[Towertalk] Feedlines inside or out?

[K7LXC@aol.com]

In a message dated 5/29/02 5:21:48 AM Pacific Daylight Time, n0tu@codenet.net 
writes:

> I've seen a few tower installations with feedlines were mounted on the out
>  side of the tower instead of inside. From what I've read and heard all
>  cabling should go up the inside, Right?! The case where I saw it on the
>  outside was 7/8" hardline or maybe larger? I admint large diameter hardline
>  would be a real bugger to haul up the inside of the tower!
>  
>  So what's the rule? Inside or out? And if you do run your hardline up the
>  outside, are you at greater risk of leading a that dreaded strike down the
>  feedline into the shack? Common sense seems to say better to stay inside 
the
>  tower w/cabling. But common sense is sometimes mislead. Please advise.

    The ONLY reason IMO to run cable up the inside of a tower is that the 
tower acts as a Faraday shield for lightning strikes, so if you live in a 
lightning prone area it might be worth doing. 

    Other than that, running anything up the inside of a tower is a real pain 
in the butt - I discourage it for installations that I have to work on. 

Cheers,
Steve     K7LXC
TOWER TECH -
Professional tower services for commercial and amateur