"Dloyd Lavies" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello all,

I am in the process of setting up a new radio room. The room is on
the ground floor. My plan is to install an ABS access panel on the
inside of the outer wall and perhaps one of those waterproof ABS
plastic boxes outside (maybe 12" X 14"). House is wood frame with
plywood/vinyl outer walls. Installation is going to be long term.
Needs wil probably be around 8-10 runs of coax (LMR 400 or 600) and
maybe a run or two of 600 ohm twin-lead. Any suggestions or better
ideas???


Not sure how you propose to do that. Will this be a sort of a junction box?

My shack is in the basement, so I had to deal with getting cables in/out in
the least obtrusive manner possible. My poured concrete wall was a hefty
impediment.
I ended up using a concrete hole-borer to drill a three inch hole through
the wall itself, a dusty task to say the least. I then inserted a piece of
three inch PVC pipe through the wall and put a 45 degree down angled sleeve
on the outside for rain runoff. I can now run my feedlines, 450 Ohm
twinlead, and other cables through it.
Yes...there is always the worry about mice finding their way in via the
pipe, and I took a page from another Ham who packed his feed-through ABS
pipe with soapy Brillo Pads. He said that the steel wool hurts the mice when
they chew on it and the embedded soap repels them, and so far, so good.
I might mention that my XYL was less than happy about the arrangement, but
that goes with the territory.

As an aside. I 've always read that twin lead should be kept a minimum of
two inches from other cables and other metallic objects, such as aluminum
siding. In my case, I've found that my twin lead, though packed tightly with
at least seven coaxial cables exiting this ABS pipe, works just fine and
there are NO adverse effects to any of my rigs. Of course I run but 100
watts, so I cannot, by experience, say that this arrangement would be OK
were I to run an amp.

Just my experience.

Name and call withheld.