[TowerTalk] Cable Ties

[KD7JYK DM09]

Had hoped to be able to send a pic, OM, but the list stripped it.  I'll 
send direct shortly.

Over some thirty years, I've tried all sorts of ways to secure cables to 
masts/towers, each and every way, save one, has failed, usually sooner, 
rather than later.

Tape, velcro, wire ties/wraps, twist-ties, wire, et cetera, et cetera... 
  Either the tie fails, or damages the coax, which is worse.

Conditions have ranged from the glaring sun of the desert, to mountain 
tops, and on my property, from -25 degrees, to +124 degrees, and winds 
to 165+ MPH (fortunately, only once, but 60 is yearly).  Rain, hail, 
ice, snow, dirt/rock storms, animals (usually wild horses, sometimes 
ringtail cats, or raccoons), you name it.

One thing I noticed was "professional" installations use clamps, 
something like this:

https://www.voldatech.com/products/feeder-cable-clamps/371.html

This is just an example, there are dozens of types, from small coax to 
feedline several inches across.

Not having a source for such things many years ago, I looked at local 
hardware stores to see what I could come up with to do the same job.  I 
came across clamps like this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/1-1-4-in-2-in-Bronze-Ground-Clamp-5-Pack-C22DBAG1R/202944396

These range in size from ~1" to several inches across.  I picked up a 
couple dozen that can handle about a 3" pipe.

Now, looking at the pic in the above link, imagine this clamped onto 
your mast, or tower, using a clamp of adequate size, then, secured to 
each of the long screws (I use two cables on my mast), a clamp like this:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gardner-Bender-1-2-in-Rubber-Insulated-Clamp-2-Pack-PPR-1550/202875615

The coax is secured within the clamp above, and protected, the clamp 
above, secured to the ground clamp, onto the tower.

Additionally, using the bronze ground clamp as a cable clamp, the 
single-hole side, the part intended for a ground wire, holds wire rope 
for lightning protection.  It's a 3-way clamp, coax on one side, 
lighting protection on the other!  I have two cables that run up the 
mast, securely, and isolated, and an air terminal wire rope coming down, 
held by the same clamp, to a 10' 3/4 ground rod.

Best yet, the parts are common, inexpensive, and the only thing that has 
held up, so far, about a decade, in the worst conditions, without much 
of a thought, and a casual glance once or twice a year.  So far, NO issues.

I'll send some pics direct shortly, let me know what you think.

Kurt