[Antennas] Rotator Wire

2002年10月14日 17:50:10 -0700

I found a nice source of free .. or, very cheap --- wire to run to your
rotator! I found that there a bazillion old TVRO dishes out there, that
used multi-conductor cable for the up-down and round-around control .. Works
swell for Amateur Radio rotator! I run from one end of house to other, then
into the standard (read, pricey) Belden type wire for up the tower, and on
the other end too, so to have the flexibility. Any properly insulated wire
will work for rotator usage, as long as it is of ample size for the job, and
.. of course .. can conveniently connect to the rotator itself. Using 2 of
the 4-pin auto trailer lighting plugs .. I really like the idea that was put
forth on this list of using male/female female/male, so as not to plug the
wrong wire in the right place on a dark and stormy night .. which is usually
when we work on rotator failures... it is simple to use any adequate
cabling, even ROMEX .. to get from here to there. Of course .. (Duhhh, as
grandkids would say) if the tower is a crank-up, you would need flexible
wiring for that portion of the run. Hams get used to a specific idear on
what wire to use, and forget that this is AMATEUR radio, and we are the
cream of the crop when it comes to improvising! It is very difficult to
work on rotator wiring, on the old types especially, whilst up on the top of
the tower .. disunirregardless if the tower is cranked down, or flopped over
in the tilt position .. put the plugs on prior to installation, and fully
protect the connections with whatever goop you have decided upon .. you
SHALL be glad you did! Bunches of 73 .. Mark AA6DX