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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