[TowerTalk] Attaching "flex" cable to crank-up standoffs

[Jim Rhodes]

My 9913f7 has half inch heater hose for about 3 feet at each standoff.
Keeps it from flexing too much and weight is taken by the hose and not the
coax, and by keeping it off of the ground I never have to dig it out of
snow and ice to use the tower. I stand inside the window and crank it up by
pushing a button.


On Thu, May 2, 2013 at 11:27 PM, Marvin Shelton <wa2bfw at att.net> wrote:

> I don't know if I've ever seen anyone here make mention of the fact that
> you should NOT attach ANY coax cable to the stand-off arms of a crank up
> tower regardless of how "flexible" it is. I just learned this the hard way.
>  I read about someone somewhere saying that they had attached the coax
> coming thru the standoffs to the standoffs themselves so that the coax
> would not lie on the ground when the tower was cranked down.  While this
> helps keep the coax off the ground, it can cause flexible coax, in my case
> Belden 9913F7 (recommended by Texas Tower) to take too sharp of a bend,
> when the weight of the coax above the standoff comes into play.
> It took me awhile to figure out what was wrong so I thought I'd pass the
> word along here, as many on this reflector have helped me in the past.
> So my suggestion is to get a tub or some type of container on the ground
> to receive the coax as you crank your tower down and let the coax slide
> thru the standoffs. The fewer bends you put into coax the better.
>
> Finally, I thought I saw somewhere in QST or elsewhere, a description of
> what coax brands use soft foam center dielectrics. I think this is the case
> with the Belden 9913F7 and I want to know what other cables could be
> subject to this problem so that I stay away from them.
>
> The tower now has a run of RG-213 and one of LMR-400 both without problems.
>
> 73's from Marv
> wa2bfw at att.net
>
>
>
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-- 
Jim K0XU
jim at rhodesend.net