[TowerTalk] Antenna Grease--Deficiencies and Remedies.

[K7GCO@aol.com]

In a message dated 6/24/00 3:58:43 PM Pacific Daylight Time, K7LXC writes:

<< n a message dated 06/24/2000 9:35:06 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 
K7GCO@aol.com writes:
 
 > Penatrox gets hard and has the wrong particles in it for what ever value 
they 
 >  might have.  
 
       Any antioxidant like Penetrox is supposed to be sparingly and not 
glopped onto a joint. I don't have any long-term experience that shows that 
it dries out making the joint hard to take apart. It might but I don't have 
any direct experience. 

*******Just because you don't have any experience with it doesn't deminish 
the value of my and others experience with it.  I strarted using it in the 
late 40's as I remember and have used several tubes of it.  That's longer 
than you have been alive.

      Yes, Penetrox is a commercial product manufactured by Burndy Electrical 
who makes a lot of commercial electrical supplies.
 
      It really doesn't matter what the particles are. They are held in 
suspension in a neutral vehicle material so they don't come into contact with 
oxygen or water. Oxidation relates to a a single material that deteriorates 
in the presence of oxygen; i.e. iron oxide, aluminum oxide, etc. If there is 
no oxygen present, there is no oxidation.
 
      When you have two dissimilar metals in contact, you have to have an 
electolyte for the chemical process to take place. Typically it's a salt or 
other compound (like zinc) dissolved in water that makes the solution 
conductive. In the absence of an electolyte, you don't have dissimilar metal 
corrosion. 

********If the base gets hard which is it's major problem, moistures and 
oxygen can get to the zinc and we have salt in the rain in Seattle.  Keep 
using it for another 30-40 years and you will come around to my way of 
thinking.  I don't have to redo joints with other goop--period.  Do you have 
stock in Burnday Electric.  Although I have stock in Reynolds "Particle 
Aluminum", I'm switching to Anaconda Copper as I'm switching to mostly 
quads--with copper wire and regular solder.  Brown, Epstien and Lewis knew 
what they were doing back in the 30's recommending 120 radials when their 
tests showed 90 was enough.  Would you believe they had stock in Anaconda 
Copper also all these years?  It was better than MicroSoft.

 > Penatrox was designed for twisted copper wires in the open where 
 > the area of conduction is full length carrying 60 cycles. 
 
      I think a conductor is a conductor and an electrical connection is an 
electrical connection. Other manufacturers of commercial electrical products 
like Thomas & Betts, GB Electrical and Ideal Industries have antioxidants of 
their own recipe. They all function the same.

******So what?  What have they got in them?  I'll say again the particles 
between the joint do absolutely nothing to increase conduction as there is no 
RF in there due to the RF skin affect.  Only that thin ring of contact at the 
joint diameter step up conducts RF.  There might be 10-15 of those zinc 
particles there making contact--In prefer aluminum.
 
 > The Particles help there at the contact ring but why weren't they 
particles of copper when used on copper wires?
 
       Some use copper and some use zinc. As long as it's rated for the 
materials I'm using, copper or aluminum, I don't really care which one I use. 
I suspect over time that they all dry out.  

*****No that is not true.   
       The copper or aluminum won't dry out but the stuff in Penatrox holding 
it will.  
       Trust me.  K7GCO

 Cheers,   Steve   K7LXC >>

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