Routing antenna cables into the house
Richard D'Avy
setting up the station here and would like to have something "neat"
looking, weather proof and varmit proof. I got an idea from ARRL about
using a dryer exhaust vent, was wondering if anyone uses anything more
weather proof, maybe a electrical service weather head?
Thanks
Richard
PS Drop the NOSPAM to reply direct. 73's
Ryan Ashline
house through a PVC pipe which has an elbow on it facing down of course. I
have painted the white pipe brown to match the house and you can not see it
unless you know where to look. When the coax comes out of the pipe it then
goes down about two inches then curves up to the antennas. I have filled
the opening with silicone so water doesn't;'t get in or anything eles. When
I want to add another line it only takes a few minutes to remove the
silicone run the coax through then reseal it.
Well thats what I did. Cost is around $6.00us for pipe, elbow connector,
and silicone.
Ryan
Richard D'Avy wrote in message <36FDA40A...@delrio.com>...
Richard Harrison
Does anyone have any ideas on routing antenna cables into the house?
How about a window panel installed as you might install a window air
conditioning window unit?
Best regards, Richard Harrison, KB5WZI
John Lewis
I cut a piece of Plexiglas to fit a window frame in the ham shack, took out
the window pane, and installed the plexi. Next I drilled holes along the
bottom of the plexi panel and routed the various cables in via that avenue.
I then just used grommets around the cable to keep out the rain and weather.
And it's easy to bring in another cable - just drill another hole in the
plexi...
Best of all, if I move all I have to do is replace the plexi with the window
pane again - no muss, no fuss, and no holes in the siding of the house...
Hope this helps,
John
--
John Lewis - (South) St. Louis, Mo. 63116
mst...@swbell.net
Richard Harrison wrote in message
<6540-36F...@newsd-112.bryant.webtv.net>...
mike....@ziplog.com
>Does anyone have any ideas on routing antenna cables into the house. I
>setting up the station here and would like to have something "neat"
>looking, weather proof and varmit proof. I got an idea from ARRL about
>using a dryer exhaust vent, was wondering if anyone uses anything more
>weather proof, maybe a electrical service weather head?
>Thanks
>Richard
>PS Drop the NOSPAM to reply direct. 73's
Bringing antenna cables into the house actually has more than a, "How
it looks", side of the story. Not every antenna installation requires
lightning mitigation thoughts; some require serious consideration of
that side of the issue.
If your's does, carefully consider a grounded barrier and arrestor
interface of some kind. There are different ways to implement the idea,
but keeping the surges out of the house is sure better than dealing with
them when they get inside it!
In general, the idea is to provide a metal surface such as a copper
plate which is a common ground panel, through which all the antenna lines
must pass. Protective devices pass the connectors 'through' the plate.
A heavy low loss flat metal foil, such as a copper strip then goes down
the side of the building to ground where a decent connection to a
facility ground shield is made. That's, not, by the way, necessarily
just a common ground rod, either, but an attempt to disburse the strike
into a bigger area of the ground than might be afforded by one rod. Of
course, a fancy plate and all are neat, perhaps one right way to do the
job. However, even a small protector at the house entry point, say
for a single coax feed line, with just a heavy wire and a ground post
are better than nothing!
The old marine saying, "Any port in a storm!" is cute, but applicable
word play, in my often humorous way of looking at things...
The whole idea is to focus the entry point to a single ground plane for
all possible feed lines, rotor and other control lines, then spend your
protection money wisely at that one focal point.
It seems that you may be particularly lucky if you are fortunate enough
to be the 'one in a thousand of us' who can put the entry point at the
same place as the electrical mains come in to the place! If one can
closely and properly coordinate the location of the service ground
protection with mitigation work for the incoming antenna and control
cables, you may be very fortunate, especially if you live out in the
country and are target prone. Electrical codes do exist; coordinating
your efforts with them closely can pay dividends beyond what the power
company intends for your treasured dwelling.
Doing it this way may help solve another curious problem that can arise.
It seems common, at least in my rural experience, to have power line
strikes come through the facility and, apparently, seek out a good
ground job for all the antennas, in the reverse, where I'm not able to
colocate antenna feed near the service entrance!
//-----------------------------
Mike....@ziplog.com
Mike....@f3000.n117.z1.fidonet.org
Woody White
My shack is in a walk-out basement with stucco / cement
block outer wall. Near the power / telephone service
enterance, I removed a block near the floor. Then I
Inserted a rectangular frame made from 1/4" steel (as wide
as the block was thick), then grouted in place. The block
sized hole is covered by an 1/8" aluminum panel attached to
the inside wall with anchors. The aluminimum panel is
bonded to ground and has a number of coax "bulkhead
adapters" mounted in it to feed the antennas through. Have
a few multi-conductor feed through conectors for rotator and
such. Including the recess on the outside and a tiny
slopeing "roof" (aluminum flashing), the outside is
accessable but weather resistant and protected so the
connectors don't need waterproofing. The plate provides a
common ground and if the WX really gets nasty, I can
disconnect the antennas at bulkhead connectors just as they
enter the house (inside easier to get to). A step further
would be to mount some arrestors on the plate (polyphaser or
the like). IMHO this is, bottom line, the best way to enter
your house.
Woody
> Richard D'Avy wrote in message <36FDA40A...@delrio.com>...
