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In in Russia I saw a phone cable called "field cable" (провод полевой П-274-М). It is a loosely twisted pair with some iron strains added alongside with copper ones.

Field cable Another field cable

I tried to lookup something similar but I failed to find it. I used phrases like "field cable" and "military cable" but got nothing like that.

Such cable is really good to make a wire antennas on trees because it has teflon-like surface and tolerant against harsh environment.

Mike Waters
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k1zmt
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  • Perhaps it's this: http://everyspec.com/MIL-SPECS/MIL-SPECS-MIL-C/MIL-C-13294C_12128/ ? – Buck8pe Jan 18 '21 at 09:49
  • I searched for "copper cable with steel strands" and did not find a clear English term for what you show. Instead that found something slightly different called "copperclad" where all the strands are copper-plated steel instead of a mix of strands. Similarly "reinforced stranded copper wire" didn't really turn up much either. – natevw - AF7TB Jan 18 '21 at 18:47
  • How wide are the two cables, including its insulation? – Mike Waters Jan 18 '21 at 18:51
  • Looks like something similar but combining aluminum with steel is common for power transmission: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminium-conductor_steel-reinforced_cable. Searching instead of "ACSR" to see if there was any analogous "CCSR cable" led to a maybe more common term "Aerial Services Wires" which "are supported by either an integral steel wire, glass fibers imbedded in the jacket, or by the use of high tensile copper-clad steel conductors." – natevw - AF7TB Jan 18 '21 at 18:53

2 Answers2

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That is WD-1 or WD-1A military telephone line.

Lots of hams use it for switchable-direction Beverage receiving antennas, and with good results.


The steel strands provide extra tensile strength.

Mike Waters
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I am basing this mostly off of web searches rather than industry experience but it looks like there's two potential terms for a related cable. At least related as to the general purpose — reinforcing conductive wires to better hold their own weight — if not exact construction/materials:

Again, neither of my example links show the exact kind of wire you show but I think you were primarily wanting some ideas for what this sort of reinforced-for-hanging is called in general and I hope this helps!

natevw - AF7TB
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  • Also, it appears that the iron (i.e. "steel") parts included more for reinforcement would be called the "messenger" strands or wires: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVofEtcL3Pw – natevw - AF7TB Jan 18 '21 at 19:21
  • Whether or not the lower cable is pole-to-house telephone drop cable depends on its size, which @zoonman hasn't yet answered. Also, it's stranded, and all the drop cable I've ever seen has solid conductors. – Mike Waters Jan 19 '21 at 17:43