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Re: [TowerTalk] Sealing Coax Connections

To: john simmons <jasimmons@pinewooddata.com>, "towertalk@contesting.com" <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Sealing Coax Connections
From: Jim W7RY <jimw7ry@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 2025 15:17:43 -0500
List-post: <mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
That stuff is really cheap chinese crap.

Next time, buy Scotch brand colored tape. It lasts much longer. Menards has one of the best prices on Scotch 88 and 33... If  your in the midwest and have one nearby.


Jim W7RY


On 4/22/2025 7:43 AM, john simmons wrote:
I bought a kit of color coding tapes from the big-box store. The color fades 
after a few years outdoors.

73
-de "Curly" John NI0K
QRZ.com<https://www.qrz.com/db/ni0k>
Hamshack Hotline<https://hamshackhotline.com/> call me: 6100271

On 4/21/2025 11:56 AM, W7TMT - Patrick wrote:

The Scotch branded colored tapes I buy and use for color coding electrical 
wires/cables for marine use is type 35. Its about the same thickness as 33 but 
has a slightly less aggressive adhesive and has less stretch as well. Still a 
high-quality tape but it doesn't seem to be the same as 33 from my experience. 
Just my observation of course.

73
Patrick, W7TMT

-----Original Message-----
From: TowerTalk 
<towertalk-bounces@contesting.com><mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com> On 
Behalf Of John Webster NN1SS
Sent: Monday, April 21, 2025 09:40
To: Chuck Dietz <w5prchuck@gmail.com><mailto:w5prchuck@gmail.com>; 
towertalk@contesting.com<mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Sealing Coax Connections

Yes. Scotch 33. I typically find it at hardware stores or the big box home 
improvement stores in the same place where they keep the Scotch 88.

The point is to reduce the heat that could transfer to underlying connectors in 
the summer (I live in NH) and preserve the integrity of the weather seal. YMMV 
but it works for me.

John
NN1SS

On Mon, Apr 21, 2025 at 12:13 PM Chuck Dietz 
<w5prchuck@gmail.com><mailto:w5prchuck@gmail.com> wrote:



White Scotch 33?

Chuck W5PR

On Mon, Apr 21, 2025 at 10:46 AM n4zkf n4zkf.com 
<n4zkf@n4zkf.com><mailto:n4zkf@n4zkf.com> wrote:



You got that right! If you ever want to get it off again when using


Butyl.




David Calder
n4zkf@n4zkf.com<mailto:n4zkf@n4zkf.com>
www.n4zkf.com<http://www.n4zkf.com><http://www.n4zkf.com><http://www.n4zkf.com>
Dxc.n4zkf.com port:7373<dxc.n4zkf.com:7373> n4zkf/r 147.375 MHz Tone
103.5


From: TowerTalk 
<towertalk-bounces@contesting.com><mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com> on 
behalf of
Steve Maki <lists@oakcom.org><mailto:lists@oakcom.org>
Date: Saturday, April 19, 2025 at 11:44 PM
To: towertalk <towertalk@contesting.com><mailto:towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Sealing Coax Connections In any case, one
must use a "courtesy" wrap under the nuclear stuff to avoid loud
swearing in the future.

Scotch 33 or 88 works OK for that, but the best courtesy wrap is a
layer of silicone tape.

-Steve K8LX

On 04/19/25 4:29 PM, Steve Jones wrote:


Interesting...I use the exact opposite procedure.  I first wrap
the connector with Scotch 88, with a little fold at the end for
easy


unwrapping.


Then cover everything with the self-fusing Coax Seal.  If I need
to get


to


the connector,  I scrape the sticky stuff away from the little
fold,


then


unwrap everything off to reveal a shiny clean connector.
73,
Steve
N6SJ




-----Original Message-----
From: 
TowerTalk<towertalk-bounces@contesting.com><mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com>
 On Behalf Of Jim


Brown


Sent: Friday, April 18, 2025 10:56 PM 
To:towertalk@contesting.com<mailto:To:towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Sealing Coax Connections

On 4/18/2025 3:12 PM, Brian Beezley wrote:


Has anyone tried this method?:

https://tinyurl.com/mr3n2htx


Neighbor W6GJB and I, who have worked together on antennas for
10-15


years,


have tried a lot of methods. I've used heat shrink selectively to
solve specific problems, but not to cover connections completely.

One of the issues with any connection is that we often need to
open


them


up


to change something, or to troubleshoot an issue. The method we
settled


on


some years ago is to first wrap the connection with a self-fusing


silicone


product like Rescue Tape, then cover it with an overlapped wrap of


Scotch 88


to protect it both physically and from UV.
If we need to open up the connection, we can simply unwrap the 88,
then slice the silicone with a knife or razor blade.

This method has worked quite well for us. We do a lot of portable


operation


in Glen's contesting trailer

k9yc.com/7QP.pdf

and both of us live in the Santa Cruz Mountains, with a lot of
antennas rigged high in redwoods that experience storm damage,
every winter. And


also


receiving antennas -- I have two 550 ft long reversible Beverages
and a


pair


of phased VE3DO loops. We've figured out rigging pretty well
-- after losing a couple of 120 ft high dipoles in 2006-7, the
only


ones


I've lost since were three that were supported on one end by a 200
ft Douglas Fir whose root ball was pulled out of the ground! The
other end


of


all three dipoles were intact. We rig with weights on pulleys, and


rigging


is pretty robust.

73, Jim K9YC



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