[TowerTalk] protection from UV (and chewing by critters)

[Steve Jax]

What do people do to support feed lines on a crank-up tower?  I have
stand-off's, but they just keep the coax from blowing around too much and
provide no vertical support.  The coax is secured at the top and then not
again until the grounding blocks at the base of the tower.

-Steve, N4SJJ


Message: 4
Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007 22:26:09 -0400
From: Ethan <ethan at ravenscall.net>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] protection from UV (and chewing by critters)
To: N7DF <n7df at yahoo.com>, TowerTalk at contesting.com
Message-ID: <46F871C1.10308 at ravenscall.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

N7DF wrote:
> I have adopted a policy of encasing my coaxes, rotor cables and
switchlines in   Polyethylene pipe.  A one inch pipe will carry all three
very comfortably and the cables can be pulled through a 100 foot run with
ease.  For longer runs you feed a coupler over the cable and the attach
another length of pipe. Locally, it costs about $15 per 100 feet at the feed
store.   I  support vertical runs with a rope fed through the pipe tied off
at the top and bottom.  I secure the pipe to the tower leg every few feet
with tape to keep it from flopping in the wind.
>
Careful, when you use pipe that way you don't have any vertical support for
your cables in the pipe.  The full length of the cable hangs from whatever
support you have at the top, and depending on the height of your tower,
there can be an awful lot of weight hanging from that top anchorage.  You
likely will end up with your cables stretching out over time. Ethan KC8HES