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[TowerTalk] Other wet stuff

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Subject: [TowerTalk] Other wet stuff
From: k7sv@juno.com (Larry G Schimelpfenig)
Date: Sun, 03 Aug 1997 13:57:00 EDT
Ward, there must be a KT34XA virous or something going around. You are
the third person that I know wo was working on a KT34XA yesterday. I'm in
the process of rebuidling mine. 

On Sun, 3 Aug 1997 09:45:52 -0700 (PDT) Ward Silver
<hwardsil@WOLFENET.com> writes:

SNIP N3GPU's comments

>Just a note to the reflector - in disassembling a KT34XA yesterday, we
>took a coax pigtail off the balun's SO-239 that had been "sealed" with
>Coax-Seal.  Ick!  Obviously there had been plenty of moisture in the
>connection as there was yellow-green crust a-plenty.  A few minutes of
>work with a fine wire brush and file tang cleaned it up, but...
>
>I have never unwrapped a properly taped (using real tape...Scotch 33+ 
>for
>me) PL259-SO239 junction to find water that got in around the tape.
>They're still shiny and bright after years of exposure.  Think about 
>it -
>if putty worked like it's supposed to, why don't professionals make 
>better
>use of it?  Because it doesn't work like it's supposed to...that's 
>why!
>
>There may be appropriate uses of putty-like materials.  Perhaps, if
>applied within their limits they work great.  But those limits do not
>appear to include exposed PL259-SO239 connections where there may be
>flexing of the cable or significant thermal cycling.
>
>73, Ward N0AX

I weatherproof my connectors the same way I was taught to weatherproof
splices while working for telco a number of years ago. Start with a
rubber based tape (Scotch 2242 rubber splicing tape) start at the center
of the splice or connector and wrap with overlap to about an inch beyond
the end. Reverse and come back across the center on to an ench beyone the
opposite end. Now reverse anc wrap back to the center. Now do the same
thing with 88. We then applied scotch coat to the entire mess. 
I don't use the scotch coat, but have never had a problem with connectors
using the rubber and plastic tape. The rubber won't unwrap, so one must
cut it off. 

Sorry I missed NAQP yesterday, but the back yard is full of aluminum
being refurbished!

73 de Larry K7SV

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