[TowerTalk] LMR600 up to the top of tower ?

Sat Aug 1 09:31:34 EDT 2015

I like the looks of those connectors, except for the nickle plating 
which rapidly turns a bluish green if not weatherproofed, even for a 
week or so.  I'd expect that from silver which gets a white, powder like 
coating.  Normally I weatherproof even temporary connections.

BTW, those crimp connectors are rated at greater than an 80# pull and 
have the captive center pin.  That means a connector could easily 
support a 200ft vertical run. I don't think clamp type are near that.   
I wonder how that captive center pin in PTFE  would hold as Teflon cold 
flows.

73,

Roger  (K8RI)

On 8/1/2015 7:19 AM, Richard Thorne wrote:
> Lew,
>
> I just finished a new tower.  I am running 7/8" hardline and lmr-600 
> to the new tower.  I'm also re-cabling the first tower by replacing 
> the rg-213 with 7/8" and lmr-600.  So I'll need a lot of connectors.
>
> I purchased a 2000' roll of times lmr-600 off of ebay for a heck of 
> deal, less than .90 per foot shipped.
>
> I found these connectors on ebay.
>
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/QUICK-TYPE-10-Packs-N-male-crimp-connector-1-2-LMR-600-CA600-RF-Coaxial-Cable-/131217432221? 
>
>
> I was a little hesitant but I went ahead and ordered a bag of 10. If 
> you look at the store they have a combo which includes a bag of 10 
> connectors and a crimp tool.
>
> I tested one of the connectors and I was quite impressed.  No 
> soldering is required.  The center pin is self captivating and you 
> crimp the shield.  If you use a cst-600 prep tool you can have the 
> lmr-600 connector ready within a matter of a minute or 2.  Slip the 
> connector on, push until you feel a click (which tells you the center 
> conductor has been captured), slip on the ferrule and crimp. Your 
> done.  Based off of this test I ordered 4 more bags. I had the N-male 
> connector installed, start to finish, in less than 3 or 4 minutes.
>
> Setup an account with Tessco.com  They have very good prices on the 
> CSt-600 as well as adapters to convert the above N-Male connector to a 
> pl-259.  These adapters are very high quality (they are made by RF 
> Industries) and connect to the N with no slop.  The part number is 
> Tessco part # is 94997.  For less than $10 (not including the shipping 
> of the items) you have a good quality Pl-259 connector for LMR-600.
>
> On my C31 Stack, I'm using LMR-600 for the phase lines, then 7/8" hard 
> line from the stack match switch to the shack.
>
> I'm going to try a few loops (maybe 2.5' to 3' in diameter) of 1/2" 
> flexible Andrews hardline around the 55g where the tower rotates. Then 
> I'll build some sort of pvc pipe contraption to hold the loops in 
> place.  As the tower rotates the loops will either contract a bit or 
> expand depending on the direction of rotation. Haven't figured out how 
> I'll climb around the loops yet when it's time for maintenance or to 
> hang some wire antennas off the tower.
>
> My goal is to have less than a 1db of loss on 10 meters.
>
> Rich - N5ZC
>
>
> On 7/31/2015 10:54 PM, Lew Sayre wrote:
>> On a related note, is solder or crimping the best way to form a 
>> reliable,
>> long lasting connector to LMR-600?
>> If crimping, what is the best tool/system to use? I've always 
>> soldered the
>> smaller coaxes in the past but always ready to learn a new trick.
>> 73 and I remain,
>>    Lew   w7ew
>>
>> On Fri, Jul 31, 2015 at 8:24 PM, Drax Felton <draxfelton at gmail.com> 
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I do this with 1/2 hardline runs.   I wound a helix of steel rope 
>>> around
>>> the bundle and let it take the weight and cinch on the cables all 
>>> the way
>>> down.   Lowering the 90 tower just causes the hardline to form big 
>>> loops on
>>> the ground.
>>> Tie down a length of it to an arm at the top so the cable connectors 
>>> don't
>>> flex and its held away from the tower.
>>> Then use a turnbuckle on the steel rope at the bottom to keep it from
>>> swinging in the wind.
>>>
>>>
>>> Sent from Outlook
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Jul 31, 2015 at 5:43 PM -0700, "Robert Harmon" 
>>> <k6uj at pacbell.net>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> I have a 380 foot coax run to the top section of my motorized tower 
>>> when
>>> it is fully extended.
>>>
>>> I am changing out all my old RG213 and thinking of saving a few db by
>>> going to LMR600 up to the top section then
>>> LMR400UF up from there for the rotor loop and up to the 40 meter 
>>> beam and
>>> triband/warc beam on the mast.
>>> What do you think of LMR600 for this run from the shack up to the top
>>> section for a motorized tower ?
>>> When I lower the tower I am thinking I could coil the LMR600 into 
>>> maybe 5
>>> foot diameter coils on the ground.
>>> BTW the tower is 90 feet to the top of the top section when all the 
>>> way up.
>>> Is this a bad idea ?  (I am hoping to avoid the cost of the flex 
>>> LMR600UF
>>> if I can.)
>>> A side issue is I understand I have to be very careful not to nick the
>>> copper clad on the center conductor
>>> when installing a connector on the non flex LMR600.   I would use the
>>> Davis PL259 connectors for LMR600.   Anyway maybe this usage of the
>>> LMR600 is not a good idea, what do you think ?
>>>
>>> Bob
>>> K6UJ
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-- 

73

Roger (K8RI)

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