[TowerTalk] Fw: [Tower Talk] A tub to receive my coax

[Pete N4KW]

> Hi Larry, I have the same tower you have with the coax arms etc.  I added 
> one
> extra arm made from a piece of aluminum tubing about an inch in diameter 
> and about 5 feet long.  With stainless hose clamps I mounted it to a cross 
> brace about five feet about the ground.  The end of the tube has a large 
> square U-bolt obtained from Lowes.  Two nuts on each end of the U-bolt to 
> lock into place into the mounting holes of the aluminum tube.  The coax 
> and control cable for the rotator go through the U-bolt keeping the coax 
> away from the tower base etc.  I do not use a tub or the like, I let the 
> coax coil it self on the ground as the tower comes down, and un coil 
> itself when it goes up. This is the second tower that I have used this 
> method over a period of four years and have never encountered a problem 
> doing this with either tower.
>
> If I were to put anything to hold the coax at the bottom I would try a 
> very large fishing net affixing it to the tower with the same stainless 
> hose clamps to the nets handle and tower cross brace.  I did not consider 
> any type of tub because of the possibility of cables sitting in water when 
> it rains, and holes at the bottom does not mean complete drainage.
>
> One last tip, I purchased a roll of bright colored plastic ribbon  from 
> Lowes and it's used at construction sites to warn people of a hole or to 
> keep away from a dangerous overhead.  Any way I take and wrap it twice 
> around my cables and then tie it off with a long tail at each end.  I 
> place these bright ribbons every ten feet on the cables, this allows me to 
> watch the cable going up or down from the window of my shack, which is 
> about 200 feet from the tower.
>
> Good luck Larry with your tower project and I know you will enjoy your 
> tower when complete.
>
> 73 Pete N4KW
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Larry Loen" <lwloen at gmail.com>
> To: "towertalk" <towertalk at contesting.com>
> Sent: Monday, December 31, 2012 1:16 AM
> Subject: [TowerTalk] [Tower Talk] A tub to receive my coax
>
>
>> As many of you may remember, I have this (still) extended adventure going
>> to put up my tower (a US Tower HDX 572MD).  The tower is actually 
>> standing
>> up, but, given I can only work on it during weekends, the "finish" work 
>> is
>> taking forever.
>>
>> One of the next steps, though, is to design something that sits at the
>> "base" to receive the coax as it coils up.
>>
>> The design of the tower that I have (unlike the former one at W0IBM that 
>> I
>> generally take as my model) has its "stand off" arms all in alignment. 
>> We
>> discussed whether I should let the coax fall all the way "in line" or try
>> to affix it to each arm.
>>
>> US Towers said that hams did both, but I really don't see an easy way to
>> prevent the coax from "snagging" on the lower arms after lowering it. 
>> So,
>> the "fall through" approach seems prefered.
>>
>> However, with the tilt over fixture in-place (or even if it is not), I 
>> seem
>> to require some sort of "tub" to receive the coax when I lower the tower 
>> or
>> partially lower it.
>>
>> The most obvious choice is a circular tub, mounted on metal or perhaps 
>> 4x4
>> inch wooden legs (maybe even with plywood reinforcement under the tub's
>> bottom.
>>
>> I see an ad here:
>>
>> http://tsc.tractorsupply.com/tractor/Plastic-Tubs?reqUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ftsc.tractorsupply.com%2Ftractor%2FPlastic-Tubs&storeId=10551&zoneMarketInfo=2-45&storeZip=85138&storeCity=city%2C+state&catalogId=10001&langId=-1
>>
>> . . .showing an open, 25 gallon tub with a 14 inch diameter suitable for
>> watering horses.  Is this the sort of thing I should be looking at?  Do I
>> need smething bigger?  I expect to have two or three coaxes (9913F type)
>> plus some control cable (at least six eighteen gauge and two fourteen
>> gauge) going up the tower with the coax.  I assume I tape the control 
>> lines
>> to a coax and maybe the coaxes together.
>>
>> I also seem to want to put in some sort of gadget at the top so that I 
>> can
>> provide some sort of "rounded 'L' material at the very top to provide 
>> some
>> strain relief for the coax which otherwise would bear the weight of a 72
>> foot drop at one point.  That seems a problem, especially in the 120 
>> degree
>> Arizona sun.
>>
>> I'm not totally thrilled with this, but I don't see a good alternative
>> design because I don't see how to avoid the snagging issue.  I'd rather
>> attach everything to each extended arm, but haven't figured out how to 
>> make
>> it really work reliably when the tower is anywhere near fully collapsed.
>>
>>
>> Larry Wo0Z
>> _______________________________________________
>>
>>
>>
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>