I don't know if I've ever seen anyone here make mention of the fact that you
should NOT attach ANY coax cable to the stand-off arms of a crank up tower
regardless of how "flexible" it is. I just learned this the hard way. I read
about someone somewhere saying that they had attached the coax coming thru the
standoffs to the standoffs themselves so that the coax would not lie on the
ground when the tower was cranked down. While this helps keep the coax off the
ground, it can cause flexible coax, in my case Belden 9913F7 (recommended by
Texas Tower) to take too sharp of a bend, when the weight of the coax above the
standoff comes into play.
It took me awhile to figure out what was wrong so I thought I'd pass the word
along here, as many on this reflector have helped me in the past.
So my suggestion is to get a tub or some type of container on the ground to
receive the coax as you crank your tower down and let the coax slide thru the
standoffs. The fewer bends you put into coax the better.
Finally, I thought I saw somewhere in QST or elsewhere, a description of what
coax brands use soft foam center dielectrics. I think this is the case with the
Belden 9913F7 and I want to know what other cables could be subject to this
problem so that I stay away from them.
The tower now has a run of RG-213 and one of LMR-400 both without problems.
73's from Marv
wa2bfw@att.net
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