Thanks for all of the tips on CAT 5 cable. Actually I did receive an answer
from SteppIR today and it turns out I will need two separate CAT 5 cables
for two antennas. These CAT 5 cables will be terminated at the base of my
tower, with SteppIR's regular multiconductor flex cable going up the
crank-up to the antennas. So there is no need for special flexible CAT 5.
It turns out SteppIR uses all four pairs in each CAT 5 cable like two
full-duplex telephone paths to send/receive data to the Remote Driver board
mounted at the base of the tower. This Remote Driver in turn sends regular
SteppIR control voltages up to the antenna to tune the elements. I was
hoping they only used two pairs for each Remote Driver, and that way I could
use a single CAT 5's four pairs to handle two antennas. But according to
Jim at their technical support, that's not the case.
73,
Steve
N6SJ
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Brown" <jim@audiosystemsgroup.com>
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2012 10:02 AM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] CAT 5 for SteppIR Remote Driver?
> On 7/26/2012 6:38 AM, Jim Lux wrote:
>> Yes.. you'd want to get a different kind of cable for that part of the
>> application, but the run from house to tower, CAT 5 would be just fine.
>
> I would place the SteppIR remote at the base of the tower and run
> something more robust up the tower. A SeppIR needs two pairs per
> element. There is no need for them to be shielded, but twisted pair is
> always a good thing.
>
>> There are flexible, exterior rated flavors of Cat 5. I'd check with a
>> company like L-Com, who have lots of different cables and termination
>> hardware.
>
> Yes. Many companies, including Belden, make stranded CAT5/6 cables for
> use as patch cables. Although it's unlikely to be designed for use
> outdoors, it would likely be OK, depending on environmental conditions
> at any given QTH. I'm using indoor-rated cables for my control runs and
> after three years they are holding up fine. They're mostly shielded by
> trees and grass from exposure to sunlight. .
>
> 73, Jim K9YC
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