We use white indoor cat 5 for almost all of our installs (above ground or in
conduit).
Some has been out there for the better part of a decade now. You might not
want to bend them around a bunch, but other than that they seem to be
holding up just fine.
marlon
----- Original Message -----
From: "Pete Smith" <n4zr@contesting.com>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Wednesday, November 14, 2007 4:31 AM
Subject: [TowerTalk] network cable outdoors
>I just saw an item in the ARRL Contest Rate Sheet recommending a couple of
> URLs on this subject. Both say that ordinary indoor network cable will
> deteriorate quickly outdoors.
>
> That's probably true for fast data, but I have been using both 4-conductor
> indoor telephone cable and 8-conductor indoor CAT3 networking cable for
> connections between my shack and my tower some 200 feet away for the last
> 7-8 years. I control two TopTen 6-way relay boxes, an array of A/B
> selectors, and a homebrew 80m array switchbox through these cables. I had
> to boost the shack-end voltage to about 14 volts to get reliable relay
> switching at the tower end, but in terms of reliability I'm quite
> satisfied. The cables are simply laid on the ground in brushy woods, and
> the only reliability problems I have had result from squirrels or
> chipmunks
> chewing on the cables - and that has only happened once. Of course, the
> cables fairly quickly become covered with leaves and grass, which no doubt
> helps with UV, but so long as the outer jacket remains intact, no problem.
>
> Strangely enough, 14-3 UF-B "Romex", which I use for rotator power, has
> been far more of a problem. One of my rotator cables has developed some
> leakage between the motor and indicator lines, causing some indicator
> errors when motor power is on. Looking at the jacket, there has been some
> fairly serious deterioration from UV. With the current price of copper,
> buying 1000 feet of 14-3 fills me with terror, but I may be approaching
> that time.
>
> I just thought others might find this information useful.
>
> 73, Pete N4ZR
> The World HF Contest Station Database
> Full details on 3300 contest stations
> Updated 5/5/07 http://www.pvrc.org/WCSD/WCSDsearch.htm
>
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