Hey Joe - I have some of that wire (from all of my old TDY
trips to Luke AFB). I've just used the latest suggestions
from the QST article about breaking in coax, and I've found
that if you use the stretching method (as shown with the tree),
you can effectively reduce this glazing problem by about 86.9%!
I'm glad you exposed what the problem was... I was thinking
that my Argonaut was having a final problem. Boy-O-boy, now
I can use that wire for radials for my MMA Vertical!
Thank you!!!!
Tim W5FN
p.s. Be careful with the glaze that comes off the wire...
it could be some type of Haz-waste... gotta check into that!
>Nope, we have a related problem here in AZ. In the intense
>summer heat, we have to deal with "wire glaze". The problem
>arises from the slight melting and recrystalization of the
>surface of the wire. It only affects the top few microns of
>wire, but it wreaks havoc on your signal. When it recrystalizes
>each night, the wire develops this "glaze" which is terribly
>non-conductive.
>
>Due to the skin effect, this is a *very* bad thing on HF. In
>fact I've developed a habit of scrubbing my antennas every night
>after the desert temp drops off. A simple wire brush (like the
>kind you use to clean your BBQ) works just fine. Sure is nice
>when the summer heat dies off and I don't have to worry about
>it anymore!
>
>I'm sure some of you other folks have to deal with your own
>regional antenna problems. Any takers?
>
>Cheers de AB7TT,
>
>-Joe Gervais-Poisson, vole@primenet.com, AZ ScQRPions (Phoenix)
>
>"It was the monkeys! The monkeys did it!"
>
>
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