TT: I wasn't going to comment on this, as so many already had.
But one of today's
stories triggered a recollection of my days in the broadcast business.
So let me bat cleanup on the topic:
a) Summary: Use power wiring for power, not coax. Safety and
your insurance
coverage are the reasons. You create an attractive nuisance by
using coax, making
you (or your estate) liable for injury. What happens if only YOU
know you concocted
this wiring mess, you croak, and workmen are removing your tower
for your estate, and
THEY don't know what they're dealing with? Dead workmen?
That's why we have a national electrical code. Follow it.
b) My story: Old radio station, during college days. Bare
shielded twisted pairs run
all over the place. Carried line level, sometimes mic level,
sometimes talkback speaker
level, sometimes on-air light signals.
Somebody installed new on-air lights. They ran on 110,
instead of
the 24v the old ones used. Still used the old low voltage wiring.
I'm debugging a hum in the studio monitor system, and..... you
guessed it. Got across a
pair at exactly the moment someone turned on a mic, causing the on-
air light to light.
Melted a screwdriver. Got hit with sputtered metal. Melted some
low voltage wire. Caused a
small fire. My burns were minor. Station was off-air for a few
minutes, while we switched CR's
and studio.
c) I'm responsible for a church facility now, where we have
installed theater lighting. Typical theater
bastard-lash. Amateur job. Lots of 240V floating around, none of
which meets code due to connector
type and exposure. We now need an electrician to set it right, to
the tune of $3k.
Better off doing it right, the first time.
N2EA
Jim Jarvis, MBA
President-Executive Coach
The Morse Group, LLC
732 548 5573 office
908 410 9130 cell
People-Process-Strategy
Achieving Results in a Changing World
www.themorsegroup.biz
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