Hi John,
Yes, I understand about the lack of shields on most rotator cables. That
is in part what prompted my question. It seems like the rotator cable is
"the elephant in the room" when it comes to grounding and bonding. When
you consider the cost of a rotator, especially some of the larger ones
designed to turn large HF arrays, it seems like it would be something
important to address.
By the way, what has your experience been with the reliability of having
MOVs up on your tower(s)? I am asking in part because I am helping with
an installation that sits on a high ridge where the rotator is
controlled via 1700ft of heavy duty control cable (multiple 12 AWG
conductors), which in this particular case, happens to be shielded. I am
trying to decide whether bonding the shield at the base of the tower and
up at the rotator will be sufficient, or whether adding some transient
protection at the rotator and/or the tower base is warranted. Climbing
the tower is a PITA, so I don't want to include transient suppressors
that need frequent replacement (facility rules require that we hire a
professional tower climber to service anything on the tower that can't
be reached from the ground).
73, Mike W4EF.............
What has your experience been with MOV reliability?
On 10/15/2021 8:05 AM, john@kk9a.com wrote:
Rotator cables typically have no shield to bond to the tower. I use MOVs
near all of my rotators to protect the motors and potentiometers.
John KK9A
Michael Tope W4EF wrote:
Jim, et al:
What about control cables coming down the tower? I just skimmed through
the first edition of Ward's grounding book. It recommends bonding the
coax shields to the tower, but doesn't say anything about control
cables. Typically there is a least one rotator control cable in the mix
and oftentimes additional control cables for array switches and multiple
Tic ring rotators on larger more sophisticated installations. That seems
like an inconsistency, no?
73, Mike W4EF...........
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