Elecraft Demo at hamfests - antenna hint

[Jim Sheldon]

Having done demos of my Elecraft equipment at a number of hamfests in the KS/Oklahoma area over the last couple of years, I try to get table space near an exit or other outside access so I can set up a vertical antenna external to the building.  Live, on-air demo's work lots better than just having the equipment sitting there with the lights on, especially if the antenna can be placed outside the building for good reception.

The major problem we usually run into is safely running the coax from your table out to the antenna.  In the past we usually routed it along a wall, and any where that people had to cross it, we first tried duct tape, but that turned out to be difficult to remove without damaging something or leaving a sticky residue.  Next came the "blue" painter's masking tape.  This worked great when time came for removal, but didn't stick to floors or wall surfaces well enough to either support or keep the cable from loosening and becoming a trip hazard.

At the Kansas State ARRL Convention this past weekend, we were in a really nice venue with the tables just inside the entrance to the flea market area.  This gave reasonably close access to the main entry doors to the building, one of which was off to the side and allow cable access but not be used for normal in/out traffic.  There was a nice grassy area about 20 feet out and clear of the concrete walkway with an aluminum bleacher being stored up against the building so it wasn't necessary to tape down the cables after getting out of the door.

The major problem was running coax from the table to the door in the first place.  Since the lobby area we had to string the coax through had an 8 foot, gridded acoustical tile ceiling, I got the bright idea to use some nylon mason's twine I had and make up a bunch of "sling" loops over the grid members and under the tiles.  Ran the coax up the steel door jamb from the flea market room, taped it down with painter's tape, ran it through the loops hung from the ceiling grid well above the heads of anyone walking under it and over the top of the one door marked "do not use except in emergency".  Outside, it was then easy to rout it along the building wall out of the way and connect up the antennas.  

This won't work for every situation but it's something to consider if a dropped ceiling presents itself.  If you get a chance to scope out the venue before hand, you could even take some aluminum strap (available at hardware stores) and bend yourself some strips with a big hook on one end and a small straight flat on the other that could be slipped under a ceiling tile without having to lift the tiles up to tie a string loop over the grid.  Keeps the coax up out of the way where the foot traffic can't trip over it.

Jim - W0EB
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[Bill Frantz]

There are products, frequently called Gaffer's Tape which are
designed to be removed without damage or residue. They are
available professional camera and theater supply companies. In
the SF bay area, Keeble & Shuchat in Palo Alto carries them.

They aren't perfect. I remember some damage to badly applied
paint. YMMV.

Cheers - Bill, AE6JV/1

On 8/20/13 at 2:39 PM, [hidden email] (Jim Sheldon) wrote:

>... and any where that people had to cross it, we first tried
>duct tape, but that turned out to be difficult to remove
>without damaging something or leaving a sticky residue.
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[wlbrooks]

Jim,

Wire coat hangers are perfect for this purpose and are in good supply.
Us Hams are nothing if not field expedient, yes?

Bill, KE5OG

On Tuesday, August 20, 2013, Jim Sheldon wrote:

> Having done demos of my Elecraft equipment at a number of hamfests in the
> KS/Oklahoma area over the last couple of years, I try to get table space
> near an exit or other outside access so I can set up a vertical antenna
> external to the building.  Live, on-air demo's work lots better than just
> having the equipment sitting there with the lights on, especially if the
> antenna can be placed outside the building for good reception.
>
> The major problem we usually run into is safely running the coax from your
> table out to the antenna.  In the past we usually routed it along a wall,
> and any where that people had to cross it, we first tried duct tape, but
> that turned out to be difficult to remove without damaging something or
> leaving a sticky residue.  Next came the "blue" painter's masking tape.
>  This worked great when time came for removal, but didn't stick to floors
> or wall surfaces well enough to either support or keep the cable from
> loosening and becoming a trip hazard.
>
> At the Kansas State ARRL Convention this past weekend, we were in a really
> nice venue with the tables just inside the entrance to the flea market
> area.  This gave reasonably close access to the main entry doors to the
> building, one of which was off to the side and allow cable access but not
> be used for normal in/out traffic.  There was a nice grassy area about 20
> feet out and clear of the concrete walkway with an aluminum bleacher being
> stored up against the building so it wasn't necessary to tape down the
> cables after getting out of the door.
>
> The major problem was running coax from the table to the door in the first
> place.  Since the lobby area we had to string the coax through had an 8
> foot, gridded acoustical tile ceiling, I got the bright idea to use some
> nylon mason's twine I had and make up a bunch of "sling" loops over the
> grid members and under the tiles.  Ran the coax up the steel door jamb from
> the flea market room, taped it down with painter's tape, ran it through the
> loops hung from the ceiling grid well above the heads of anyone walking
> under it and over the top of the one door marked "do not use except in
> emergency".  Outside, it was then easy to rout it along the building wall
> out of the way and connect up the antennas.
>
> This won't work for every situation but it's something to consider if a
> dropped ceiling presents itself.  If you get a chance to scope out the
> venue before hand, you could even take some aluminum strap (available at
> hardware stores) and bend yourself some strips with a big hook on one end
> and a small straight flat on the other that could be slipped under a
> ceiling tile without having to lift the tiles up to tie a string loop over
> the grid.  Keeps the coax up out of the way where the foot traffic can't
> trip over it.
>
> Jim - W0EB
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email] <javascript:;>
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>

