I've used that same wire in "stealth" indoor antennas at power levels as high as 50 watts with no problems at all.
Thumb tacks or push pins are FB. I prefer the white or clear push pins and put a loop of the wire in a "half hitch" around each pin so it remains tight. Using such an antenna following a high cathedral ceiling on the second floor, I had excellent results, especially on 40 and 20. You should do very well indeed being on the third floor. The disadvantage of such wire is its ohmic losses at RF. It's the surface area, not the cross-section, of the wire that determines RF resistance. If you double the diameter of the wire, you increase the surface area by 3 times. If you really want to go for the "gold" and reduce the losses, run two or three wires in parallel. The RF currents will flow over them just like a "fatter" wire, and the currents will be shared among all the wires reducing ohmic losses. That's exactly what the old radio coils used. It was called "Litz" wire, and consisted of several separate inductors insulated from each other but braded together and connected in parallel at each end. It formed the lowest-loss for the size conductors available and is still prized among builders who need large, efficient coils today. In one apartment on the top floor where I could get into the attic, I installed a doublet and fed it with open wire line made from this wire. Two tiny holes in the ceiling where it met the wall brought the two wires of my "open wire" line down the wall to the ATU on my desk. They were held against the wall with push-pins. I actually had visitors sit at that desk and couldn't see the "open wire" feeder until I pointed it out. Ron AC7AC -----Original Message----- Hi gang, I'm going to install an indoor antenna to be fed by my K2, and I'm considering using this 30-gauge wire for it: http://tinyurl.com/yjjcen This wire would be great aesthetically, because it has white insulation to match my walls and ceiling. The main question is, Can I get away with running my K2 at 15 watts into such a miniscule gauge of wire? 30-gauge is awfully tiny. Should I limit my power to 5 watts at all times (which I would hate to have to do, since I've found that the extra 4.5 dB sometimes makes all the difference)? Or do I need a bit thicker wire, even if running only 5 watts? Each leg of this bent-to-fit antenna will be about a quarter wavelength on 80 meters, and I'll be using it on all bands with the KAT2 tuner. Does anyone know where I can buy a slightly thicker gauge wire, such as 26-gauge, that has white or off-white insulation? One more question: I plan to run the wire along the line where the wall and ceiling meet. What inconspicuous means would you use to hold the wire in place? I'm thinking of white thumb tacks or clear push pins. I'm afraid that anything sticky, such as Scotch tape, will come unstuck, requiring me to borrow an extension ladder to re-stick it, as I have a "cathedral" ceiling, which is way up there. Thanks very much in advance for any advice. Most of the antenna will be up 27 or 28 feet, by virtue of being on the third floor, so I'm hopeful that it will work pretty well, at least in comparison with most indoor antennas. Thanks again, 73 & 72, Jeff WB5GWB Long Island, NY _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: Elecraft@mailman.qth.net You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
