[TowerTalk] How to deal with Coax on a Crankup Tower

[Alan NV8A]

On 11/19/12 10:22 am, Larry Loen wrote:
> Slowly, but surely, my tower project is making progress.
>
> Got a lot in place or will shortly finish.  Tower is mounted, grounding in
> place, A/C power.  It's getting real.
>
> Now it is time to consider a homely little problem I have given no
> significant thought to:  Routing the coax up and down the tower as I crank
> it up and down.
>
> The tower's manual gives me no explanation on the coax stand-off arms that
> come with it.  It states helpfully that when I install them correctly, they
> will line up top to bottom.  That was OK and expected.  What is not obvious
> is exactly how, exactly, the coax ought to "travel" on the tower.
>
> The standoff arms themselves seem to consist of an open loop that has room
> for several coax to be in them.  Good as far as it goes.  But, it seems to
> admit to two designs.
>
> 1.  Let the coax freely fall the whole 60 to 70 feet (this will vary based
> on the three coaxes I will be running up the tower).  The cable would be
> "guided" by the standoffs, at least as far as the tower, proper goes.
>
> 2.  Fasten, in some manner, the coax to each stand off.  There would be a
> modest amount of slack when the tower was fully extended and more when it
> was not.
>
> At the W0IBM club station, which had basically the same tower, the second
> option was chosen.  It would be using 9913 F for my runs, so that the coax
> would be largely in the air.  As at W0IBM, it would simply form a graceful
> and natural loop between each standoff when the coax descended (I'm pretty
> sure the W0IBM tower used RG8 or something flexible -- no 9913F back
> then).  I could also attach the DC control wires for the rotor to the coax
> as well (I presume).
>
> If I chose the first option, which the design of the stand offs kind of
> superficially invites, the coax would have to "pool" at the bottom of the
> tower, and it would do so in a place that looks rather unfriendly for the
> purpose.
>
> It seems "obvious" to me that the second should be chosen, and yet I don't
> remember seeing much discussion about this.  Or, details about how to
> attach it.
>
> Assuming the W0IBM solution is the right one (it would also help frustrate
> the local copper thieves, too), how do I attach the coax to each stand off
> and do so in a way that helps fight off the Arizona sun, which does things
> like bleach "caution" tape in about a month's time?

Option 1 here, with the cable bundle being guided (by me) into a large 
Rubbermaid plastic trash bin through a slot cut in the lid.

73

Alan NV8A