[TowerTalk] 9913; Rotor loops

TexasRF at aol.com TexasRF at aol.com
Thu Apr 29 11:10:28 EDT 2004


Like Marlon, I have also given up on heat shrink with or without the internal 
"glue" for sealing connectors. The weather seal is not robust enough to 
survive hot summer/cold winter temperature cycles.

After reworking the phasing system on a 48 yagi 2m eme array several times 
due to water/condensation ingress I "discovered" a 3M product available from 
Home Depot called Linerless Splicing Tape. This material consists of a stretchy 
rubber tape with sticky on one side.

The tape is applied sticky side out and under tension to cause it to grip the 
cable surface very tightly while adhering to itself. A large roll costs about 
$10. To further protect the tape from UV, a layer ordinary vinyl tape can be 
applied over the good stuff. This is a place that  cheap tape can be used with 
good results. 

When time comes to open the connection, a single knife slice down the length 
of the tape will allow almost instant removal since the tape is not glued or 
otherwise stuck to the connectors. 

73,
Gerald/K5GW


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