TEP uses 4kV (4160V line to line, 2400V line to gnd) in the older central neighborhoods such as Sam Hughes and uses 13.8kV (7970V line to ground) for everything else.  Your service is fed from B-phase of circuit LC-35 from the La Canada substation which is at the NW corner of La Canada and Hardy and is a 13.8kV distribution area.  They (system operators) usually run the voltage a little higher (14.1kV / 8.1kV) and can control it remotely by the addition of capacitors in the substation and the load tap changer on the substation transformer secondary.  You can spot the older 4kV overhead transformers because the high voltage bushings are on the side of the can.  The 13.8kV distribution transformers such as yours has the high voltage bushings on the top.
TEP inherited the former Citizens utilities service territories in Santa Cruz and Mohave counties.  They use 13.2kV and 20.8kV for their distribution system.  Other utilities which serve more rural areas usually use higher distribution voltages to reduce the losses.  For example Sulphur Springs and Navapache uses 25kV and 35kV respectively.
TEP sub-transmission and transmission system voltages are 46kV, 138kV and 345kV.  Three phase power system voltages are normally specified as line to line quantities.  Divide the line-line voltage by the square root of 3 (1.73) to find the line to ground voltage.

James

Remember this is a receive antenna. I don't have any idea what 1500 watts of power would do to your neighbors TV when you hit transmit with you antenna 1/4 inch away from his TV cable and possabibly everyone's TV within a mile. Worse yet you might fry your own TV.

In plain sight of course. Stop by the second hand clothes store and pick up a set of work clothes that resemble the local cable installers. Grab your ladder, put on your white hard hat. and start putting up wire. If you are known by the neighbors get an unknown friend to help out. You can always return the favor around his place. If someone comes out to see what you are up to ask them to check channel 224 and see if they have a good clear picture. Then say "OK thanks then the trouble must be further down the line." If your install is on a main road have two magnetic signs for the doors of you pick up resembling the cable company logo made. Two nice big signs for $60 at the sign Co. Now I wouldn't do anything like that to get over on the HOA but someone sure could. You gotta think big. 

OK here is the story second hand. I would like to know if this stealth receiving antenna would work. I know a guy that told me of another guy that he knows that lives in a nice area with a HOA with antenna restrictions. The lots are a little over an acre. There are no allies but there is an easement that separates his property in the back from his neighbor’s back yard. Power lines, TV Cable and phone service is routed through this area. The power lines are at the top of the poles at 45 to 50 feet. TV cable and phone are 18 feet above the ground on the same poles. The poles are placed 185 feet apart along the easement. At the 18 foot level there were four wires. An assortment of cable TV and phone. As of last week he says there are now five. He had a thousand foot spool of 10 gage copper wire with black insulation. He hung about 950 feet of this wire alongside the other coax and phone wires. He said he used five poles and you can’t see any difference at all, it blends perfectly. He said he is going to use it as a receive only beverage antenna. Would an antenna as described running under and parallel to a power line that is only 30 feet away work or is this a bunch of bull?

James

I agree, I have read some of the posts that you are referring to on other subjects but I don't think this is the case here. There are authorities here that have already made every mistake in the book and are helpful enough to pass on the what they have learned. I have been in the Ham game for six months so in actuality I haven't even completed my first step yet. I have found that the most interesting part of radio so far is not the radio itself, although they are great, it is the knowledge required to build and operate them well. I have spent considerably more time studying about radio and electronics than twisting knobs. I believe I have purchased most of ARRL's publications and have bookmarked more good Ham Radio information web sites than I care to count. I think it's great that I could drop a piece of wire in the mail to Mark K5LXP and Alan K0BG and get a constructive response from both. Alan sent me a personal email with his findings which were similar to Marks. Sometimes an idea needs a cold bucket of water thrown on it especially if that water comes from a knowable source that has already been down that path. I don't mind learning from other peoples mistakes. It saves me time and aggravation so I can spend more time on the fun successful stuff.

James

My original thought was and still is an inexpensive mobile, possibly a one time use, wad it up and throw it away when done antenna. What got me interested in the use of this wire was an article on the all-band full wave HF Loop Skywire antenna in a ARRL publication by Dave Fisher, W0MHS. It looked like a likely option for temporary antenna on top of a mountain in Arizona with the right wire. I didn't want an weekend antenna that took hours to put up and if I could just pull it down when finished even better.

James

Good idea. I took a good strong magnet from my tool box and I mean strong. I removed the insulation from a one inch piece of wire ... Nothing it just lays there.

James

I believe the wire is copper. My point was not longevity or tremendous performance. It was about $32 for 500 feet of copper wire that may work well as an antenna. Unlike Home Depots 500 foot spool of 18 gage copper wire for $156. I am not saying the pet safe 20 gage is good for anything. Well thats not exactly true it will get a dogs attention if he goes near it. All I can say is it is what it is.

Alan, K0BG and Mark, K5LXP have much more knowledge than I have in the field of antennas and radios. I sent you both a 10 foot sample by way of snail mail today. Please let me know what you think. I continually read that people are looking for ways to put up economical antennas. I thought possibly I had run into something good and affordable that other Hams might be able to use. I could be wrong.

Simple test on the Pet Safe 20 gage boundary wire.

First I carefully filed the end of the wire. After inspection with 10X lenses I found no indication of any steel.
Next I took a 10 foot section and attached insulators in typical fashion to each end. I hung the wire from the 12 foot ceiling of my shop. I hung a plastic bucket on the end which gave me an 11 inch clearance to the floor. I loaded the bucket with five lbs of lead to take any slack out of my wire wrap connections. The bucket at this point was 10 ½ inches above the floor. I added weight until it reached 34 lbs and the bucket was at 9 7/8 inches. I continued to add weight. At 36 lbs the wire started to stretch with each ½ lb weight added. At 38 lbs the wire failed. It didn’t break it just suddenly stretched and the bucket sank to the floor. I am sure if the bucket would have been higher it would have parted the wire.

