Blueskysb

#6 stranded is fine. It's ham, not Hamm. (Hamms is a beer)And the antenna doesn't care where it is.

I suggest you contact the American Radio Relay League.

American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources

Thanks Lyn, I like Hamms, and with the wonderful "local code" world.....:)

Its just my personal preference, but solid is always electrically better than stranded.Its not the length, or thickness of the wire, but the connection points. When tightened down, the stranded can push apart, leaving less wire connected at this critical point.Less wire in contact, less protection.Some might say this is knit-picking, but I have had this happen to me. I live way out in the woods, ran out of connectors, and did not want to drop everything and drive 30 miles one way for them.So I made it a tempoary connection. Well tempoary turned into permanent, cause of too many honey do jobs, and when I really needed it, it failed.Had this been solid wire, no problem.If your going to do it, do it right the first time.If I had not run out of connectors, probably no problem.Its the wee little things that get you. Pay attention to detail, and always double check your work. 73`s KC0VEA

#6 stranded should be fine. Most Ham systems actually call for #8.

Good luck.

Will we be hearing from you on field day in June?

Over kill??? got it, use it. we'll see. Thanks not so:)

Solid is better if you consider that lightning current are high frequency because of their sharp peak.

Stranded will do but will also have a relatively higher resistance to the lightning current going to earth. This might not be very significant and depends on the length of the wire etc...

As you say, Lightning current is effectively high frequency, and the skin effect makes high frequencies travel mostly on the surface. Stranded wire has a lot more surface than solid of the same size, so it seems to me that stranded would actually be preferred. Am I mistaken?

Another point would be to avoid sharp corners/bends in routing the wire.

DK, I have heard the same thing about stranded having more conductive surface area, I know of one company that specifies stranded on all their projects. I think it is less resistance and runs cooler, I'm probably way off base with my assumption but it does sound good me.

The higher the frequency, the more a stranded cable will exhibit resistance (Impedence in this case).

For a good lightning conductor, flat copper strips are normally used. They are solid, and flat giving more surface than a round conductor. Multistrands, even if the total periferal surface is greater than the equivalent cross sectional round solid cable, it will have a greater impedence and I think someone more involved in the calculations could help prove it. I am sure of this because I have had experience in the domain of transmitting high frequency in some industrial equipment and multistrand cable was attempted by a collegue who was surprised to find no power at the other end. replaced with a flat foil did the trick.

Thanks. Is that due to the twist in the stranded cable acting as a coil?

I am not sure it is only the twist in the wire, but the fact that there will be capacitive values between the strands as the contact cannot be guarantied on all the length etc.

The twist will add some inductance, but mainly, the difference is also the irregular contacts between the strands that will increase the overall impedence at high frequencies. We need more expertise in the field from someone that has conducted research to pinpoint the most important factor that eventually adds impedence at higher frequencies.

Can I ask where in S. Oregon? (I am originally from Klamath Falls). I also have a friend here in Vancouver who is a specialist in such things, and I believe he is a certified ARRL technical advisor. Go to wb7esv@arrl.net. Dave could answer your question quicker than you could ask it.

73s de

Bill NW7L