I plan on making some, with a #6 pole barn nail and #9 wire. Do you think simply welding it straight to the nail would work fine, or should I take the extra effort to just wrap it around several times instead? It's pretty flexible wire. I'm thinking if I weld a ~3/4" section of it to the nail, it'd work good. Welding would be quicker I think.

I like having a taller stake below the wire to accommodate deep snow. It's a lot easier to just tap a couple times instead of banging down in the snow. Also pretty beneficial in giving strength plus they are easier to keep organized. Mine are wrapped and welded.

Try to picture how the face of the maul or hammer will hit the top of your support. You do not want the Y that forms between the support and the wire to take the brunt of the strikes.

Here's a picture of my current supports. I bought these a few years ago. This time I plan on making some. I need more by 12/26's bobcat opener. These are really nice, but it seems like wrapping them nicely like this company did might be harder than having a ~dozen welded

You have used those in winter conditions? For me, nothing is more frustrating than support wire that spins or wiggles on the shaft. When that happens, I might as well go home because it makes for a long day. The kickstand on the support in your picture is meant to bite in the dirt. I would not expect it to work in snow, but that's just me. Sometimes my supports only get tapped into frozen ground just enough to hold them upright.

I don't know laws regarding cable restraints and supports. The supports I like are 18" or 24" rods with a length of #9 on top. Each has a couple wraps and a tack weld. For me, I often need the extra height for a few reasons.

Good luck

Absolutely I use them in winter. They work good. They bite into the ground. Spinning seems to be a non issue. It helps that the nails get gritty once they become rusty. Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't seem to have a problem with wiggling. I'm open to a better design though if anyone has any ideas.

That's great that they work for you, that's all that matters.

Your support can be about 18" long It's your Wire that needs to be longer. The fine tuning when It comes to height comes from raising and lowering your support wire.

I just can't see how having your support wire coming out of the ground In a vertical position Is very effective. My support wire comes off my support stake perpendicular to the stake. By raising or lowering the wire you can fine tune your loop. My stake gets driven into the ground no more then 3" and they are easy to remove by just a twist of the wrist when your pulling.

There isn't any entanglement with this system. Once the coyote or fox makes one 360 the stake is bent flat to the ground.

Here is a pic of mine. Nothing fancy, just a few wraps and a weld. These were made out of old 3/8 stakes

I don't understand what the issue would be having the support wire come from the ground.

Political signs have a wire frame. Cut it in half in the long middle, bend the short length on itself, say about ten inches long. This short handle of sorts goes in the hole. The long length is bent to accommodate the cable. The whammy or collar goes over the end. Sometimes I file a bit off the end to get a perfect fit. Who says politics aren’t useful?

Lol.
Good post, PA.

Ttt