*Call 811 to request a utility markdown of the property before digging.
I
would run the conduit at least 18" deep. In order to measure voltage
drop
you would need to put a load on the wire. If possible I would run 120
volts
out to the location and step down the voltage there. Separate power and
communication cables. Use wires rated for wet location use. Oversize
your
conduits for ease of pulling. Keep your bends to four 90's or less. Use
at
least PVC schedule 40, but schedule 80 has a thicker wall.

If I go that deep, I'll certainly need power-assisted digging. As
mentioned
elsewhere, it's going to be all low-voltage and you've pointed out a good
reason - running com and video with AC power is asking for interference
problems like hum and slow rolling video lines..

I can't imagine digging a trench with a post hole digger.

I can imagine it, but I don't like what I am imagining: a few dozen
mosquito bites, a few tubes of Ben-gay ointment, arms as sore as a legless
man after pulling himself to the top of Mt Everest by rope and a popped
tendon or ligament I didn't even know I had before I broke it. )-:

A backhoe does an
excellent job of digging a nice deep and wide trench. When that is not
available I use a landscape contractor. They are use to digging holes
and
their labor charges are quite reasonable.

I have a landscaper that just might be able to do it for less than the
rental fees and hassle of getting a trencher of some kind. If I had
access
to enough M-80's I could dig a trench the way they once proposed building
a
new Panama canal using nukes. On second thought, maybe I had better stick
with casual labor since all the landscapers I know have been going hungry.
Landscaping seems to be one of the first expenses to get chopped in a
recession. nd the local cops take a dim view of explosive digging

Call around to rental companies
to get an idea of trencher costs. It should only take a few hours, but
you
will spend an entire day picking up the machine, trenching and then
returning it.

Yes, it's one of the reasons hiring a landscaper do it sounds better and
better. I've been surfing while I am writing this and Eureka! -- I just
found an outfit that would charge $90 to dig a 100' trench. All I do is
call the Miss Utility people and get the property "blue staked" and then
mark where I want the trench with white spray paint. At $90 (barring some
obscene set up fee I have yet to see) I can have the sump pump hose buried
AND run the cables I need for very little effort. Renting a trencher's
got
to cost way more and waste incredible amounts of time learning to use it,
jackassing it back and forth, etc. I had a neighbor rent a Bobcat once
and
all I'll say is I know why they are so well safety caged.

Only small problem with:

http://www.trenchmasters.com/index.html

They are in Arizona and I'm near Wash, DC. I suspect that I can find
rent-a-trencher (and operator!) company around here. (Hasn't the whole
world been sub-contracted by now?) Probably will cost a bit more here
than
AZ, but even $2 a foot might be reasonable for $100 feet of work.

Get a bigger machine then what you think you need. It will
come in handy when you hit rocks.

What's the likelihood of damaging (and having to pay for) some part of an
expensive trenching machine by hitting a rock? That alone could put the
kibosh on powered rental digging solution. I use an electric drill and a
dirt auger when I put down termite stakes and half the holes have to be
restarted because of rocks. This isn't digging-friendly soil. I think
from
here on out, I'll be looking for companies who do the same in my area.

I love the internet. I thinking I'm within striking distance of the
solution after all the leads I got here.

Thanks for the input, John! Any relation to Marilyn Grabowski, the famous
Playboy photo editor?


*I know of her, but we have never met to discuss genealogy. It seems
Grabowski is the Polish version of Smith.

Good luck with project. I forgot to mention in my earlier post of a company
called Clifford in Vermont. They specialize in telecommunications cable and
tools among other things. If there is such a thing as direct burial CATV
wire they would have it.