Hi Ken. I buy a plastic box from K-Mart or Walmart. I get the kind with a
removable top. I spray the outside of the box and lid with a cheap solid
color paint. This seems to help the life of the box. These boxes don't seem
to hold up well outside without some form of UV protection. I make an
assembly of a piece of 1/8" aluminum plate that mounts to the base of the
plastic box. The plate is mounted on standoffs about 1" off of the bottom of
the plastic box. I mount this assembly to 2 aluminum channels that are
mounted to two legs of the tower. This gives good support for the box.
Now I mount lightning protection devices, coax switch, etc. to the aluminum
plate. I drill and tap holes to screw these items in place. I attach a heavy
ground wire to the aluminum plate. I attach the other end of the wire to a
tower leg using a zinc ground clamp.
Since the box is mounted vertical, I drill two holes in the side of the box
this is now the bottom of the box. The holes allow me to slip a short piece
of 1", or 2" plastic pipe through them. I take a female-to-female plastic
coupling. I cut into two pieces which will slip over the tubing. I use PVC
glue to sandwich the two sliced pieces of coupling with the tubing going
through the hole. This makes a nice point to bring in the cables.
Once I have run my cables through the hole(s), I stuff a small piece of
fiberglass insulation in the hole(s) to keep out the bugs.
If you would like a picture of this, let me know. Not sure my explanation is
the best.
Tony
N2TK
-----Original Message-----
From: towertalk-admin@contesting.com
[mailto:towertalk-admin@contesting.com]On Behalf Of Ken Hopper
Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2002 13:17
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: [Towertalk] plastic cover for I.C.E. boxes?
Dear TowerTalk guys,
I have both I.C.E. COAX lightning protection and rotor control cable
protection on my roof-top tower. Now that Winter is coming I am thinking
about
covering up those boxes with some sort of plastic wrap or outdoor tape? The
instructions say do not expose to direct WX (oops).
I tried some cheap TYVEC and Duct Tape and both shreded in a short time when
exposed to the sun and rain this Summer. I can't consolidate them and
install
a weatherproof box for this yr - but maybe next yr.
What can I do to weatherproof the little boxes for this Winter WX?
Appreciate your suggestions. Mny TNX,
de ken n9vv
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