[TowerTalk] Tower and antenna decisions

[K7LXC at aol.com]

>  Anyone care to advise me regarding issues relating to the  coax run up 
the 
tower in the case of a crank-up tilt over with a rotating  antenna atop it?

>  1.  How do you keep the coax tangle and  jam free when the rotator 
rotates?
 
Howdy --
 
    There are 2 ways to do it: 1) tape all the  cables coming down the mast 
together and leave 4-5 feet or so between where it  leaves the mast (or 
antenna or whatever) and where it attaches to the leg, or in  a crank-up case, 
to the coax standoff. 
 
    2) is where you coil 2-3 turns of coax around  the bottom of the mast 
before attaching it to the leg/standoff. You need a flat  plate on the top 
and enough room for the coax loops. 

>  2.  What are the best choices for the part of the coax  next to the 
rotator? 
Should all the moving coax be some kind of "ultra  flexible cable."
 
        As long as you use a coax  with stranded center conductor, most 
coaxes will work. 
 
>  3.  How do you keep the coax from getting "messed up? when  raising and 
lowering the crank up? I have heard there is a way to keep the  coax inside 
the tower tangle free. Is that so?
 
        NO. Sooner or later the  cables will get chopped and I'm having 
trouble picturing how you'd actually do  it. 
 
     Again there are 2 ways to do it. 1) Secure  the cables to the 
standoffs. This is time consuming since you have to run the  tower up and down 
repeatedly in order to get everything spaced right. 2) My  preference is to tape 
all of the downward cables together at about one foot  spacing and while 
it's secured to the top cable standoff. In this case the  cables will rise and 
fall together and pass thru the standoffs. When lowering  it, the cables 
will just lay on the ground as it comes down. 

>   This is my first time so please treat me gently. I have never had a 
rotating  
ham antenna before.


Woo woo - fun ahoy! 
 
Cheers,
Steve     K7LXC
TOWER TECH