[TowerTalk] Installing/burying LDF5-50A

[Roger (K8RI) on TT]

On 3/4/2014 12:34 PM, Conrad Farlow wrote:
> My radio club will shortly have 4 towers and I would like to run 
> lengths of LDF5-50A to the base of the tower from the shack. The 
> lengths are not particularly long but I would like to bury them to 
> keep them neat. I have very little idea of how to do this properly, in 
> particular how to put a correct bend into the cable where it leaves 
> the ground pipe and enters the shack. Does anyone have any photos' 
> guidance on how they have done this?
>

I don't use LDF-50, but my approach should be equally advantageous with 
LDF 50.

I use a "single" pull rope, twice the length of the pull so there are no 
ropes to tangle.  Do not tape the rope to the coax except the end.  It 
takes little to understand the reasoning, but it's surprising how many 
times I see this done.  The same goes for coax bundles.  It may aid the 
pull, but a problem with just one of the cables later on and you have to 
pull the whole mess out, or abandon the one and add another cable.

Of course there is always excess rope. I coil it up and store it in the 
terminal box on either end of the pull. Again it's simple, but two pulls 
in a row merely requires disconnecting from the end of the first pull 
and pulling the rope back to put the excess on the end opposite the 
pulling end.

This way, you can keep adding cables until the conduit is nearly full.

Don't forget to use plenty of wire soap.  Seems useless on the first 
couple of pulls, but as the number of cables increases, you'll be glad 
you used it.

Use a pull rope large enough to be comfortable AND get the job done, but 
don't go too far oversize.

With Nylon rope you may need to lube the rope as well. It makes the rope 
more difficult to handle, but it's a surprise as to how deep some 
un-lubed ropes can cut into PVC conduit at bends if it's pulling quite a 
load.

73

Roger (K8RI)

> I am assuming that the cable should be put inside some large diameter 
> plastic pipe that has a good number of pull ropes installed prior to 
> burying them.
>