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N2FT

Joined: Sat, Apr 4th 1998, 00:00 Roles: N/A Moderates: N/A

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Antenna Insulation Dissipation Factor for Non-traditional Configurations May 24th 2021, 17:52 4 5,053 on 29/5/21

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Antenna Insulation Dissipation Factor for Non-traditional Configurations N2FT on 24/5/21
I'm looking at making some composite vertical antenna elements to use some materials I have on hand since aluminum tubing has become so expensive. Also thinking about non-traditional elements. I'm wondering how to model the effect of the dielectric constant and dissipation factor for aluminum or copper foils over plastic substrates such as fiberglass, carbon fiber, PVC, or PEX.

For example:

1) I have some 1" diameter fiberglass spreaders that are 11 feet long. I could use them to hold up wires to make a vertical, but what about wrapping them with aluminum or copper flashing foil? I know there will be some reduction in length and dissipation loss, but can anyone steer me to a eay to model this?

2) I have a couple boxes of surplus unidirectional carbon fiber I bought years ago. No doubt I could make some masts, even though carbon fiber has a reputation for interacting with antennas since it's somewhat conductive. What if I wrapped the CF with some aluminum foil flashing tape? Wouldn't most of the current stay in the foil?

3) PEX has a low dissipation factor, but supposed degrades with exposure to UV. Wrapping it in foil would solve that problem, but how can I calculate the loss?

Any suggestions or references would be appreciated.

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