There probably isn't even a perceptible difference in reception between
aluminum, copper or stainless. Copper is easy to work with at VHF and
above because you are dealing with fairly short sections. A copper yagi
for 20 Meters, for example, would be quite unwieldy. The nicest thing
about copper is that it is easy to make feedline connections to
it...solder works fine. With the other metals, you need to rely more on
mechanical connections such as ring lugs, bolts and nuts, etc. What
band of frequencies are you planning to build for?

The ARRL Antenna Book is a good place to start learning about antennas.
You should be able to find it at http://www.arrl.org
and order online there as well.

Another site is http://ac6v.com/swl.htm#ANT if you are looking for SWL
antennas.

Scott


BCcubed wrote:
Hello all,

I am new to SWL, ham radio and I have am wondering if I could recreate some of
the high end antennas that I see in catalogs in copper tubing? I would
imagine that copper can be quite a bit heavier than stainless steel or
aluminum. Are there any differences in reception? Does anyone know a good
resource to learn more?

Thanks,

Mickey

--
Scott
http://corbenflyer.tripod.com/
Building RV-4
Gotta Fly or Gonna Die