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Topic: Cables thru walls-best practices? (Read 558 times)
KJ7OGV
Posts: 2
Cables thru walls-best practices?
«
on:
July 26, 2020, 06:23:48 AM »
Hey Folks:
Bought my first radio and now need to set up a shack: I want to run 2 (eventually more?) coax cables outside to antennas plus a ground. I am looking for ideas to send these through the wall of my home office. I live in cold country so insulation is an issue.Do people simply use one hole per wire and squirt silicon insulation in the hole? Or are there electric access panels to buy and install in the wall to allow up to 6 cables through? Are there any drawbacks to the the thru the window flat wire antenna junctions?
I do have an unused chimney I could run antennas up to roof with. Wife might balk at large black cables coming from chimney but this looks like an option.
Thanks in advance
Gene
KJ7OGV
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WA9AFM
Member
Posts: 978
Re: Cables thru walls-best practices?
«
Reply #1 on:
July 26, 2020, 06:39:08 AM »
Do you have a basement or crawlspace? Using an indirect route from exterior to interior can minimize infiltration of cold air. When I was stationed in Canada, I removed one pane of glass from a three-pane basement window and replace it with an aluminum panel with a couple of bulkhead connectors. The cables were routed thru a return air duct to the station. When I was preparing to rotate back to the US, I removed the aluminum panel and replaced the glass.
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K0UA
Member
Posts: 9589
Re: Cables thru walls-best practices?
«
Reply #2 on:
July 26, 2020, 07:27:34 AM »
I usually drill a hole with a holesaw big enough for a 2 inch PVC, then put an elbow pointing down run the 6 RG8 sized cables and any rotor cable all at once if you can thru it, be sure to leave a drip loop, now take dux seal and seal around the cables and any remaining space around the elbow. Dux seal looks like it may may have come out of the backside of an elephant. It is gray and puttylike. Sort of.
It is used in the heating and air conditioning industry. It is hand mold-able and re-entrable.. No bugs, no water, no cold air and you can open it back up to put in another cable.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gardner-Bender-1-lb-Plug-Duct-Seal-Compound-DS-110/100212441
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73 James K0UA
K6AER
Member
Posts: 7159
Re: Cables thru walls-best practices?
«
Reply #3 on:
July 26, 2020, 09:19:42 AM »
Similar to what Jim had mentioned (K0UA) I use a 3 inch PVC with a 45 degree down spout elbow outside the shack wall. This keeps rain water out. I addition, I place very coarse steel wool all around the lines coming through the PVC. This keeps bugs and small animals from chewing their inside. Pot scrubber pads work well also.
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W6MK
Posts: 4095
Re: Cables thru walls-best practices?
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Reply #4 on:
July 26, 2020, 04:20:01 PM »
Ditto what James has recommended. As usual, right on the mark.
Even a 1.5 in. piece of PVC will allow for a few coaxes.
Drilling through a foundation does require using the right tool, otherwise it
can be an exercise in frustration.
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KG4RUL
Posts: 3781
Re: Cables thru walls-best practices?
«
Reply #5 on:
July 27, 2020, 05:27:21 AM »
I found UHF female to UHF female, 12 inch, bulkhead mount adapters on-line. They are also made as N female to N female in that length. They mount in a 5/8" diameter hole.
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K2CMH
Member
Posts: 396
Re: Cables thru walls-best practices?
«
Reply #6 on:
July 27, 2020, 06:06:24 AM »
>I found UHF female to UHF female, 12 inch, bulkhead mount adapters on-line.
I have a hard time finding them, would you mind posting a link to where you got yours?
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KG4RUL
Posts: 3781
Re: Cables thru walls-best practices?
«
Reply #7 on:
July 27, 2020, 06:53:28 AM »
https://mgs4u.com/product/uhf-female-to-uhf-female-12-inch-bulkhead-mount-adapter-7518-uhf-g-12/?msclkid=0d63f73b590f11bd8131a825834cfb87&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=%2A%2ALP+Shop+-+RF+Adapters&utm_term=4575961239614009&utm_content=14419+%7C+UHF-Female+%2F+UHF-Female+%2812%E2%80%9D+bulkhead%29+%28P%2FN%3A+7518-UHF-G-12%29+%7C+%2419&v=7516fd43adaa
https://rwantennastore.com/inch-barrel-double-female-connector-p-174.html
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K0UA
Member
Posts: 9589
Re: Cables thru walls-best practices?
