[OZAPRS] OT: what to use for Antenna Tip?

[Rory Deans]

HI Damien

I have used SS welding wire as used in TIG welders but it is too soft & goes brittle & breaks. Most welding wire is too soft although the bronze one mentioned may be better. If you are interested I have some SS whips here as used on mobile installations.
They are 1200 mm long & taper from 2.5mm at base to 1mm at tip. Probably depends on what method is used to secure the tips in place. My HF whip has a home made tip of brass with two 3mm SS grub screws in from opp sides to hold the tip. But they do not dig into the SS whips as well as the welding wirevso they come loose & get lost so I have to carefully grind small imdents into the tip for the screws to hold.
I think you said yours was 3mm or so, so the whips I have may be too small. 
If you want any let me know as they roll up to be postable. Have just sent one across the ditch to SA.

Cheers 
Rory

Rory Deans  ZL3HB
1382 Tramway Rd
Dunsandel
RD2   Leeston
Canterbury  7682
New Zealand
03 3254181


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Damien Gardner Jnr 
  To: Australian APRS Users 
  Sent: Wednesday, July 28, 2010 11:39 AM
  Subject: [OZAPRS] OT: what to use for Antenna Tip?


  Hi Folks,


  I have a mobileone 30m whip on the car for HF APRS - it's a bloody great little (well, not so little :-p) antenna, but I'm having hell getting a replacement tip for it..  M1 have been nice enough to send me a couple of replacements, but one was too short, and the other, the envelope arrived without the tip! (actually the envelope arrived without the tip inside on the first one too, but the envelope and tip were in an Auspost envelope.. this latest one, there was just no tip in either envelope!)  Seems Auspost don't have any testing of envelopes before they go into the sorting machines, to see if they'll actually BEND..which is a bit bizarre.. - I've shipped THOUSANDS of LED's simply in an envelope with a sheet of thin card either side, and never had a complaint from customers..


  So anyway.. - I really don't want to hassle M1 any more.. - they don't seem to want to tell me what the tip is (i.e. what type of steel, what diameter), so wondering if anyone else has had to replace the tip on their M1 whip themselves, and happens to know what I'm asking metaland to order in for me?


  Cheers,


  Damien


  Damien Gardner Jnr
  VK2TDG. Dip EE. GradIEAust
  rendrag at rendrag.net -  http://www.rendrag.net/
  --
  We rode on the winds of the rising storm,
   We ran to the sounds of thunder.
  We danced among the lightning bolts,
   and tore the world asunder




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