[TowerTalk] running cables up the tower

K7LXC at aol.com K7LXC at aol.com
Fri Sep 1 09:31:37 EDT 2006


 
In a message dated 8/27/2006 12:28:30 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
towertalk-request at contesting.com writes:

>  On a Rohn 25/45/55 tower, is it standard practice to run  hardline, coax 
and
control cables up the tower legs inside the tower or  outside? 
 
    Standard practice is to put them outside and  secure them to a leg. The 
only reason I can see for running the cables inside  the tower is the possible 
use of the tower as a Farraday shield for lightning  protection. 
 
    Even doing that does nothing to prevent the  lightning transient from 
traveling down the cables into the shack so it would  be a waste of time (and 
much energy and colorful colloquialisms) to run them  inside the tower without 
adequate building entry grounding. 
 
>  Are cable ties the best way to attach the  cables?


    Could be. Some guys like to use 6" pieces of wire  to tie the bundle 
together; they're easy to take apart when you want to add or  subtract a cable. 

>  Seems like it would be a lot easier to  string cables on the outside of the
tower. 
 
    Bingo! I will only run cables inside a tower if  the owner holds a gun to 
my head - it's just too much hassle for little or no  practical usefulness. 
 
>  More specifically, in addition to a fairly large complement of  coax (5 
runs)
and control cables (7 runs), I'm thinking about putting a  couple of runs of
1-5/8" hardline (because that's what I have) up to my  stack switch at about
65'. Seems to me it will be difficult to feed this  stuff into the tower and
it may be better to run it on the outside. Has  anyone out there run 1-5/8"
hardline up a ham tower? How did you do it and  how did you attach it to the
tower?
 

First, you should use a hoisting grip or  Kellum grip to pull the cable up - 
it weighs a couple of pounds per foot. It  spreads the weight over a large 
area of the cable safely so you don't damage  it. Then attach the hoisting grip 
to a brace and it'll support the whole  weight. Using a hose clamp or two is 
another way to secure it. Then black tie  wraps will finish it off. Do not use 
white tie wraps - they're not UV  resistant and will fall apart in a year or 
two. 

 
Cheers,
Steve     K7LXC
TOWER TECH

 


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