Poly(phenyl vinyl sulfoxide), a soluble precursor to polyacetylene, was synthesized by anionic polymerization. Different fractions of the thermally labile phenylvinyl sulfoxide pendant groups were oxidized to themally stable phenyl vinyl sulfones in order to control the degree of conjugation in the polymer main chain after elimination. The mean conjugation length (MCL), the total number percentage of nonconjugated structures or nonconductive defects, and the weight end volume fractions of acetylene units in the eliminted copolymers were calculated and correlated with their bulk conductivities after doping with iodine. A sigmoidal dependence on conductivity and a minimum in the dissipation factor measurement wre observed for the four calculated variables over the full composition range