[TowerTalk] N or UHF?

[K8RI on TowerTalk]

It's just a small thing, but I'm running some LMR-600 and 5/8 Heliax up the 
tower for six and two. From the rig to the antennas is roughly 228 feet. 
The pigtails from the entrance bulkhead are LMR-400 UF.  I grounded the 
LMR-400 cable jacket at the base of the tower using UHF bulkhead connectors 
through a bracket bolted to the tower legs (waterproofed with flooded heat 
shrink).

I can ground the two new cables the same way, or I can use a double female N 
connector clamped to a leg of the tower. I'll be doing the same thing at the 
top of the tower where the pigtails hook to the LMR-600 and Heliax.

The only drawback I can see with the N connectors is the lower voltage break 
down and although they are inherently water proof/resistant that is placing 
a lot of faith in a little gasket. Of course I can do the flooded heat 
shrink treatment on those as well. OTOH clamping directly to a tower leg 
probably gives the best angle for diverting lightning off the coax.

At six and two meters I doubt the extra loss for either type of connector is 
worth taking into consideration. Due to RF exposure levels I'm limited to 
380 watts key down (continuous) into the 2-meter array but at the 20% SSB 
duty cycle I can still run the legal limit (when I get the amp).  I can run 
the legal limit, any mode, on six.

Any one have any good reasons/thoughts for going one way or the other?

 BTW IF for some reason, some where along the line a message gets tagged as 
spam *Please* remove that tag before replying as the message will get dumped 
at my ISP and I'll never see it. The same is true for answering anything 
with the word "Digest" in the subject. They will not come through. I haven't 
received any messages with the word digest in the subject line since early 
last spring.

Roger Halstead (K8RI and ARRL 40 year Life Member)
N833R - World's oldest Debonair CD-2
www.rogerhalstead.com