[TowerTalk] A tub to receive my coax

[SPWoo]

When the wind picks up to, say 40mph, I leave the tower halfway retracted.  The loop just hangs in the air without touching the ground and it sways in the wind harmlessly.  If a major windstrom comes then the tower is fully retracted and I tie the cable loop to the tower to prevent wind damage to the cable.

On rare occasions the wind could blow the cable loop around the tower and get caught on the motor assembly.  So one must make sure the cable loop is always hanging freely prior to extending the tower.


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...)  


Best Regards,
Jonathan Woo, W6GX
(970) 646-1711