I moved recently to Boston. When working with the telephone company
engineers to install my phone service, I noticed that my
network interface unit contained an unusual, non-sticky, clear, semi-solid
material ("UNSCSSM"). The striped, bare ends of the
copper wires were inserted into this material, which surrounded the screw
clamps used to connect the wiring together.
This UNSCSSM flowed around the screw and wires, preventing water and oxygen
from reaching the exposed wire. Wires that had been
immersed in the UNSCSSM were readily pulled out, and were still bright and
shiny.
Offhand, it seems that a piece of heat shrink tubing containing this stuff
could be shrunk around a coax connector, forming an
air- and water-tight seal. If the connector needed to be undone, the heat
shrink can be clipped off and the UNSCSSM peels away with
no residue. It seems ideal for those tricky places like coax connections to
SO-239 sockets on external boxes, where it's very
difficult to wrap tape around the socket in such a way as to be watertight.
Does anyone know more about this material?
-- Eric K3NA
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