Hi Herb,
I have a 6" conduit 150' long from the base of my tower to the shack. I dug
an 8" wide trench about 12-15" deep with a rented ride-on trencher, worked
great. The trencher had a push blade on the front for back filling the
ditch. I coordinated the trencher rental with a neighbor and we split the cost.
Yes, I'd recommend a perforated section of tube (PVC works well) with some
gravel in the lowest point of the trench for drainage.
9913 is considered "water hose" here in the humid south; water can permeate
the jacket and oxidize the shield. 9913F on the other hand has a rubberized
jacket and is a good performer. My cables are all 1/2" & 3/4" CATV line,
PVC jacketed. My conduit is flooded by rain water (no drainage) and I have
no problems with water effects on the cables. I left a 1/4" nylon rope in
the conduit for additional cable pulls; it has proven to be the way to go.
You will need 2X + a little length rope for that.
I also included a #6 bare copper wire with copper clad 8' ground rods every
16' in the trench, tieing my tower and power service entrance and ham shack
together. Some say the wire is ineffective due to its length. I suggest
reading PolyPhaser's "Grounds for Lightning" for more education on that. A
30' run may be much more effective in your case, Also consider wide copper
strap instead of the wire.
At 05:25 AM 8/28/2002 +0000, you wrote:
>I am considering running a 30 foot trench from the base of my tower to my
>ham shack for my coaxial cables, and would like to here comments /
>suggestions from anyone that has done this before, on things to do / not do,
>etc.
>
>All of my cables are 9913, and I have a bundle of about 8 feedlines.
>
>I am thinking about a 4 (four) inch conduit pipe, and wondering about a few
>things: (BTW,
>I live in Southern California)
>
>How deep should the trench be below ground?
>
>What kind of pipe is best to use?
>
>Should I drill holes in the bottom side of the pipe so water can drain out?
>
>Should I place some gravel on the top of the trench before I lay the pipe on
>top, and cover it, to help with drainage?
>
>Anything else I should know?
>
>Thanks for your help.
>
>Herb - KG6OK
>
>
>
>
>
>
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Thanks,
Robin Midgett KB4IDC
615-477-8976 cellular
615-322-5836 office
615-773-4198 home
rmidgett@bellsouth.net
robin.midgett@vanderbilt.edu
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