[OKDXA] Plan C - NOT placing coax in plastic pipe

[Ken - K5KC]

Hi Nelson,

Thanks once again for a lot of food for thought.  Sorry I did not respond 
earlier - I just got to this e-mail.

I did finally get a call back from a dozer guy, so am still collecting data. 
Also, some work I was doing at the shack yesterday went all wrong and the 
entire day was wasted.  Arggghhh.

One big advantage to this project is that it does not have to look good.  In 
fact, it can be ugly.  It just needs to work.

It now appears to be a project 2-3 weeks off.

Thanks again for all the help.  If anything else hits you on this be sure to 
write.

73 Ken K5KC
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Nelson Derks" <ac5up at windstream.net>
To: "Discussion of OKDXA" <okdxa at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2008 11:12 PM
Subject: Re: [OKDXA] Plan C - NOT placing coax in plastic pipe


> Yokay... We're talking RX only and that simplifies the situation as we can 
> think about RG-59 and 3/4" PVC. If you run the coax elevated you're 
> looking at a vertical support every 40' to 50' and on a run that long... 
> Especially if it isn't a straight line... That would require a fair amount 
> of tension on the coax to keep it mostly horizontal. The vertical supports 
> would tend to be pulled from side to side as they zig and zag. On 10' PVC 
> you'd want about 2' in the ground lest some of them try to fall over. I'd 
> be concerned about how much pull the coax could take, ice storms, fallen 
> branches, etc. Your net height would be in the 8' range with less between 
> the vertical supports and anything that hangs less than 7' up makes me 
> nervous. I'm thinking high maintenance with enough visual impact to make 
> an elevated run worth reconsidering.
>
> Not having seen the property but being familiar with the joys of digging a 
> trench near trees and cutting roots to do it, I'd be very tempted to run 
> PVC on the ground through the wooded areas and shallow trench it anywhere 
> that might see a lawn mower. Next time you're at the handy guy store price 
> out the bundle price on 3/4" gray PVC conduit. Generally they'll have a 10 
> stick bundle discounted from the usual per-piece price and one end is 
> flared so you won't need couplers. If it's on the ground there's not much 
> need to glue it and having the pieces jam-fit together will simplify your 
> life when it's time to thread the coax through the pipe. If you're 
> concerned about the pipe being kicked around or otherwise moved, once it's 
> wired and ready to RX there's nothing that says you can't spike standard 
> half-round electrical clamps to the ground with large nails to stabilize 
> the run. As for water intrusion, shouldn't be too hard to figure out where 
> the low spots are and drill a weep hole or three so it can drain. Dig a 
> shallow pit under the weep hole(s) and bring it back up to level with some 
> gravel to reduce the risk of standing water until the gravel packs up with 
> organic debris. I'm assuming this area does not see livestock, ATV's or 
> dirt bikes. (?)
>
> The other advantage to laying the PVC on the ground is that if you decide 
> to rip it out in the future you're looking at an afternoon job instead of 
> a weekend job. If it looks funky, rake some dirt over the pipe or just 
> wait. Mother nature will provide plenty of ground cover and the medium 
> gray tends to blend. If all you need is a single run of coax, 3/4" PVC is 
> big enough for RG-59 through RG-213.
>
> BTW: In the fall poison ivy has a reddish-brown stem. Look for a fairly 
> sturdy vine growing in shaded areas with three leaf clusters. It loves to 
> climb trees and wiggle around inside bushes. The leaves are teardrop 
> shaped and unique in that no two leaves are exactly alike. Some will have 
> a notch on one side, both sides, smooth edge, serrated edge, each leaf is 
> unique unlike other plants where all the leaves are identical. I've been 
> fighting poison ivy on the north side of the house for several years and 
> this year the soil is going to get nuked with a broad spectrum herbicide 
> as soon as I pull the plants I want to save. Damn stuff will light me up 
> about 3-4 days after exposure so whenever I think I missed the bullet... 
> Fooled again. Got me good twice this summer. ;)
>
>
>
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