Topband: Wanted - Hardline connectors

[Bill Wichers]

Just FYI, the jacket is probably polyethylene (PE) and not vinyl. Most outdoor cabling used by the telecom industry will have a PE jacket since it holds up very well over time. The only reason I mention that is that the PE jacket won't self-extinguish, it's flammable and will spread a fire around. Commercially codes require a transition to a cable with a flammability rating within 50 feet of building entrance for this reason. For ham use it's not a big deal, but it is something you might want to be aware of.

Also, critters *CAN* chew through the stuff! It'll take them longer, but those @#%!~ little critters can chew through just about anything!

Side note: on one of our recent fiber runs that was just lashed up aerially, there was a squirrel sitting on the cable chattering at me when I was doing an inspection drive-by. Crazy little guy was probably getting ready to chew the cable up before we even finished building the system...

My fiber crews like to say that the only truly effective squirrel guard is a .22 :-)

  -Bill

> I think 50 ohm aluminum hardline is excellent for long runs without a lot of
> bends. It's very stiff but also very tough. The vinyl jacket that covers the
> shield is 1/16in thick (total diameter 5/8"), and the aluminum tube is virtually
> varmit proof. My version of the cable has a solid copper inner conductor,
> .161" diameter, so losses are very low. I have a 500 ft run from my 160m
> vertical to the junction panel at my tower, and another 200 ft of heliax to my
> station. The antenna and radial field has been under construction throughout
> the summer, and this afternoon some friends are coming by to help me erect
> the 26m Spiderpole. With luck, I should be on the air with it this weekend.