This article by the owners of Illywhacker on Ham radio afloat has a great (and very inexpensive) solution for backstay standoffs (or spacers). You’ll want to scroll down to the ANTENNA and GROUNDING SYSTEMS section. I was rewiring the feedline on our Ham radio and after a visit to Home Depot, $7, and 30 minutes I now have the same setup!
Archive for the ‘Ham radio’ Category
Ham or SSB backstay feedline standoffs
Saturday, December 16th, 2006Cheap Ham radio copper grounding foil
Thursday, November 23rd, 2006Most of the Ham radio grounding foil which provides the counterpoise on Sugata was corroded so I pulled it out and was looking to replace it. When I saw that West Marine was charging $69.99 for 50 ft of 3″ wide and 0.003″ thick copper foil it seemed a bit extravagent.
So I hit McMaster-Carr and sure enough they carry copper foil in varying thicknesses and 2″, 4″, and 6″ widths so I picked up 50 ft of 4″ wide and 0.003″ thick copper foil for $38 and when it arrived I was pleased to see that it looks just like the stuff West Marine is selling!