Cable Weight

Most cable manufacturers give the weight in their specifications.

...or coil it up and put it on a scale...

What's a festoon? Is that one of those things cowboys spit into in the old west saloons?

I can't imagine why you would want to mount one of those on a cable. Sounds messy to me.

I can hear it now. "Hey pardner, slide that festoon down this-a-way, slowly".

Ptui!

Once upon a time, these three drunk cowboys decided to have a spittoon drinking contest, the winner being the one who could drink the most.

The first contestant lifted the spittoon to his lips and set it back down quickly, gagging "I can't handle it" he said.

The second cowhand manged to take one swig, set it down and ran outside.

The third contestant tipped the spittoon up and stated slowly at first, then furiously chugging it. Saloon patrons started shouting for him to stop, as he had clearly won.

Finally he threw the empty spittoon to the floor. When asked why he did not stop, he explained "I couldn't.....it was all one long string"!

On a bridge crane, for instance, there might be an electric hoist mounted on a trolley. One way to get power to it is a "festoon cable" consisting of several loops of wire with each high point hung from a small trolley. As the hoist moves along the beam the festoon loops extend/retract similarly.