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[wb4jfi]

Coming from a broadcast television/news background, I have used a LOT of
"gaffers tape", most often made by Permacel, now Shurtape.  It is NOT cheap,
but does not leave any residue, as long as you don't leave it in place for a
long time.  The P-665 "Professional Grade" 2-inch width gaffers tape is the
most familiar to me, in gray or black.

If used sparingly, one roll should last quite a while.  It usually costs
between $15 and $20 per roll, and should be available at most tape,
broadcast, or film places.  B&H, 47th Street, Markertek are a few places.
NEVER use "duct tape" or "duck tape", especially on any cabling that you
want to use ever again.  You need kerosene or gasoline to remove that sticky
mess!  Blue/green painters tape has almost sticking value, when stepped on
or other pressure is applied to the cable.  Gaffers tape is designed to hold
strong, but not leave a nasty residue.  If left on something for a few
months or more, the adhesive DOES stay attached to whatever it's put on,
however.

I just used some gaffers tape last night, to temporarily hold a coax line up
along a doorway to prevent tripping on it on the floor.  Putting it on
cement, carpeting, even walls, seems to be OK for short periods.  Unless the
wall has cheap paint on it!
73, Terry, WB4JFI


-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Sheldon
Sent: Tuesday, August 20, 2013 5:39 PM
To: Elecraft Mailing List
Subject: [Elecraft] Elecraft Demo at hamfests - antenna hint

Having done demos of my Elecraft equipment at a number of hamfests in the
KS/Oklahoma area over the last couple of years, I try to get table space
near an exit or other outside access so I can set up a vertical antenna
external to the building.  Live, on-air demo's work lots better than just
having the equipment sitting there with the lights on, especially if the
antenna can be placed outside the building for good reception.

The major problem we usually run into is safely running the coax from your
table out to the antenna.  In the past we usually routed it along a wall,
and any where that people had to cross it, we first tried duct tape, but
that turned out to be difficult to remove without damaging something or
leaving a sticky residue.  Next came the "blue" painter's masking tape.
This worked great when time came for removal, but didn't stick to floors or
wall surfaces well enough to either support or keep the cable from loosening
and becoming a trip hazard.

At the Kansas State ARRL Convention this past weekend, we were in a really
nice venue with the tables just inside the entrance to the flea market area.
This gave reasonably close access to the main entry doors to the building,
one of which was off to the side and allow cable access but not be used for
normal in/out traffic.  There was a nice grassy area about 20 feet out and
clear of the concrete walkway with an aluminum bleacher being stored up
against the building so it wasn't necessary to tape down the cables after
getting out of the door.

The major problem was running coax from the table to the door in the first
place.  Since the lobby area we had to string the coax through had an 8
foot, gridded acoustical tile ceiling, I got the bright idea to use some
nylon mason's twine I had and make up a bunch of "sling" loops over the grid
members and under the tiles.  Ran the coax up the steel door jamb from the
flea market room, taped it down with painter's tape, ran it through the
loops hung from the ceiling grid well above the heads of anyone walking
under it and over the top of the one door marked "do not use except in
emergency".  Outside, it was then easy to rout it along the building wall
out of the way and connect up the antennas.

This won't work for every situation but it's something to consider if a
dropped ceiling presents itself.  If you get a chance to scope out the venue
before hand, you could even take some aluminum strap (available at hardware
stores) and bend yourself some strips with a big hook on one end and a small
straight flat on the other that could be slipped under a ceiling tile
without having to lift the tiles up to tie a string loop over the grid.
Keeps the coax up out of the way where the foot traffic can't trip over it.

