Larry:
Interesting. Thanks for adding your perspective.
I would never raise/lower the tower remotely. I would not be so concerned
about coax as I would be about kids (mine are grown, but you never know who
from the neighborhood is going to explore).
de Doug KR2Q
----- Original Message -----
From: Larry Loen
Date: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 12:55 pm
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] COAX on CRANKUP-how to hang
To: kr2q@optimum.net
Cc: TowerTalk
> I use standoffs and, at least in the Sonoran dessert, they are
> at least
> "useful" if not "necessary".
>
> Since I usually bring my tower down "a ways" from the top when
> not there,
> there's slack cable around. At least twice I've had the looser
> coax be
> blown all over the tower base and (had I raised the tower from
> the shack)
> it would have badly snagged on something.
>
> For me, in the winds I've so far seen at lowering events, it
> seems to help
> keep the coax in place.
>
> In fact, I'm trying to dream up another standoff loop about 10
> feet up the
> tower, which probably stops the snagging at the base from
> happening. I
> only need to get a decent design that doesn't do more harm than good.
>
> I do let the the coax dangle down within the standoffs, and I
> also took
> some care at the top to have some strain relief where the cables
> make the
> bend before what would be, at max extension, a 72 foot drop. An
> ordinary,heavy duty "right bracket" did the trick. I simply
> attached the cables to
> the right angle and the "top" of the angle is pinned, along with
> the coax,
> to the standoff arm. Hopefully, that will keep the coax from
> flexing too
> much at the top or having a tightening bend that could move the center
> conductor in the teflon over time.
>
> The remote head probably is a waste of money overall. It might
> be useful
> for lowing the antenna for an approaching thunderstorm when you
> don't want
> to stand next to your lightening rod. But, yeah, for sure when
> raising it,
> you want to be next to the tower. I kept the coax from snagging and
> breaking at least once.
>
>
> Larry WO7R
>
>
> On Wed, Oct 30, 2013 at 4:39 AM, wrote:
>
> > I have owned crank-up towers for close to 40 years...in
> multiple locations
> > and using
> > multiple types of crankup towers (Heights, Hy-Gain, US Tower).
> I still
> > own 2 crank-ups.
> >
> > In all cases, I just let the coax and rotor cable "hang down"
> right along
> > side of the tower.
> >
> > I never used standoffs or coax arms. Not sure why they are
> necessary.>
> > Nothing ever got tangled or "hung up" in the tower. I think
> that would be
> > really difficult to do.
> > I mean, why would coax (eg, RG8 type) want to or be able to
> "decide" to
> > bend and enter into
> > the tower lattice? It is already handing from the very top to
> the very
> > bottom. For me, it would
> > take an extraordinary act of nature to "convince" the coax to defy
> > gravity, bend into a small
> > loop, and "enter" the tower lattice.
> >
> > de Doug KR2Q
> > _______________________________________________
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > TowerTalk mailing list
> > TowerTalk@contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/towertalk
> >
>
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