«
Reply #8 on:
July 27, 2020, 07:22:25 AM »
Also one other trick if you drill/saw for a PVC entrance is to make sure that there is a slight downward tilt towards the outside of the house to the horizontal pipe. That way if there ever is any condensate from the temprature differential of the colder pipe and the hotter moisture laden air inside the house, the condensate will drip toward the outside. Not inside the house. I usually drill/saw from the inside to the outside so I can place the pipe right up next to a stud or other wooden support so that I can use a clamp or some method to secure the pipe structurally. When you pull the cables, there can be a lot of force on the pipe and you don't want it to move. I usually seal around the pipe with silicone seal to the siding of the house. You can paint the pipe to match the house if you like.
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73 James K0UA
N8RKD
Member
Posts: 47
Re: Cables thru walls-best practices?
«
Reply #9 on:
July 27, 2020, 10:26:18 AM »
I used 2" PVC and an appropriately sized Type-LB fixture. I ran my feedline out through that and stuffed it full of fiberglass insulation. No problem thus far.
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AC7CW
Member
Posts: 1789
Re: Cables thru walls-best practices?
«
Reply #10 on:
July 27, 2020, 01:23:48 PM »
Radio shack used to make a pipe with a screw on cap. I drilled a proper hole through the wall, installed the pipe, ran the wires through and through the cap, screwed it down tight and caulked it. Never had a problem of any kind for years.
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Novice 1958, 20WPM Extra now... (and get off my lawn)
NA4IT
Member
Posts: 363
Re: Cables thru walls-best practices?
«
Reply #11 on:
July 30, 2020, 04:20:18 AM »
Here's how I did it. The cables coming in through the conduit hanging down are from my tower. The other nearby antenna cables are connected to feed through SO-239s in the bottom. The square boxes you see are PolyPhaser lightning protectors. Also, all cables and PolyPhasers are grounded through their shields to a common ground.
Here's what the tower end looks like. There is a metal junction box with a remote coax switch attached to it. When the switch is turned off, everything goes to ground.
«
Last Edit: July 30, 2020, 04:24:24 AM by NA4IT
»
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KD0VE
Member
Posts: 1490
Re: Cables thru walls-best practices?
«
Reply #12 on:
July 30, 2020, 05:26:19 AM »
Taking advice from this forum a few years ago I cut a 4" hole for 4" PVC. that was bigger than I thought I needed but I have been glad it was originally oversized as I have added more things than I ever thought I would. The PVC is caulked with silicone where it penetrates the wall. It's very cold here in winter so I stuff the empty space in the PVC with rags.
On the outside wall I have a PVC enclosure deep enough to allow gradual bends in the coax which enters the box from the bottom and makes a 90 to go thru the wall. Rubber grommeted fittings (I can't think of the term for them right now) are used to seal the penetrations where the coax and other cables penetrate the enclosure. The fittings keep it dry and also eliminate bugs getting inside the box. The PVC is easily drilled with spade bits for wood. I used the same kind of enclosure at the base of my tower.
hope this was helpful.
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N9LCD
Member
Posts: 260
Re: Cables thru walls-best practices?
«
Reply #13 on:
August 06, 2020, 11:59:42 AM »
Use a stud finder. Make sure there's no studs, pipes or structural member in the path of your drill.
There's nothing worst than drilling into a gas or water pipe -- quite hazardous or messy!
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NA4M
Member
Posts: 212
Re: Cables thru walls-best practices?
«
Reply #14 on:
August 07, 2020, 07:11:57 AM »
No matter how you choose to do coax entry thru your wall be sure to add a SPG Single Point Ground panel preferably outside close to the cable entry point thru the wall.
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Cables thru walls-best practices?