I've never used the stuff, except for a tuning stub in the super loop 80. I've heard a lot of good things about it, like it's ability to handle high SWR with minimal loss. And, of course, it's pretty cheap compared to good coax.

I'm considering building a large full wave loop, for 80 or more likely 160. From everything I've read, these like to be fed w/ ladder line (the 450 ohm stuff). I thought about feeding it w/ coax, and putting a 4:1 or higher balun on the end of it, but more reading says we drop a lot of efficiency that way. In addition, that coax and balun are cost items. I know I could put a remote coupler (SGC, etc) on the end of the coax, but that's even more $. I'd also like to one day have an amp.

So, this leads me to some questions, many of which are probably stupid for someone who's used the stuff before:

Is this stuff really as efficient as I'm reading vs. coax? Is there a simple explanation for why, if so?
How much power can it handle at HF frequencies? Can 16ga or 14ga handle legal limit (key-down)?
How badly does it interact with adjacent items such as tower legs, other coax runs, etc?
Can you bury it in conduit w/ several runs of coax?

I'm thinking I might trade in my desk-based auto-tuner for one w/ a ladder line output if I can make this work. I don't want to go to the trouble and expense of putting up an antenna that sucks.

Thanks in advance,
-Slice

I have to think it's pretty nasty to bury that stuff in conduit w/ coax runs

Have you read that the 450 ohm insulated stuff doesn't work?

The ladder line should be away from any metal objects. Some guys use a short run of coax out to a balun. Then the run of ladder line to the antenna. This makes getting the feedline out of the building easy. Don't attach ladder line to metal structures without using a stand-off. IIRC the ladder line should be at least one foot from any metal objects like tower legs.

http://www.athensarc.org/ladder.asp

http://www.trueladderline.com/

600 ohm true ladder line.....it's magically delicious.

I tune mine with: http://www.palstar.com/bt1500a.php

My Alpha gives it no problems.

There is a way to bury a run of 'ladder line' without actually burying the ladder line. The issue comes from getting the ladder line 'legs' too close together because they aren't shielded. Ladder line's 'shielding' comes from it's separation.

You can't bury ladder line in a conduit, however, you can bury 2 lengths of coax in 2 conduits. You can attach the ladder line to the center connectors of the 2 runs of coax, and ground the shielding. If you do this at each end of the buried run, it should work.

Think of it as inserting an extension cord in the middle of your ladder line run that allows you to bury it, or hooking ladder line to two bolts that pass through a wall.