HFU HF Underground
Technical Topics => Equipment => Topic started by: alpard on June 12, 2025, 1831 UTC
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I am trying to add some more length of wire into the existing longwire antenna, which seems to be doing reasonable job.
I ordered a roll of 100m wire from Amazon as they were the cheapest for the length. The gauge is 26AWG, whatever that means. When it arrived, it is so thin, it is hardly visible. But I was able to peel the plastic cover, and join to the other wire which is a bit thicker. I am planning to add about 20m more into the existing wire.
Would the thickness matter and affect the efficiency of the longwire DX performance? My favorite bands for DXing at nights are 49m and 60m bands.
Or the thickness doesn't affect to DXing? What is your idea on this? 73s
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Wire guage doesn't matter other than for strength. 26 sounds a bit thin. The best stuff is hard drawn copper that wont stretch, unlike me!
I wouldn't concern yourself too much, just put up as much as you can as high as you can and away from any potential interference.
Str.
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Thanks for your advice and info on the topic. Great to know thickness of wire doesn't affect DXing.
The thinner wire seems to have advantages in that it is almost invisible to other folks, and XYL won't complain it is messy in the garden with the wires etc.
Many thanks. Good DX and best 73s
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Hmmmmmmmm... For receiving only, yeah, thickness doesn't seem to matter, as much. However, I've even transmitted with #26 AWG TV Deguasser wire with success. However, in theory, the thickness of a conductor helps to better broadband an antenna for use on TX'ing. My Windom is old, insulated, solid #10AWG copper wires, and, with the help of a tuner, I can transmit from 1800kHz to 54MHz. Only thing about a bigger gauge, like #10AWG, is indeed strength, (Like Stretchyman says.). Thus far, it's held-up to many storms, high winds, falling branches, large hail stones, etc. So, it is nice to have. BTW, I used the #26AWG wire, to better hide the antenna from neighbors and the Landlord, at the time. So, ya got it, use it.
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I would recommend # 12, Multistrand, coated (black). Even for a beverage Antenna.
26AWG is way too skimpy, first wind storm, branch, or bird... you'll lose it.
Good luck.
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I use whatever is the cheapest, but I like 16 gauge insulated doorbell wire for permanent listening antennas. It's cheap and you can buy at any hardware store. W/ the insulation left on it holds up well.
When I was pirating, a lot of these old guys on this forum heard me when I was using nothing more than a dipole made from 100 ft. of speaker wire split into 33 ft. legs through a PVC pipe cap. The rest was the feedline. It fed into a small tuner and I powered w/ one of the Radio Animal's Grenade transmitters. A mighty 14 watts of AM carrier heard from Canada to Florida! I hit Europe a couple of times with it. Launched into trees in the sticks w/ a wrist rocket slingshot via a one oz. egg shaped fishing sinker connected to 60 lb. test mono fishing line from an old bait casting reel and powered by a 12 volt gel-cell battery. I may hold some sort of record for being the cheapest long running pirate station ever to take the air? Rarely QSL'ed as stamps cost money, damn it! The Dood's buddy, Fearless Fred and I used to call Wal-Mart, "The One Stop Pirate Shop." Those split speaker wire dipoles lasted about 10-12 Tx's in the field, until the feedline got too twisted to use. Spend a buck for another 100 ft. build another and do it again.
I used the balls of used speaker wire antennas for BOG's and homemade loops for listening up and down the radio spectrum. Made makeshift TV antenna's of it. Never throw wire away. It's the radio listeners, ham, and pirates bread and butter and boon companion. Good luck!
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Wire antennas with 91 balun seems to be doing great DXing job. I am hearing Myanmar and South America, Cuba and many LPAM stations. They are not great strong signals due to subdued HF condition during this summer sun lights, and intensified solar activities. But at least they are audible via the wire antenna and radios.
I have added 20m long thin wire in 26 wag, and it seems to be definitely making positive difference in the reception. I may add another 20m length soon.
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I'm coming in late but agree, wire diameter doesn't matter much for receiving. For transmitting, 26 AWG would be problematic unless you are very QRP. It sounds like you are receiving only so it's not a concern.
However, from a mechanical standpoint, 26 AWG is very thin wire (see below) and will be very, very likely to break under any small amount of tension so check the wire every so often. You may or may not be able to sense a break has happened by changes in your reception, depending upon where the break occurs.
To be clear: AWG stands for "American Wire Gauge" and generally wire in the US is sold by AWG, but maybe not so much in the UK and definitely not sold that way on the European mainland.
Here's a table of diameters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_wire_gauge#Tables_of_AWG_wire_sizes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_wire_gauge#Tables_of_AWG_wire_sizes)
26 AWG is 0.405 mm in diameter (405 microns), which is 0.0159 inches (15.9 mils), approximately 1/64 inch. Great for winding small transformers but risky everywhere else.
In any case, the wire is up in your garden so enjoy it and when it breaks consider going to something thicker, perhaps 20 AWG.
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Thank you for your points. All noted. Yes, you are correct in that I am only receiving, not transmitting. I used to transmit on HF and 2M FM before, but transmitting can take too much time and effort and complexity, hence recently I am just RXing only on HF and MW and LW too. Rx itself can be challenging and interesting in the complexities and things to try out and improve, and achieve, and it calls for a lot of time, energy and effort for now. Maybe sometime in the future I might go back to transmitting on the HAM bands again, I don't know. If I could have more time and finance to be able to afford all the right new and old gears for it, I might return QRV.
And I do agree with your point - 26 WAG wire would never be able to cope with transmitting RF unless extreme QRP. For my 26WAG thin wire added to the existing LW (which was terminated at the window frame, and the new 26wag wire connected to it), it starts from my window upstairs radio room, and runs down to the garden shed, hence I can see it hanging in the space even if it is hardly visible usually, if I look at it with intense focus, I can see it. The other day, the wire got loose for some reason, and was hanging very low nearly touching the ground. I had to pull it from inside of the window and tighten into a plastic wire core securing to the old window frame, and now it is tightened and back up to the height.
For RXing, it seems doing well on 49m - 22m band, but for 60m band, my old MLA30+ does better for copying the Bolivia and Myanmar radio. On these signals, it needs some amplification for RXing it seems.
Good DX and best 73s