Thoughts on a Stainless Dipole

[K6GBW]

I recently put up a 40/20 meter trap dipole made from stainless steel cable. I was always lead to believe that a dipole made from stainless would be noticeably worse in performance over a dipole made with copper wire. Well, that hasn't been the case at all. In fact, I can't really tell any difference at all! The only thing that seems different is the stainless cable is much much stronger and much less visible from the ground. In fact, the cable is so thin I can barely even see it from fifty feet away. The cable used is type G304 which seems to be commonly used on sailboats. So I guess if you have a need for a dipole in a round weather environment you might want to give it a try. I know all the data says it should suck, but it just doesn't.

 

[KB4MSZ]

It does work well. I tried this with stainless welding wire on 40 meters. It took the place of a copper version, both where built the same way using a PVC T-Fitting at the center. The stainless was very thin but it held up to as much force as I was able to put on it. The light wire made a flatter dipole, too. Also, it can be had in very long length spools at quite a good price.