Topband: CONNECTOR GREASE

[Bill and Liz]

When I first got into the 2-way radio business back in the 70s I obtained a 
lot of literature from both Motorola and General Electric, for whom I did 
sub-contract work.  On the subject of installing base station antennas, both 
companies recommended that the connectors be flooded with "vaseline" before 
being sealed.

Routine yearly maintenance testing showed no change in antenna system 
operation over the years, and when I had occasion to remove some of these 
antennas many years later there was no evidence of any problem with the 
connections.

Granted, these base stations and repeaters operating in the VHF and UHF 
range ran at no more than 100 watts; however, if one were to expect a 
problem by flooding a connector with "vaseline" then surely it would have 
shown up at these frequencies.

I guess you can take advice from any source you wish on this, but I doubt 
that reputable organizations like those cited above would have recommended 
flooding with a petroleum-based substance if they thought the practice would 
cause problems down the road.

Bill VE3CSK