[TowerTalk] CAT 5 as Rotator cable

[Pete Smith]

At 10:23 PM 6/17/2004, K8RI wrote:
>My own thoughts are Cat-5 is a tad fragile. As I recall it's solid instead
>of stranded with the wires loose inside what amounts to a  thin walled
>plastic tube.

I think the real show-stopper is the small gauge of the wires.  I'm using 
CAT3 successfully to run a remote antenna switch, but the current 
requirement is only 30 ma.  The motor in a G-800 draws a lot more than 
that, so the voltage drop over any distance would be prohibitive.  The 
copper wire table in any ARRL Handbook will give you the resistance per 
foot for various sizes of wire.


73, Pete N4ZR
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