So this is where my math takes me. I’m no mathematician but here it is.

First the wire is insulated. Does this make any real difference you can decide.
The wire weighs one oz. per 15 feet or 240 feet per lb.
The wire starts to stretch at about 32 lbs.
32 lbs of wire equals 7680 feet.
For a fail safe antenna use only 25% of the 32 lbs of wire in any one antenna or 8 lbs.
8 lbs of wire equals 1920 feet of wire.
Add wind, snow, tree movement and kids swinging from it take away another 75%.
25% remaining of 1920 feet still leaves you with around 500 feet of wire with a good safety margin.

I don’t know if any of this 411 helps. Clear as mud so they say. Alan and Mark thanks for the input.

James

I know Alan is an authority in the field of ham radio and I respect his thoughts on the matter. I have spent hours gleaning 411 from his web site. If Alan of someone else could expand on this explanation of why this wire won't work for antennas I would be greatfull. I'm still new to the Ham Radio game so any help will be appreciated. My original thought was everyone seems to be looking for reasonably prices parts so when I saw this Hard drawn solid copper 20 gage wire, about 1/32 of an inch, I thought this may be something others could use for Mobil camping antennas.It's cheap enough to through away. I had read in one of my ARRL wire antenna books that thin wire worked well except it had a tenancy to break. This stuff is strong. I was going to order several more spools of this wire but if there is a reason that it won't work for antennas then ............... Thanks for your help.   
James

It will work about as good as steel fence wire, and unless you have some reference to judge it by, you might assume it's just great for the job at hand. It isn't!

Looking for some inexpensive wire to string in the trees while camping? This solid core 20 gage copper boundry wire would work well as a full wave Loop Skywire antenna or maybe a Dipole or use some for radials. The stuff is cheap enough to play with. $32 for 500 feet.

http://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-500-foot-Spool-20-Gauge-Boundary/dp/B0017DGFSA

We always raffled guns. We did one rifle, a nice AR-15 and a pistol like a 40 mm Glock. The weapons would cost us around $1100. After printing tickets and other overhead we generally cleared $3500 to $4000. The tickets aren't hard to sell.

You know I did try the 12 gage shotgun trick to clear branches but I found it to be time consuming slow work. So last time I was in Pakistan I picked up several RPGs at an exhalant price. Now let me tell you these things can clear branches out of trees. The other day I was attempting to string a new 80 meter Dipole with some help from Louie.
Let me tell you, you have to watch these kids every minute. I kept telling Louie, my four year old grandson, "Don't point the rocket launcher straight up. Remember; never point a rocket launcher straight up." Well, now we have to rebuild part of the new garage and bury what's left of one of the dogs. I’m still trying to talk my wife Catherine into coming out of the house.
Now as far as putting a hole in cinder block with an RPG the nice thing about that is you would be able to carry the whole spool of cable through. There will be vary little resistance getting cable through that size of hole.

Being a new ham myself one of the things I am interested in is exploring the practical side of Amateur radio. I have noticed many references in the ARRL material that encourages recruiting new licensed Amateurs into the ranks. This was idea that was put forth by a Tucson Radio Club several years ago that worked out to everyones benefit. Several of the Amateur Operators were also 4X4 enthusiasts that belonged to a Tucson Four Wheeling Club. All 4X4 clubs require a CB radio to precipitate in their outings so no one gets left behind in case of a breakdown. With the CB’s relative short range all of the vehicles needed to stay bunched up in rough country. The Amateur Operators in the 4X4 club thought it would be cool if everyone in the club had a Technician Ticket and be able to operate higher power radios. This would enable everyone to stay in contact with each other and not requiring everyone to stay so bunched up. Long story short, the Amateur Radio Club held study sessions to help 35 of the 4X4 club members get their Technician Tickets, 25 % were women. The members of the 4X4 club bought 30 new radios which they are enjoying immensely. I understand that 3 of these people have upgraded to General. I would suggest that ARRL or some of the local radio clubs may like to look into contacting some of the local 4X4 clubs nation wide to see if there is any similar interest. This may be a prime group of technically savvie people that love toys to recruit from. There are other options like setting up an Amateur Radio information tent at the annual Easter Jeep Safari in Moab Utah. This event has thousands of 4X4 enthusiasts that show up each year. This could work both ways … get some some 4X4 club members to join your radio club and who knows maybe you could get out and do a little four wheeling. just a thought.

28 has to cover ALL of my bad habits. 4X4's, cameras, motorcycles, Canyoneering. I decided to give up the extra money for more free time. Life is short. One day I woke up and decided I wasn't going to work any more. That was 4 years ago. I had just turned 56. So 28 a month will have to do unless I go back to work and that's NOT happening. I guess I will have to stay on the frugal side of radio. No 500" towers for me. Maybe some kids balloons hooked to some wire. It's not as windy here in Arizona as it is in South Dakota.

James

I'm a brand new General. HF is the game. I think I would like to keep my start up budget at $5000 or under. I don't know what yearly radio expenses would be. My wife LETS me budgit $2800 a month to support my bad habits.  Really I don't know what I want to do there just so many ways to go in this hobby. I thought going for a descent amp now couldn't hurt. No greater power out than reception in. No point in being an alligator. I can hang some wire antennas. My property isn't huge but it's about 450' on all 4 sides. The dipoles look like they would be fun to play with. What frequencies? I guess I need to at least get in the listening mode so I can find out what is going on.

James