> >Does anyone have any ideas on routing antenna cables into the house. I
> >setting up the station here and would like to have something "neat"
> >looking, weather proof and varmit proof. I got an idea from ARRL about
> >using a dryer exhaust vent, was wondering if anyone uses anything more
> >weather proof, maybe a electrical service weather head?
> >Thanks
> >Richard
> >PS Drop the NOSPAM to reply direct. 73's
> >
--
----------- de Woody, WB4QXE -----------
Ham Homebrew/ATV Circuits -*- Scanning Electron
Microscope Images
Jonesy
: Does anyone have any ideas on routing antenna cables into the house. I
: setting up the station here and would like to have something "neat"
: looking, weather proof and varmit proof. I got an idea from ARRL about
: using a dryer exhaust vent, was wondering if anyone uses anything more
: weather proof, maybe a electrical service weather head?
My shack is in a basement room. The room has 2-section aluminum
windows, double pane glass -- with one section a slide-open section.
I removed the non-slide-open section and (carefully) took out
the double pane glass panel. The local glass company can make
double pane glass panels for us (they ain't as good, perhaps, as
factory-made -- but, the factory made windows sometimes 'blow-up'
coming over 11,312' Monarch Pass.) Anyway -- I asked them to
make me a replacement double-pane panel out of plastic (the
safety plastic they put in storm doors, etc.)
I also had a piece of the same plastic cut for the outside
dimensions of the window section's frame.
I mounted the new double-pane section in the frame -- and, I
used silicone glue to mount the extra piece of plastic on the
outside of the frame.
I did all this as much for rigidity and sturdiness -- as for
thermal considerations.
For running coax and rotator cables, I simply drill through
the 3 pieces of plastic with the appropriate sized drill bit.
For hardline, I use the deep well wood hole bits that you
can find at the hardware store.
To seal for air and water leaks, I caulk around the outside
cable at the entry point with silicone caulk.
(A comment on rotor cable: Back when I first started with
an inexpensive 3-wire rotator, I found that I could buy
50'/75'/100' 12-2 or 14-2 extensions cords Real Cheap at
sales at the big hardware or building supply outlets.
Now that I've 'moved up' to a 5-wire rotator, I use 2 runs
of 12-3 extension cords and parallel the common runs of
the two cables. The I*2xR loses are A WHOLE LOT BETTER
than some of that 16-gauge made-for-rotator cable I've seen.
And, if you don't cut the cords right at the installed plug,
you can have short sections to replace the frayed power cords
now on your lawnmower, drill, etc.)
HTH es GL,
73
Jonesy W3DHJ
__
SK
--
Marvin L. Jones jonz<AT>rmi.net
Gunnison, Colorado
278 days to go until the Year 2000 -- So what!
644 days to go until the 3rd Millennium of the C.E.
Gary Coffman
>Does anyone have any ideas on routing antenna cables into the house. I
>setting up the station here and would like to have something "neat"
>looking, weather proof and varmit proof. I got an idea from ARRL about
>using a dryer exhaust vent, was wondering if anyone uses anything more
>weather proof, maybe a electrical service weather head?
I've used a 4 inch PVC pipe elbow, with the outside end pointing down.
After stuffing all the cables through, spritz a bit of foam in a can stuff
in there to keep weather and bugs outside. But an entrance bulkhead
is better. It can serve as a ground window for your station. That can
be a plain copper bulkhead with suppression feedthroughs, or you
can doll it up a bit by enclosing it in a NEMA outdoor box mounted
on the wall.
Gary
Gary Coffman KE4ZV | You make it |mail to ke...@bellsouth.net
534 Shannon Way | We break it |
Lawrenceville, GA | Guaranteed |
Louis Bybee
I am having a little difficulty envisioning the "Ground Window" talked
about for lightning mitigation.
Is this in fact a "window", for example, a plate of copper with a center
opening that all the conductors must pass through?
I assume the best location for this window would be outside the
structure?
If you must pass all conductors entering the "shack" through this
window, would the circuits from the electrical panel go outside the
house, pass through the window, then back into the house and finally the
shack?
Is there a book or Web Site that describes the steps needed adequately?
If someone could describe this mitigation process in detail, with
liberal examples, it would help me, and I assume others.
Louis
Richard Harrison
window air conditioning unit?
I meant a metal panel, like an equipment rack panel without the notches,
but with exactly the proper width to fil the window space from side to
side in your window. It could be installed in the window opening
directly below, or above, a moveable window sash and the window could be
closed against the panel to keep out the weather and retain the panel in
place.
Bulkhead coax or other connecters could be installed in the panel and a
grounding strap could be attached to conduct away electrical
disturbances.
The panel could be removed by removing its connections and opening the
window sash. No holes or marks on the structure would remain. No window
panes would have to be reworked for installation or removal.
ncrossen
from a marine supply store. i filled it in with a little caulking. it
threads tight up against the house and the color can be painted to match the
siding. you may have trouble finding one long enough, the one i used is a
90% angle one and the coax runs right under the siding. Try www.boatus.com
they probably have a fitting that may work.
good luck
sincerely
Neil Crossen
n3vwv for now hopefull up a few classes when i can get to a vec
Richard D'Avy wrote in message <36FDA40A...@delrio.com>...
>Does anyone have any ideas on routing antenna cables into the house. I
>setting up the station here and would like to have something "neat"
>looking, weather proof and varmit proof. I got an idea from ARRL about
>using a dryer exhaust vent, was wondering if anyone uses anything more
>weather proof, maybe a electrical service weather head?