Hi Jon...
I have a couple ft. of cable coming off the rotor (6 pin) and used a 6 pin
waterproof trailer connector....solder and shrink wrap all the connections..
I have had this in use for abt 6 years now and have had no problems.. I
also do the same at the base of the tower and at the control box.. The
connectors
I got from my Napa Auto Parts store...part# TC-6569..I think they're abt 4 or 5
dollars.......8 wire you may need to use 2 fours.....
Hope this helps
73 Randy N1KWF
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> Hi Jon,
>
> Just finished reading your post and I want to thank you for posting your
> fabulous ideas. I guess it goes to show that your mind can take you places
> your wallet would never let you in to see. What I mean by this is... I wish
> I had thought about your ideas six months ago when I forked over all that
> bread for new rotor cable.
>
> I wonder if you've thought of some interesting schemes for disconnecting the
> cable from the rotor as cheaply. There always seems to be a time that must
> happen and it's a bear of an effort disconnecting six or eight conductors
> from screws in all the wrong places.
>
> The best idea I've heard about lately... other than the expensive in-line
> waterproof connector the rotor guys sell (assuming a HAM # style rotor) is
> to ... a) remove the screws from the rotor terminal strip, b) remove the
> two screws holding the terminal strip on the casting, c) thread your control
> wires through the terminal screw holes of the terminal strip and solder them
> to the connections inside, d) re-attach the terminal strip.
>
> Now three or four feet away from the rotor cut the cable and bring it into a
> waterproof electrical box that you can mount somewhere on your mast or tower
> with the cables entering from the bottom. Inside this box you could join
> all your cables with electricians wire nuts that are first filled with a
> compound such as Noalox or Penetrox etc.. It is not necessary to seal the
> box thoroughly since water vapor will get into most anything and leaving air
> to get in and out is OK as long a the hole is on the bottom for any moisture
> to drain out.
>
> In just a few minutes your could have the cables either connected or
> disconnected for practically pennies in cost. The next best thought is to
> put Cinch Jones connectors on the cables at this point and find a box big
> enough that would allow you to pull the plug bodies through an opening or a
> slot.
>
> That, I'm afraid is the limitation here since trying to pull a cable with a
> Cinch Jones sized connector through an opening in your house is sometimes a
> real problem since most of us would be reluctant to make such a large
> hole... but I could be wrong here. Then again, it wouldn't be necessary to
> do that if you had a Cinch Jones connector on the back of your rotor control
> box too.
>
> Then, you could bring the rotor down from the tower and connect it up in the
> shack with the rotor control box for testing... all without pulling rotor
> cable with large plugs through horrendously large holes in your house walls.
>
> Anyone got any better ideas? (Please don't tell me to gold plate the wires
> first!)
>
> Thanks all,
>
> Roger, K2JAS
>
>
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FAQ on WWW: http://www.contesting.com/towertalkfaq.html
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