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Re: Topband: RX cables in woods

To: topband@contesting.com
Subject: Re: Topband: RX cables in woods
From: W0MU Mike Fatchett <w0mu@w0mu.com>
Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2015 19:07:31 -0700
List-post: <topband@contesting.com">mailto:topband@contesting.com>
There is a formula that road builders use when burying culverts. I don't know what it is but the guy building and maintaining roads told me once. I thought it was dependent on the diameter of the tube or culvert.

I used 3 inch tile drainage tubing across a drive in a couple of places that were not very deep, which were then covered by road base, mostly river rock. It worked great until the critters took refuge in them from the dogs and then the dogs managed to tear them all out of the ground before I could get around to capping them with screen etc.

Mike W0MU

On 2/23/2015 2:31 PM, Tom W8JI wrote:


You're right, the larger dia. PVC makes it worse sometimes. When it breaks
in two, it actually puts more shear on the coax inside.

If it is like what happens here, the hard PVC turns the small radius that the soil and rubber can deform around into a speed bump. :)

I do have flooded F-6 running on the ground, along a fence feeding my
Beverages, where it's not likely that any vehicles can drive over it. And it's withstood the horses that used to be here; not even their hooves that
pushed it into the earth seemed to hurt it any.

I put this one run of F-6 (to the inverted-L) in PVC conduit for several
reasons, one of which was to keep my neighbor's cows from biting it as they
graze. I just didn't think of what would happen when the ground under it
got muddy. It seemed like a good idea at the time. :-)

My damage issue is mostly Racoons, but occasionally field rats. Baby cows used to be bad until they learned cable isn't cud.

I have a 1000' spool of F-11 with a messenger wire. I'll likely replace the
stuff on the ground with it, about 15' high.


I only do that where necessary to cross roads or creeks. I have occasional cable and wire damage from lighting, and I also have too many antennas crossing the cables to make me feel good about elevating the feed cables.

Best thing I ever built was a radial and cable burying plow. Even in the clay, I can run coax up to 1/2 inch into the ground several inches deep at a good clip. Nothing easier than just loading a cable reel, and driving along at a walk or jog speed. :) I can go real fast, but a big rock can bust the hitch pins if the tractor is going too fast. I occasionally weld a new front edge on the plow when it gets too thin. Otherwise, it is pretty much maintenance free.


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