[TowerTalk] Antenna Grease--Deficiencies and Remedies de K0FF

[K0FF]

Just wondering then why when Antenna Specialists has been supplying silicone
grease with it's commercial antenna mounts for as long as I can remember,
but they specifically warn don't put it on the contacts. Could it be that
it's a great waterproofer etc, but not made for electrical contacts. I use
Contax, a product made for aluminum wiring and available at Home Depot.
Seems to be OK for the antenna, don't have any idea how it will last. Just
gooped the joints between a HBX tower thats insulated from ground used as a
radiating element with the stuff.

The joint ointment supplied by Mosley seemed to last a long time. I've taken
down beams that were put up in the 50's and 60's, and they still slide right
apart by hand (the elements that is, still have to break the s.s. U bolts,
but suspect nothing at all was put on them.)..

Have fun, Geo>K0FF
-----Original Message-----
From: Ken Hirschberg <calav@flash.net>
To: wbh3@daimlerchrysler.com <wbh3@daimlerchrysler.com>;
towertalk@contesting.com <towertalk@contesting.com>
Date: Monday, June 26, 2000 2:26 PM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Antenna Grease--Deficiencies and Remedies


>
>Gentlemen:  I've been following this thread for some time now.  Please
consider
>the following:  What is put into aluminum antenna element joints serves 2
>purposes. First, lubrication for assembly and disassembly.  Second, and
most
>importantly, it protects the connection by excluding moisture and air at
the
>points of contact.
>
>Contact between the pieces will occur between 2 or more points, depending
on
>how the pieces are fastened.  It is unnecessary to include metal particles
in
>the formulation to make a good connection.  Some of the commercial
formulations
>(e.g. NOALOX, Penetrox, etc.) that have been mentioned (and even used by
>reputable manufacturers) are intended for electrical wiring.  The antenna
>environment is a different, much tougher ball game.  If the carrier of
these
>metal-loaded formulations happens to be silicone-based and is thick enough,
>there is little or no problem; if it is petroleum-based, it is quite likely
to
>be washed away, leaving a dissimilar metals problem.  (The copper-loaded
>compounds, e.g. Penetrox B, can be really bad news)
>
>What to do:
>Simplify the problem; just use a thick silicone grease.  It has proven
itself
>in very harsh environments.  BTW, it is also the goop-of-choice to put
inside
>connectors such as PL-259's to exclude moisture.
>
>Where to get it:
> Thick silicone grease is available as High-Vacuum grease, a Dow-Corning
>product, from scientific supply houses.
>
>GC (formerly General Cement) packs it in small tubes, which are available
>through electronic supply houses; Newark, Allied, etc..
>
>My company, CAL-AV Labs., supplies it in 1/4 oz. containers as part of the
>assembly kits sold with our antennas; we would be happy to sell the grease
>packs alone if you can not find them locally. (cal-av.com)
>
>It is also available at SCUBA diving shops, typically in 1/4 and 1 1/2 oz.
>packs or tubes.
>
>Sincerely,  Ken K6HPX
>
>
>
>wbh3@daimlerchrysler.com wrote:
>
>> FWIW when I built my  kt34-xa about 7 years ago, KLM supplied a little
can
>> of  copper-colored paste to put on the joints.    After a move and whenn
I
>> was reassembling the end units I found this paste had turned very solid
and
>> seemed to be a good insulator as the resistance checks I made on each
>> element end were very high.  Don't know what KLM used but I don't think
it
>> was very good stuff.
>>
>> Bill Haselmire  WX8S
>>
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>
>
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