There is usually a pretty reasonable surplus at good prices of the "real
stuff" direct-bury cable that the phone/data guys use (not talking about RF,
just something us hams can use for control switching). Take a look at eBay
and I think you will see it. I can't recall the exact catalog number or
manf's name etc but I believe it is the outdoor version of indoor CAT3,CAT5
etc...
Ron
On 11/14/07, George Gorsline VE3YV <ve3yv@pathcom.com> wrote:
>
> Let me add to Pete's comments. I use 2 CAT5 cables in parallel for the
> rotor cabling and use thicknet Ethernet cable (Belden 89880 orange jacket,
> triple shield, 50 ohm) for feedline, with a short piece of RG-213 for the
> rotor loop. The cable specs are reasonable and price is usually right -
> free. If it's used - pulled to put in fibre - there may be vampire tap
> breaks in the jacket to work around. UV resistance is unknown as the orange
> fades (not a bad thing - ugly and obvious), but have yet to see signs of
> water ingress from jacket deterioration, other than from improperly sealed
> coax connectors. I do replace cables - Ethernet or RG-XXX - every 5-7 years
> whether they need it or not given the amount of acid rain we get. Also I
> throw the analyzer on the feedlines to see if things "look different" an ohm
> meter on the rotor lines before an annual inspection to determine how much
> work may be needed. Of course, YKMV (metric version)
>
> Pete - can you post the URLs?
> --
>
> 73, George VE3YV / K8HI
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 10
> Date: Wed, 14 Nov 2007 07:31:28 -0500
> From: Pete Smith <n4zr@contesting.com>
> Subject: [TowerTalk] network cable outdoors
> To: towertalk@contesting.com
> Message-ID: <6.2.0.14.2.20071114071948.09cf4420@mail.comcast.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
>
> I just saw an item in the ARRL Contest Rate Sheet recommending a couple of
> URLs on this subject. Both say that ordinary indoor network cable will
> deteriorate quickly outdoors.
>
> That's probably true for fast data, but I have been using both 4-conductor
> indoor telephone cable and 8-conductor indoor CAT3 networking cable for
> connections between my shack and my tower some 200 feet away for the last
> 7-8 years. I control two TopTen 6-way relay boxes, an array of A/B
> selectors, and a homebrew 80m array switchbox through these cables. I had
> to boost the shack-end voltage to about 14 volts to get reliable relay
> switching at the tower end, but in terms of reliability I'm quite
> satisfied. The cables are simply laid on the ground in brushy woods, and
> the only reliability problems I have had result from squirrels or
> chipmunks
> chewing on the cables - and that has only happened once. Of course, the
> cables fairly quickly become covered with leaves and grass, which no doubt
> helps with UV, but so long as the outer jacket remains intact, no problem.
>
> Strangely enough, 14-3 UF-B "Romex", which I use for rotator power, has
> been far more of a problem. One of my rotator cables has developed some
> leakage between the motor and indicator lines, causing some indicator
> errors when motor power is on. Looking at the jacket, there has been some
> fairly serious deterioration from UV. With the current price of copper,
> buying 1000 feet of 14-3 fills me with terror, but I may be approaching
> that time.
>
> I just thought others might find this information useful.
>
> 73, Pete N4ZR
> The World HF Contest Station Database
> Full details on 3300 contest stations
> Updated 5/5/07 http://www.pvrc.org/WCSD/WCSDsearch.htm
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
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