[TowerTalk] Intimidated by long coax run

[Wes Cosand]

So maybe you experienced tower constructors know all about this stuff, but 
I am rebuilding my station at a new QTH and I have been quite worried about 
getting RF out to an antenna 500 feet from the house.  The run goes through 
the woods with lots of gnawing creatures so I wanted to bury it and I 
wanted it in conduit so I would never again have to trench through the 
woods if I wanted to add another cable some day.   I bought LMR 600DB and 
was quite intimidated when the heavy roll of stiff cable was 
delivered.  But my excavating contractor said not to worry!  Once he 
realized that I was aware I would never be able to keep the conduit dry, he 
suggested running the coax in 4" PVC sewer pipe (not "Schedule 40") because 
of its lower cost for a large diameter pipe with a smooth interior.  Since 
no 90 degree "sweeps" are available, we pulled the cable before fitting the 
right angle elbows at the ends.  He bought a "Kellems Grip" for this 
diameter cable from the local electrical supply house to attach my rope to 
the coax and we pulled the coax, a control cable and a piece of 14 gauge 
"pull wire" for use next time.  Despite the impressive heft of the coax 
roll, the job couldn't have gone easier.  Although I had never used 
anything except RG-213 before, I found installing the Times Microwave UHF 
solder connections was fun.

The most impressive part was watching him saw(!) through a large rock 
rather than move it or have a sharp bend in the pipe.