DX-WIRE Ultralight UL - 45/85/170/400m lengths

£23.95 - £194.50 (Inc. Tax)
£19.96 - £162.08 (Ex. Tax)

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DXUL-100
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DX-WIRE Ultralight UL - Strong Lightweight Antenna Wire

Lengths available:

  • 45 metres (approx 147 ft)
  • 85 metres (approx 278 ft)
  • 170 metres (approx 557 ft)
  • 400 metres (approx 1312 ft)

Note: the core material has now changed from Aramid to Vectran. This stretches less, which should reduce the risk of the jacket cracking under high tension and cold temperatures.

This stranded antenna wire is supplied to us from Germany. The lightweight load bearing core of the wire is made from Vectran, which is a high strength synthetic fibre. The Vectran fibres are wrapped with six tinned copper strands of 0.25 mm O.D. The effective surface of the wire is substantially enlarged to an effective skin area of more than 0.5 mm2 in RF applications.

To make the core weatherproof it is coated with a UV-resistant black polyethylene sleeve. With a total diameter of only 1.6 mm (incl. insulation) and a weight of just 4 g/m the tensile-strength of 60 kg (130 lbs) is exceptional. Considering the copper content of 3g/m the weight advantage of the synthetic fibre becomes obvious. DX-Wire UL allows you to make extremely long LW-antennas and Beverages with minimal slack, in a way that is not possible with conventional antenna wires. DX-Wire UL is great for balloon or kite-supported antennas. Its low weight and high break-load makes it most suitable for DX-peditions.

We are often asked how much power can be run using such thin wires. In our experience, in "full-size " antennas they can stand up to 1500 Watts in normal amateur radio duty cycles. For shortened antennas with low impedances and thus high currents, heavier wires should be used.

Note that the very lightweight design means that this wire is more vulnerable to damage from kinks or sharp bends than other types of wire. For best results, handle the wire carefully to avoid these. If storing this wire on a winder, using a figure-of-eight winding pattern can reduce the risk of kinking. Also note that winding it too tightly should be avoided, as this may cause sharp bends in the wire.

To protect the thin wire against damage and kinks from wire clips, the ends should be strengthened with adhesive lined shrink tubing. This is particularly recommended for permanent and high-safety installations. Therefore we offer suitable shrink tubing as an accessory. Our 3-1mm adhesive-lined tubing is good for this.

Note that if over-tensioned, the internal fibres can stretch more than the insulation jacket. If this is done at low temperatures the insulation can crack. To avoid this , DX-wire UL should not be stretched more than necessary at low temperatures. The wire is extremely light and has minimum sag, therefore you need only a little force to keep the wire straight . Please note, that DX-WIRE UL is a product " on  the edge "... It is maybe not a product for every purpose .... The wire is extremely light and thin and weather resistant (when not stretched to much at low temperatures ) We could use other insulation material, but the wire would be thicker, heavier or not so uv resistant .... therefore we keep it as it is .....

Specification

  • Vectran core wrapped with six 0.25 mm copper strands (cross section approx 0.3 mm2),
  • Weather-proof polyethylene (PE) insulation, 1.6 mm outer diameter
  • Weight: only 4 grams per metre
  • Breaking-load: 620 N (60 kg or 130 lbs)
  • Velocity factor 0.97

29 Reviews Hide Reviews Show Reviews

  • 5
    Dx wire ul

    Posted by Roger on 10th Mar 2023

    Shipped promptly and arrived sooner than expected. Wire is really low diameter and easy to work with. 84’ end fed made and ready for installing tomorrow. Extremely lightweight too so pole shouldn’t bend and low windage. Reinforcing ends with the shrink tube is really good idea as protects wire from damage and kinks where it bends.

  • 5
    UL antenna wire

    Posted by Simon on 8th Feb 2023

    I bought some of this a good few years ago, it held up very well. However I just bought some more, the quality seems to be BETTER! the copper wires in it seem bigger..Its being used as a permanent Marconi T, 25m across, with the vertical 3 wires together. MAKE sure you use the correct heat shrink abd dont kink.. Excellent cheap strong light weight and almost invisible ( though the birds DO see it!) Martin also very helpful.

