[MRCA] remote antenna conduit?

[W2HX]

Thanks for the suggestion. It might be hard to do depending on which coupler I choose. The harris antenna coupler uses 33 conductors! The Mackay coupler uses 27. Luckily the Sunair coupler has only 12 conductors. Does molex  make a 33 or 27 (or thereabouts) conductor connector?


73 Eugene W2HX


From: mrca-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:mrca-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of KA1LHZ
Sent: Monday, September 09, 2013 8:18 AM
To: mrca at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [MRCA] remote antenna conduit?

You could also cut the cable and install a Molex connector 3' from the end. It would be small enough to pull through the conduit and have enough pins to satisfy the needs of the control cable. Rat Shack has them as well as Newark and Digikey.
KA1LHZ

On 09/09/2013 01:29 AM, W2HX wrote:
Hello all,

As part of building a new shack, I am taking this opportunity to run some conduit from the shack out to the backyard for a vertical antenna hidden amongst the trees.  In addition to coax, I'll need to run a coupler control cable. I will either run my Mackay tuner out there or my sunair 1KW tuner out there. Both of these tuners have an existing cable with the circular MS-style connectors on the ends.

Here's the question. When you guys run antenna cables out to your antennas, what size conduit do you use? I ask because the antenna coupler connectors are something like 2" in diameter! So I would imagine I would need a 3" diameter conduit which isn't cheap (I am thinking of using flexible PVC).

OR: Do you guys run the cable first, then bring the soldering iron up to the antenna site and solder on the connector there? A lot of work to do in an uncontrolled environment but would allow a 2" conduit to be installed since the connector doesn't need to be fished through it (it would be soldered on after the cable emerges).

What do you guys do?

One other possible idea.  Take the existing cable with connectors on both ends, and cut off say 3 feet from the antenna end. Then I have one long cable with no connector that will end near the antenna. I could then use a weather proof box with a barrier strip inside and connect each of the wires in the control cable to this barrier strip. Then take the 3 foot piece of cable with the other connector and again attached the wires from the cut side to this same barrier strip.

Thoughts?


73 Eugene W2HX







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