[TowerTalk] Andrews Heliax Conx

[K7LXC at aol.com]

>  I'm considering putting up a crank-up tower. What's the  best 
recommended low-loss feedline for an antenna mounted on a tall crankup  tower? I know 
that unfortunately you can't use heliax on a crankup, due to it  wanting to 
kink (except maybe from the ham shack to the top of the lowest  non-moving 
section of the tower, probably about 20 feet above ground.) From  there, what 
do people using things like the tall HDX-5106 towers use, to try to  get a 
balance between feedline strength and low loss? That length alone could  
easily be about 100 feet of feedline, if you have an antenna on the upper part  
of a tall mast, and the length needed to get to the driven element.
 
    For the moving coax on the tower, you want  something manageable and 
that has a stranded center conductor. IMO most any 1/2"  coax is fine.
 
    Then you run the other stuff (e.g. bigger, more  expensive, etc.) from 
the bottom of the tower to the shack. 
 
Cheers & GL,
Steve       K7LXC
TOWER TECH