Applying stretched antenna cable(s).....Please help

I’ve asked several times for some techniques or tips for building and applying antenna cable on aircraft. If anyone could point me to some info/help, that would be great.

Try “Invisible Thread” or monofiliment fishing line. The thread is basically a plastic thread and is very fine, much smaller in diameter than the fishing line. Either one can be CA’d in place. You should be able to find the thread in places that sell sewing materials.

I generally use the thread that Scott recommends, but I just read the March, 2004 FSM (yes, I’m way behind in my reading). There is an article “Rigging with Wire” by Patrick Roach that’s worth a look. I may try this on my “test bed.”

I’ve used .005" metal wire with pretty good results - it works well for longer antennas - there’s pretty much no sag and no need to tension it. It’s available from www.smallparts.com - I think it’s called “Spring Steel Music Wire”. I bought a couple of packs a few years ago, and I’ve done several planes with it and still have a bunch left.

Bruce

Bruce, you are correct. I use both the .005" and the .007" for rigging my biplanes. Great stuff! You can buy a tube of 10 pieces, each piece 18" in length, and it seems to last forever.

Hobby shops that cater to RC also frequently have it. The article I mentioned also uses guitar strings.

I use stretched sprue, it works well for me.

At first it´s not very easy to get very fine wire from the sprue but after a whil trying you can get excelent results.

I used stretched spure to rig the aerials on my 1/72 B-25 and it worked well. The key to stretching sprue out in very fine strings is to keep the tension on it for a good 30 seconds until it is completely cool, otherwise it may get curly or wavy on you. I was able to get very fine filaments with a little practice - it helps to rotate the piece of sprue while you heat it (I use a small candle) and then stretch it out relatively slowly, and be prepared to keep stretching it for 3-4 feet!

After it is completely cool and dry, I color it with a permanent black marker, which is easier than trying to paint it, and attached it with super glue. I drilled out holes in the vertical stabilizers with a No. 80 bit, rather than trying to attach the sprue with a butt joint. After the glue was dry, a dab of paint and you couldn’t even tell the hole was there.

I’ve also used stretched sprue on my 1/72 Fokker DVII biplane, which thankfully had minimal rigging. Sprue has its drawbacks, but what I like best about it is the price - free.

I have tried using this on a 1/350 Type XXI u-boat, the CA didn’t seem to want to take, though it was the thick type and a bit old, does it normally bond with the thread redilly ?

I use 4-lb test fishing line, the cheapest I can buy and its monofiliment…I think you might want to get another brand of glue, don’t know the brand names you have there so any good liquid glue, like super glue will do you can use 2-lb test fishing line too…I don’t know what it is in metric though it’s the lightest fishing line they make…“RC”

After some trial and error, and some frustrating results, I was about to give up on antenna wires. Then I switched to Loctite Super Glue “Control” (comes in a nifty “sqeezable” bottle) and picked up some Testors Super Glue Accelerator, both from Wally World.

I use pretty much the same method as mfsob with the drilling and stretched sprue. Now, here’s the fun part, a drop of CA on one end of “wire” put it in place, and using the little eyedropper that comes with the accelerator, a tiny drop of accelerator, and WHAM! It’s locked in place. Now just pull some tension on the other end, repeat the process and trim off any excess “wire”. Touch-up paint and you’re done! I must warn you though, using the accelerator really works instantly, so make sure the wire is exactly where you want it.

Here’s a some pics of finished antennas: