[TowerTalk] A tub to receive my coax

[Jim Lux]

On 12/30/12 11:45 PM, SPWoo wrote:
> Hi Larry,
>
> I ran into the same dilemma and I came up with a very simple solution.  The solution will remove about 44' of cable 'slack'.  The end result is that only about 10' of cable actually touches the ground with the tower fully retracted, hence eliminating the need for a catch device.  The 10' of cable forms a small loop and it will rest peacefully on the ground.
>
>
> The solution is to attach the last 22' of cable to the fixed tower leg with the tower fully extended.  When the tower is fully retracted an extra 22' of cable will be suspended in the air making a total of 44' of cable out of harm's way.  At the top of the fixed tower leg you need to create a strain relief loop as well as a small cable loop so that the cable will fall through the coax arm as the tower is retracted.
>

Do you have a problem with the hanging loop blowing in the wind? Or is 
the length sitting on the ground enough to keep things from getting too 
tangled up.

(I have pictures in my mind of howling gales in an ice storm, with a 
loop of coax flying straight out from the tower, as you are struggling 
to hand crank the tower down, chipping the ice off, segment by segment.. 
maybe I read Two Years Before the Mast too recently...)