[TowerTalk] Marking cables for identification

[jimlux]

On 7/24/19 3:36 PM, Richard Smith wrote:
>   I'm involved in building a fairly large station. There will be many coax, rotor, and control cables coming in to a main entrance of a building. It would be helpful if there was a good method of marking the cables to identify them for routing and troubleshooting purposes.
> If you don't mind, would you please share your techniques?

here's all the ways I've done over the years.

1) you can buy a roll of sequential number tapes, so you label each end 
with the same number, and then have a master list that says "cable #232 
is the framostat accelerator control line"  - this is the traditional 
industrial electrical solution.

2) you can get heat shrink tubing that has prestamped identifiers on it, 
you slide it over the connector, then shrink it on.  You can also do 
this with a permanent marker on plain white heat shrink.  The problem is 
the shrink ratio - for SMA on anything bigger than 0.100" diameter, it 
works ok.  Not sure about N and 0.405"  or UHF and 0.405".

3) use a label maker to print labels, stick them on the coax, cover it 
with something protective: clear heat shrink, clear packing tape, etc.

4) Label maker or similar and make flags which you wrap around the coax 
and that stick out (and get torn off when you pull another one past it).

5) Those little metal or paper disks that you mark, then attach to the 
cable with a zip tie or wire or lacing twine.  Paper you can write on, 
metal you need to use a set of alphabet punches or an engraving tool (or 
go to the local pet store and make many, many dog tags) (or find a 
company that does engraving)

I haven't done this, but I suspect that if you were to talk to a place 
that does promotional items (engraved plaques, name tags, etc.) they 
might cut you a deal on a big batch if you give them a file with all the 
legends you want - they have a machine controlled by a computer, so 
there are economies of scale.

There is a building code thing (or a "good practice" requirement) that 
when commercial cable installs are done that they label all the cables 
on both ends.  This is so that unused cables can be identified and 
potentially removed. Anyone who has worked in a 40-50 year old building 
with random coax and phone wires running hither and yon will appreciate 
this.. at work (JPL) we have coax emerging from the floor, ceiling, or 
walls, and a lot of times you have no idea where the other end comes 
out, if anywhere.  There are cases where the cable runs into an area 
which has since been walled off permanently - there is no other end that 
is accessible. Sometimes, you can hook up a TDR and figure out how long 
the cable is, if you're brave.



https://www.graphicproducts.com/articles/ansi-tia-606-b-cable-labeling-standards/