  • 5
    DX-Wire UL

    Posted by G0LFQ on 21st Oct 2022

    Built a full wave 80M loop with this wire. Its perfect for large wire antenna. Light and thin but very strong. You have to look for it to see it so very low profile to keep the neighbours happy.

  • 5
    DX wire Kevlar antenna wire

    Posted by Henri on 2nd Sep 2022

    This is excellent antenna wire light and very robust for Field use. I have built a 40m dipole and a linked 20/40m dipole. Also use for random wire POTA working. Deploys nicely. I found when tuning I needed to trim back a bit from calculated dimensions and also that the old trick of folding the end back tightly didn't seem to work so well as my analyser still seemed to measure the folded length when tuning. Only when I physically cut the wire ends did the readings change as one would expect. Achieved superb match and works very well. Not the cheapest but you are getting quality. I would imagine this would last very well in a permanent installation also. Also Sotabeams customer service and communication are second to none. thank you.

  • 2
    DX Wire UL

    Posted by Simon Green on 17th Nov 2020

    Disappointing. Used in one sota activation for a 20m delta loop. Wire kinked badly when winding up at the end of the day and at each kink point the insulation split. The wire had not been under any significant tension during the day and the temperature was around 4 deg C. Will not be buying again. [Admin: Thank you for taking the time to review the DX-Wire UL. The very lightweight design does mean that this wire is more vulnerable to damage from kinks or sharp bends than other types of wire. We note on the label that it should be handled carefully to avoid kinks, we will now add this to the product description too.]

  • 5
    DX- Wire

    Posted by Jason B on 13th Mar 2020

    Ordered 45m of the DX wire and what a surprise. This wire is so light, it is practically invisible, which for me is great when lobbing a long wire up into a nearby tree means that I can sit and operate radios without too many inquisitive looks. So far, not even getting noticed, I must look like I am having some lunch. This was to replace some stainless steel wire which formed my portable end fed antenna and had a rather large visual impact as well as having a tendency to weigh down one side of my fibreglass telescopic pole, even after pegging out the wire. Really pleased with the results and makes for a highly portable antenna set-up.

  • 4
    DX-WIRE ULTRALIGHT UL

    Posted by Keith Hamlyn on 26th Sep 2019

    Very strong wire. It is necessary to blow the kevlar away from the strands before soldering.

  • 5
    DX-Wire Ultralight

    Posted by Ian Gourlay on 20th Aug 2019

    I have a Dutch 20m-long endfed that uses this wire - and it's very, very good indeed. So I bought some more of the selfsame wire from Richard @ Sotabeams to change the "legs" on a dipole-type flat-top I've also used at times. The difference in weight from the former polyweave wire (but also the reduced air drag since it's so thin) makes for a much less wind-influenced antenna generally. For me if there's a downside at all, it's the need to be careful when mating to components like plugs where conductivity needs to be @ maximum. Only having six fine strands of copper means you do need to be careful not to lose any from careless insulation-trimming. I've modified my endfed to have strain relief from the electric-contact previously bearing the strain, works just great. I've had no issues of the black coating cracking as yet but my use is strictly for days-out-with-a-radio, and thus it's not exposed to UV for very long. Most plastics are degraded by solar UV to a greater or lesser extent and I'd expect this outer sheath to follow that pattern, so i keep my antennas out of the way and in the dark to forestall any such degradation. Seems to work, that Dutch antenna is now around 5 years old and giving good servive for events like LOTA, HF Field Day, etc. When eventually it wears out (if it does) I'll replace it with more of the same. Tip - if using PowerPoles to make assembly/stripdown quick and easy, I pack out the PP "tube" with extra copper filaments robbed from other multistrand wire cores, this packs out the P'Pole tube with the six wires from the DX Wire material and gives an excellent compressed joint. Otherwise the "crimpability" of the PPole itself might not be enough to firmly grasp the 6 fine copper wires. For me, this works admirably.

  • 5
    DX-Wire Ultralight

    Posted by Rev. John G. Fleischmann on 19th Jul 2019

    Excellent for QRP work. I received the package within a week after ordering- great on all counts. Thank you!

  • 5
    DX-Wire UL

    Posted by Howard on 14th Jul 2019

    Used this for an end fed sloper measuring just shy of 40m, held up by a 12m spiderbeam. The wind made me grateful for every newton of the tensile strength. Nice to work with and amazingly light. Just a bit of care needed to avoid kinking it.