[TowerTalk] Splicing rotator/control wires

[UpTheTower at aol.com]

Howdy --
 
    When I'm splicing non-RF cables - e.g. rotator  control cables, SteppIR 
cables, etc. - I usually use good old crimp butt  connectors. I've used 
hundreds of them over the years and never had a problem. 
 
    Recently I had to repair a MonstIR that had spun in  an M2 Orion rotator 
(another story) and ripped the coax and control cable. My  customer works for 
the local telephone company and provided some AVAYA 709-SC  connectors. 
They're typically used with JKT telephone pairs but worked  fabulously with the big 
SteppIR cable. You just push the non-stripped wires into  the end of the 
connector and squeeze it together with a pair of pliers. They're  clear so you can 
see the wire pairs are connected correctly and that they're  pushed in far 
enough - you just about can't screw them up. They even have some  silicone in 
them that squishes out when you seat them, providing a layer of  weather proofing.
 
    The connectors are for wire sizes 22 thru 26 gauge  and are great for 
rotator cable too. Google the product nomenclature and you'll  turn up a couple 
of vendors.
 
Cheers,
Steve     K7LXC
TOWER TECH -
Professional tower services for  hams



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