[TowerTalk] Age Old Question

[john at kk9a.com]

The problem with tape (even Scotch 88) is it leaves a gummy black mess on 
the cables and tower when you remove it.  Cable ties can quickly be snipped 
off and there's no mess.

John KK9A



To: "'Towertalk'" <towertalk at contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Age Old Question
From: "David Robbins K1TTT" <k1ttt at arrl.net>
Reply-to: k1ttt at arrl.net
Date: Sun, 23 Sep 2007 11:30:24 +0000
List-post: <mailto:towertalk at contesting.com>

This is getting way too complicated... hose clamps, wire, kellem grips,
cable ties, all too hard and more of a pain than they are worth.  For almost
24 years in an area that gets lots of sun and plenty of snow and ice I have
used nothing but the cheapest electrical tape I could find to hold cables of
all kinds to tower legs, masts, booms, and above ground cable runs into the
shack.  I have always pulled it to break on the last wrap.  And I have never
had a cable failure due to pinching, slipping, or anything else related to
how it was held up.  Its quick, flexible, and easy to remove.  And above
all, its fun to see the hardware store clerk's eyes when after he says that
the 10 or 20 rolls I'm buying at a time should last a while I tell him that
it will be gone in a week.  After a while you gauge jobs by how many rolls
of tape they will use... i.e. replacing a vhf yagi without running a new
feedline is <1 roll... but installing a new 4 ele 40m at 180' is a 2 roll
job... and adding a new feedline from the shack to 180' is probably 5
rolls(the bundle gets pretty fat from that tower to the shack!).


David Robbins K1TTT
e-mail: mailto:k1ttt at arrl.net
web: http://www.k1ttt.net
AR-Cluster node: 145.69MHz or telnet://dxc.k1ttt.net