[TowerTalk] Coax above ground

[Andre VanWyk]

I am starting construction on my new antenna farm this spring on a piece of land that I acquired, neighboring my house. All cabling will run from my shop building to a communications shelter, 320ft away from where it will be switched to towers / verticals. The path runs through an area that is very wet all year with lots of trees in between. Excavating will probably not be the easiest thing to do. I am running 2 x 1 5/8”, 2 x 7/8” Heliax lines, as well as an AC cable to power everything at the site. Control will be a wireless link.
After considering all the options of burying this, I came to the conclusion that it will be easier running these cables above ground on 4x4 support poles, about 4ft off the ground. I plan to use a Bobcat mounted Auger to drill the holes about 4ft down below the frost line. I am cutting a path that is large enough to keep the cables out in the open, away from branches etc. Further to this, the plan is to place a few Owl / Hawk decoys along the route to keep birds away, and I think chances of critters making the cable “home” out in the open should be minimal.
Any thoughts?
73’s
NJ0F