon insulated wire to construct a double-extended Zepp antenna on 3.8 MHz. I plan to run the antenna through the trees in my yard. Is Teflon weatherproof and UV-resistant? I’m concerned about durability. My previous antenna was made from a single #18 copper-clad steel military surplus field-telephone wire and it broke after a year or two in the trees.”
A Although not all Teflon cables are UV-resistant rated, the material is generally very good for antenna building. However, many folks have used inexpensive plastic-coated wire successfully as well, so I suspect the problem you had with your previous antenna was due chiefly to fatigue in the wire that developed after playing tug o’war with your trees. For runs of up to 150 feet or so, #14 is adequate (neglecting the “tree factor” for the moment. For longer runs, #14 may be usable, but I would recommend #12 or #10 preferably (twisting two lengths of #14 should also suffice). Two-conductor #18 zip-cord would probably fail in 5-6 years.
From QST January 2000
