In a message dated 4/7/02 6:57:21 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
wa9als@starband.net writes:
> Is it normal for the SO-239s that are unused to discolor brownish? Today I
> noticed that the areas of connectors 1 and 4 that are exposed to the air
are
> brownish, but the part that's usually under a PL-259 is pristine/shiny
> silver. Connectors 2 and 3, that are only used during contesting and
> uncovered the rest of the time, are completely discolored. Other SO-239s
in
> the shack are not discolored like this, although some are much older, e.g.
> on my tuner.
>
> Normal for the PW-1 connectors?? Any way to clean them up? Protective
> lubricant to use?
Most cheap PL-259's are nickel plated whereas better grade ones are
silver plated. Both materials oxidize. The winner is the silver connector
because silver oxide is a conductor whereas nickel oxide is not.
There's not much you can do about the oxidation in either case so I
wouldn't worry about it. Indoors it's not a problem and outdoors if properly
weatherproofed, it's not a problem either.
Since the silver plated ones take solder better as well, I'd opt for a
supply of the silver ones. I get mine from D&L Antenna Supply a buck each or
less in quantity. Try <A HREF="http://www.wavehunter.com/dandl.htm";>
http://www.wavehunter.com/dandl.htm</A> for more info.
Cheers,
Steve K7LXC
TOWER TECH -
Professional tower services for industry and amateurs
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