Topband: RX cables in woods

[Bill Wichers]

The cheapest protection would be Polyethylene sprinkler pipe. Better would be rigid pvc electrical conduit. Either will be much cheaper than liquid tight pvc conduit. 

The sprinkler pipe would probably fight you and try to be "coily", so I suspect the rigid pvc conduit would be a better option. 

If you are willing to spend the money, a directional drilling contractor could run the entire 900 feet underground in about a day. They could install an HDPE duct for you (I'd recommend at least 1.25", but 2" would be better). If it's rocky soil ask for SDR11 pipe which is heavier wall than SDR13.5 (and a little pricier). If it's all private land (no permits), and you can be flexible with scheduling the work, then you can probably get it done for around $6-8 per foot including materials. They can put the duct 3-4 feet deep with ease. You might want a handhole or two installed due to the length of the run. In the woods you can use the cheaper fiberglass handholes instead of the precast kind needed near roads. 

I had one of my crews from work run a 2" duct from my house into the woods to feed all my remote antennas. It was only about 225 feet or so so it wasn't a huge expense. I also had them pull a 4 gauge copper wire *outside* the duct which is bonded into my ground system to help with lightning. 

-Bill KB8WYP

Sent from my iPad

> On Feb 21, 2015, at 7:34 PM, Greg Zenger <n2gz at gregzenger.com> wrote:
> 
> This spring I plan to augment my station receive capabilities by installing
> a array of receive verticals (DXE 8 circle). I live in New England on a
> glacial moraine; the soil is very rocky and uneven in the woods that
> surround my station. I have found a plateu large enough to place my array,
> however it its about 900 feet from my station. I am wondering what the best
> method for routing the recieve coax and array control cable through the
> woods might be. The land is highly poplulated with wildlife (deer, fox,
> wild cats, turkey, rodents etc.) and the path between my station and the
> antenna site is very uneven with rock ledges.  I suspect running the cables
> on the ground will lead to damage, from animals and suspending from trees
> (10' high for deer clearance) will be susceptible to damage from branches
> falling (a problem I currently face with my beverages). I have been
> thinking of running the coax and control cable in a liquid tight flexable
> pvc conduit along the ground for added protection, though this adds
> considerable cost.
> 
> Id love to hear any suggestions or insight on how to route 1000' of cable
> through the woods.
> 
> Greg N2GZ
> _________________
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