[TowerTalk] Marine Grade Shrink Boot for waterproofing

[Pat Barthelow]

For the temporary solution of field day coax weatherproofing, I think, 
simple solutions are better, and they need not be foolproof in the long 
run...Those proposed alike Traffic Cones, or cheap plastic box enclosures 
from Orchard Supply should work well.

Shrink boot was mentioned....In my recent intense work in the marine 
electronics world, I have picked up supplies at the local marine supply 
store, and have encountered a lot of supplies that were 'marine grade', and 
were quite expensive, I thought.    I used  to think that that terminology 
was just fluff to increase the price of the merchandise by double or  triple 
what the cheap stuff at some ordinary elex stores carry.  Not any more.  
Everything I used from shrink boot, to silicone sealants, to crimp lugs, to 
jacketed low voltage cable, was first rate, a couple of cuts above the non 
Marine Grade stuff.  The quality made in some cases the wire preparation and 
termination tougher...just strip the jacket off marine grade wire pair 
cable, leaving a bit uncut....it is tenacious..hard to just yank off that 
last bit of attached jacket... the plastics used in the insulation. are 
tangibly tougher...
The shrink boot, in particular, was quite robust, and had what I think is a 
critical component not found in a lot of shrink boot....sealant on the 
inside of the boot that literally oozes out of the ends when shrunk, 
hardening upon cooling,  Making the connection absolutely 
water/weatherproof.  Same principle applies in CATV industry where their 
shrink boot is also thick, and has the 'ooze' inside.
Try sometime to put shrink boot without sealant on a piece of 
RG-213...shrink just one end of the boot, look down the raw end between the 
unshrunk boot, and the RG-213, and lower into a bucket of water...I'll bet 
in some cases that the water will be sucked by capillary action to the 
inside of the boot...
And go check out your local marine supply house for top notch weatherization 
materials.

73, de Pat AA6EG






73, DX, de Pat Barthelow  AA6EG
(831) 646-0388    aa6eg at hotmail.com




>From: Cqtestk4xs at aol.com
>To: TOWERTALK at contesting.com
>Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] quick waterproofing for PL-259 connectors?
>Date: Wed, 9 Feb 2005 11:02:56 EST
>
>.......another thought.
>
>Home Depot/WalMart and other sell cheap storage containers of varying 
>sizes.
>Cut a small hole in the side and insert coax...cheap and easy.
>
>Bill K4XS
>_______________________________________________
>
>See: http://www.mscomputer.com  for "Self Supporting Towers", "Wireless 
>Weather Stations", and lot's more.  Call Toll Free, 1-800-333-9041 with any 
>questions and ask for Sherman, W2FLA.
>
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