Rod
I see they are giving you a hard time. Stand offs are used on Andrews
coax when the coax is used as an antenna and you will see them in
tunnels or industrial areas to ensure communication to the home base.
The copper sheathing which is not visible because of the plastic
covering is perforated down one side and must be placed away from any
metal surface
Regarding your tower, the coax must always be grounded at the top of
the tower as well as the bottom and it is always advisable to have the
coax floating INSIDE the tower so in those circumstances a standoff is
useful. I'm guessing that putting the coax inside the tower is to
protect it from lightning strikes and I suppose if the coax sheathing
was stranded it would be to prevent cross talk between cables. I seem
to remember that Tom Rauch has some comments about this on his page and
is much more knoweledgable about these things than those who frequent
this newsgroup. As an aside if your tower is a new one check out the
drainage aspects, we had a local guy die because the bottom rusted thru
while he was up there and offcourse the rust was not visible on the
outside
Regards
Art

Rod Maupin wrote:
I'm actually serious and I don't know the answer or I wouldn't ask.

I've seen both cases. Some people use them, some don't. What is the
advantage of using them?