WHICH ANTENNA WIRE 

FOR SHORTWAVE LISTENING?

I often see questions asked in Facebook groups and other forums regarding whether different types of antenna wire make any difference to the reception of shortwave signals at the receiver. For example, is copper wire better than aluminium, better than steel, etc? Another question often raised concerns the diameter of the wire used, i.e. would a thicker wire pick up more signal?

I have to say that, in many informal tests of hanging different types of antennas over the years, I have found no measurable difference in the kind of wire used or in the diameter of the wire. There doesn't seem to be any noticeable difference in signal strength or quality of reception. My admittedly unscientific tests show no conclusive findings, so it is something that I just don't worry about. Any wire type or size will work for shortwave listening purposes.

This is good news because we don't need to spend heaps of money on expensive wire. There is no real value in buying rolls of supposedly high-quality wire. You can buy cheap stuff that works just as well. And there is always plenty of scrap wire that is no longer required, which can be picked up for a few cents. Plus, don't forget that commercial builders or engineering companies often throw away wire on construction sites. It's usually easy to find this free stuff without much effort.

However.......(there's always an "however"!!).....some wire types are easier to deal with than others. For example, some wire is not very flexible, has a "memory" for holding its shape, is a bit too "springy", or is just plain hard to manipulate when you're trying to measure it, cut it, or straighten it out to get it into the air. 

Hard-drawn copper wire is available as a solid core or stranded wire.
The solid core stuff can be difficult to buy these days.

Years ago, I used some solid hard-drawn copper wire for my antennas. Nice stuff! Very tough! In the air, it was known to decapitate birds that might unwittingly fly into it inadvertently! But when I reused leftover wire stored under the house for a long time, it had retained its rolled-up shape, making it quite tricky to work and manipulate. 

Wire that retains its shape after long periods of storage can sometimes have its "memory" of that shape erased by leaving it in the sun for a few hours. The sun's warmth softens the metal somewhat and allows you to remove those persistent kinks and coils in the line.

Aluminium wire is very flexible and easy to use. Stainless steel wire works fine, too. Lasts forever! But remember, not all wire cutters can deal with steel - you need the right tool for the job.

When out in the field, I have often connected my radios to the farmer's wire fence via a short connecting piece. Even barbed wire works well. Doing so can instantly give you an excellent long antenna. Just make sure you are not hooking onto those electric fences that keep the cattle corralled (very common here in Australia). Connecting to an electric fence line will end up being bad news for both you and the radio!

The other part of "However" is thinking about the durability factor. Very thin wire is difficult to see and possesses a certain stealth quality. Thin insulated wire that is a black or grey colour is hard to spy by the neighbourhood busybodies. But some thin wire can also be easily broken, especially if hung between trees and swinging around in the breeze on a windy day. If stealthiness (hidden in plain sight) is a major consideration, then a thin wire is the way to go, but be prepared to replace it occasionally. 

Does it matter if the wire is insulated (plastic-covered)? No.

Is stranded copper wire better than solid copper? No. 

Insulated stranded copper wire (unlike the solid hard-drawn copper stuff I mentioned earlier) is easy to work with and is my preferred wire these days. But being a relatively soft and malleable material, stranded copper can stretch over time when hung as an antenna. If you erect an antenna cut for a particular frequency or band, it will lengthen and sag after a while, pulling the chosen operating frequency lower. 

Last month, a tree fell in our backyard. It lay suspended near the ground, resting much of its weight on one section of my lovely 100m long horizontal sky loop antenna. I was surprised to find the plastic-covered stranded copper wire hadn't broken! A few days later, we got the tree removed. I re-hoisted the antenna into the air and found that, after the tree had rested on it, the wire had stretched about 1.5 meters (5 feet)!

Today's blog post has been prompted by a YouTube video I watched last night. In it, the amateur radio operators road-tested various types of wire materials to see which ones performed the best. It was an interesting and well-constructed practical experiment. Although the testers, Ian VK3BUF and Chris VK3QB, looked at antenna wire performance from the transmitting perspective, the information is also quite relevant from a shortwave listener's viewpoint. Here's the video:

What has been your experience with different types of wire for antennas?

73 and good DX to you all,

Rob Wagner VK3BVW

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