Coax in Place of Single-Conductor Wire ?

[yzlian]

while trying to replace the cable between the ssb tuner and the antenna (the backstay), i found that i still have a length of spare coax long enough to do the job. but if i use it for that portion of the wiring, would the transmission of radio signals be adversely affected? thanks!

[Wotname]

No, no, no, do not coax cable between the tuner and backstay, it will adversely affect your transmissions.
At a pinch, you could strip of the outer shielding and use the inner conductor assuming the dielectric used in your particular coax is also a suitable insulation medium however it is unlikely to be UV stable.

What sort of coax cable are you talking about?

[aboutgone]

Get some GTO-15 wire.....Ed

[Mark Johnson]

DON'T DO IT. Once it leaves the tuner, that wire IS the antennae! It doesn't start at the bottom of the backstay, it starts where the wire exits the tuner... M.

[btrayfors]

Yes, the other posters are correct...don't use the coax.

GTO-15 is essentially neon light wiring....it's heavily insulated, single-conductor (usually AWG14) wire. The insulation is rated for 15,000 volts (hence, the GTO-15 nomenclature).

I believe you're in Hong Kong. If you can't find the GTO-15 there, look for some neon lights wire...should be plentiful.

Then, have a drink for me in the Peninsula lobby :-)

Bill

[ka4wja]

Originally Posted by btrayfors

Then, have a drink for me in the Peninsula lobby :-)

Bill,
Just checking some e-mail and saw your comment here, and remmebered that I wanted to pass on something a while back after I read a previous comment from you about the Peninsula....

Last time I was in HK was in June thru earky July 1997 (for 2+ weeks) to see it one last time before the change, and "enjoy" the "gov't turn-over ceremoies.....we stayed at the Peninsula....

Well, after one busy day walking around town, the afternoon rain showers came-on hard just as we were stepping off the harbor ferry from HK Island....and walking/jogging the few blocks to the Peninsula, we got soaked!!!
The white gloved doormen greeted us with smiles as usual (with both me and Teresa being pale white, redheads with blue eyse, and her 5'9" height, we did stand out anyway....but soaking wet, we were a sight for the "proper folks" in the lobby.....)

So.....as well walked a few steps, a very nice British man offered us a few napkins to "dab-off" some....we said thanks, and he asked us if we were enjoying ourselves....
Well, we all laughed and we accepted his invite to sit and chat....

Well, it turned out he was Chris Patten, the Governer of HK.....(the last governor HK will ever have, of course).
He was out-and-about town (walking, I believe), and ducked into the Peninsula for a few minutes.....(getting out of the rain???)
We enjoyed our chat (and tea, of course) which lasted close to an hour, and learned quite a bit about HK (and him as well).
It seems that he enjoyed getting out and enjoying his city......(turns out he'd been taking walks around and making visits here-n-there for a while now....)
What a brilliant man!!!
He was characteristically British and his words were optimistic about HK's future.....but even though we'd only just met, I believe I could see in his face a sort-of "bitter-sweet" sadness, which of course he would not disclose to me.....

Years later, I was playing my Hong Kong version of "Monopoly", and thought of him.....and wondered how he was, and what he was up to these days....
But, oh well....life moves on.....


Anyway, this has NOTHING to do with HF radio....but just thought I'd pass it on, before I forget again!!!


Fair winds...

John
s/v Annie Laurie

[yzlian]

thanks for the wealth of info and proper warning. will undo everything...

ka4wja, you sure have some interesting recollections! i was at the peninsula last night, not inside, just walking outside. cheaper that way... after hk, chris patten held an important job at the european parliament, and then joined oxford university as chancellor. cool guy.

[btrayfors]

John,

Great story, thanks.

Another time and place, I'll regale you with HK stories from my 25-30 visits there, beginning when I was just 18 in 1956. Absolutely loved the place, and had many adventures there.

To bring this back to boating, on several of my trips I visited the Cheoy Lee boatyard, since I was then enamored with the Rhodes Reliant 41 and envisioned one in my future. They were then priced at $29K new, while the Cheoy Lee knockoff -- the Offshore 40 or Empire 40 -- was priced at $19K.

My present boat is a Cheoy Lee-built, Bob Perry-designed Golden Wave 42. Had her for the past 22 years and wouldn't think of trading for anythings else; she's taken me safely over tens of thousands of sea miles and coastal cruises.

And, guess what? I'm gonna install a KISS-SSB counterpoise system on her this year, because my current RF ground setup with copper straps and all that is aging and a real pain in the butt to service and/or change out. The KISS should be a snap to install in less than 30 minutes.

Cheers,

Bill

[yzlian]

i searched around town but could not find the GTO-15 so far. all i got was a high voltage single conductor for 25000V good enough for 250 deg C, but the AWG rating is 16 only, ie, too thin. btrayfors above suggested AWG14. so two questions:

1. is the thing i found a satisfctory substitute for GTO-15 for my purpose?
2. if too thin, would using two such in parallel be ok?

pls pardon my probably laughable ignorance in these matters!

[SoonerSailor]

Go ahead and use the stuff you found. The additional resistive losses for that short run will be almost inconsequential. I would not parallel two of them. While it might be fine it might also introduce undesired reactances, and the potential benefit would be small.

[btrayfors]

Originally Posted by yzlian

i searched around town but could not find the GTO-15 so far. all i got was a high voltage single conductor for 25000V good enough for 250 deg C, but the AWG rating is 16 only, ie, too thin. btrayfors above suggested AWG14. so two questions:

1. is the thing i found a satisfctory substitute for GTO-15 for my purpose?
2. if too thin, would using two such in parallel be ok?

pls pardon my probably laughable ignorance in these matters!

No problem at all. AWG16 is just fine...it can easily handle 150 watts.

Bill