Jim - W0EB
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[wb4jfi]

For more permanent wiring, I have used shower curtain hooks, stapled in
place at the small end.  You can open the shower curtain hooks, lay the
cables in place, then close them back up.  We used to wire edit booths with
them.  Makes wire access very simple.
73, Terry, WB4JFI

-----Original Message-----
From: Walter Underwood
Sent: Tuesday, August 20, 2013 5:59 PM
To: Elecraft Mailing List
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] Elecraft Demo at hamfests - antenna hint

For smaller cable, I have used large paper clips bent open.  --wunder, K6WRU

On Aug 20, 2013, at 2:50 PM, Bill Brooks wrote:

> Jim,
>
> Wire coat hangers are perfect for this purpose and are in good supply.
> Us Hams are nothing if not field expedient, yes?
>
> Bill, KE5OG
>
> On Tuesday, August 20, 2013, Jim Sheldon wrote:
>
>> Having done demos of my Elecraft equipment at a number of hamfests in the
>> KS/Oklahoma area over the last couple of years, I try to get table space
>> near an exit or other outside access so I can set up a vertical antenna
>> external to the building.  Live, on-air demo's work lots better than just
>> having the equipment sitting there with the lights on, especially if the
>> antenna can be placed outside the building for good reception.
>>
>> The major problem we usually run into is safely running the coax from
>> your
>> table out to the antenna.  In the past we usually routed it along a wall,
>> and any where that people had to cross it, we first tried duct tape, but
>> that turned out to be difficult to remove without damaging something or
>> leaving a sticky residue.  Next came the "blue" painter's masking tape.
>> This worked great when time came for removal, but didn't stick to floors
>> or wall surfaces well enough to either support or keep the cable from
>> loosening and becoming a trip hazard.
>>
>> At the Kansas State ARRL Convention this past weekend, we were in a
>> really
>> nice venue with the tables just inside the entrance to the flea market
>> area.  This gave reasonably close access to the main entry doors to the
>> building, one of which was off to the side and allow cable access but not
>> be used for normal in/out traffic.  There was a nice grassy area about 20
>> feet out and clear of the concrete walkway with an aluminum bleacher
>> being
>> stored up against the building so it wasn't necessary to tape down the
>> cables after getting out of the door.
>>
>> The major problem was running coax from the table to the door in the
>> first
>> place.  Since the lobby area we had to string the coax through had an 8
>> foot, gridded acoustical tile ceiling, I got the bright idea to use some
>> nylon mason's twine I had and make up a bunch of "sling" loops over the
>> grid members and under the tiles.  Ran the coax up the steel door jamb
>> from
>> the flea market room, taped it down with painter's tape, ran it through
>> the
>> loops hung from the ceiling grid well above the heads of anyone walking
>> under it and over the top of the one door marked "do not use except in
>> emergency".  Outside, it was then easy to rout it along the building wall
>> out of the way and connect up the antennas.
>>
>> This won't work for every situation but it's something to consider if a
>> dropped ceiling presents itself.  If you get a chance to scope out the
>> venue before hand, you could even take some aluminum strap (available at
>> hardware stores) and bend yourself some strips with a big hook on one end
>> and a small straight flat on the other that could be slipped under a
>> ceiling tile without having to lift the tiles up to tie a string loop
>> over
>> the grid.  Keeps the coax up out of the way where the foot traffic can't
>> trip over it.
>>
>> Jim - W0EB
>> ______________________________________________________________
>> Elecraft mailing list
>> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
>> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
>> Post: mailto:[hidden email] <javascript:;>
>>
>> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
>> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
>>
> ______________________________________________________________
> Elecraft mailing list
> Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft
> Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
> Post: mailto:[hidden email]
>
> This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
> Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html

--
Walter Underwood
[hidden email]



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[David Christ]

Just buy a roll of plumbers strap.  Cheap, easily formed and has holes which can be useful

David K0LUM


On Aug 20, 2013, at 4:39 PM, Jim Sheldon wrote:

> This won't work for every situation but it's something to consider if a dropped ceiling presents itself.  If you get a chance to scope out the venue before hand, you could even take some aluminum strap (available at hardware stores) and bend yourself some strips with a big hook on one end and a small straight flat on the other that could be slipped under a ceiling tile without having to lift the tiles up to tie a string loop over the grid.  Keeps the coax up out of the way where the foot traffic can't trip over it.
>
> Jim - W0EB

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