[Amps] Glass Tape

[Carl]

Id suggest sticking to what you know Alex. Anyone who has worked with a 
Corvette or boat repair know how the weather can deterioate an exposed 
section.

And yes Scotch 27 is excellent for what Ed is doing.

Carl
KM1H

> Guys, the adhesive is NOT an issue: after being over wound with the wire 
> it
> is irrelevant!
> There are 2 kinds of tape : fiberglass, which is an organic material and
> glass fiber which is not. Corvettes are made of the latter!
> Alex 4Z5KS
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Amps [mailto:amps-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Carl
> Sent: Monday, July 29, 2013 5:09 AM
> To: Jim Thomson; amps at contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [Amps] Glass Tape
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Jim Thomson" <jim.thom at telus.net>
> To: <amps at contesting.com>
> Sent: Sunday, July 28, 2013 6:27 PM
> Subject: [Amps] Glass Tape
>
>
>> Date: Sat, 27 Jul 2013 17:23:05 +0000
>> From: Manfred Mornhinweg <manfred at ludens.cl>
>> To: amps at contesting.com
>> Subject: Re: [Amps] Glass Tape
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>>> Glass tape usually turns to dust in UV sunlight.
>>
>> I think Carl means that glass fiber reinforced, plastic adhesive tape.
>> That stuff indeed turns to dust rather quickly. Dust with loosely
>> embedded glass fibers. Even when used indoors, in dry climates the glue
>> crumbles rather soon, in my experience.
>>
>> But I'm under the impression that Ed means a different material, one
>> that is just glass fiber fabric, without any plastic or glue in it. Is
>> that right? Such a material should survive UV without trouble.
>
>
> **  The glass tape Im referring to is strong and used for package 
> wrapping.
> A tape without an adhesive is simply a wrap and in some cases rather
> useless.
>
>
>
>
>
>> For winding baluns, I use one of two different techniques to avoid the
>> wire insulation chafing through. One is to wind the balun with
>> plastic-insulated wire, with the insulation being thick and hard enough
>> that it won't puncture. Common THHN house wiring stuff is fine. It also
>> gives me more confidence when working under high power, elevated SWR
>> conditions, when the voltage between wires can reach the kilovolt level.
>
>
> ** THHN is thick and has a high capacity between turns because of the
> dielectric. Ive seen THHN turn to a melted mess in a couple of commercial
> vertical antenna baluns at well nder 1000W.
>
> I use Teflon sleeving over bare copper wire or stranded, silver plated,
> Teflon covered wire.
>
>
>
>>
>> The other technique is to wrap the core, but instead of glass tape, I
>> use several layers of black vinyl insulating tape. This tape MUST be
>> good quality. Since about 30 years I use Scotch Super 33+, and I can
>> fully recommend it. There must be other good tapes available, but when I
>> tried, this was the one that worked best among all the ones I tried, and
>> as long as it is available, I see no reason to search for another!
>
> ** Vinyl tape is a poor choice for a toroid if any heat much over ambient 
> is
>
> expected.
>
> I
>> have some antennas that are over 20 years old, fully exposed to the
>> weather, with this tape used in several locations, and it's still fine!
>
>
> ** You combined 2 completely different subjects in one paragraph. I agree
> that Scotch 33 is great for outdoor cables and connectors and Ive been 
> using
>
> it since the 1960's.
>
>
>>
>> I have read lots of warning about using PVC in RF fields. This
>> insulating tape, and most plastic wire insulations, are PVC. So I was
>> always a bit scared that something terrible might happen, like an
>> insulation meltdown, but so far it hasn't. I wouldn't use a thin sheet
>> of PVC as a capacitor dielectric, but in the form of wire insulation or
>> a toroid core wrap it seems to do fine enough.
>>
>> Black is best, for the wire insulation too. It blocks UV and largely
>> prevents degradation beyond the surface layer of a plastic.
>>
>> Manfred
>
>
> ** That all depends upon the tape composition, Ive seen some import black
> tape that curls up and splits in the UV AND in frigid temperatures which 
> are
>
> common here. Scotch 33 is the most weather insensitive tape Ive ever used.
> PL-259 connectors and barrel
> splices I did over 20 years ago looked like new when I took various 
> antennas
>
> down.  I tried Scotch 88 but it didnt handle the cold as well which can 
> get
> to -25 to -30F here at times.
>
> Carl
> KM1H
>
>
>
>
> : 07/28/13
>>
>
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