[TowerTalk] Waterproofing Yaesu control connection
Chuck Lewis
clewis at knology.net
Mon Aug 11 11:38:51 EDT 2008
>
> I was planning to:
>
> 1) Put a little bit of "stuf" or other dielectric filler on the pins
> before assembling
>
> 2) Put some anti-seize lubricant on the outer screw ring to ease
> disassembly
Several (5 or 6) years go, I had an issue with erratic readings that would
go crazy when commanding rotation, then revert to a strange angle at rest.
After confirming flaky resistance readings on the ground, I climbed to the
rotator connector, removed the boot and the connector, removed the backshell
and found moist insect parts, and web and eggsac material filling the void
in and around the wires and pins. A good cleaning of the solder pins and
wires followed by plain ordinary Vaseline (petroleum jelly) to overfill the
backshell before reassembly has resulted in 100% solid performance ever
since. I did replace the boot, but removed the "squeeze-out", then taped
around it all the way back to the cable sheath.
This, of course, is only one anecdotal experience, and not statistically
valid; and there will be those who will advocate using nothing but proper
dielectric potting gel for electronic components, but I took the chance with
Vaseline, it worked, and I don't expect to have to repeat the process. Your
mileage may vary.
Chuck, N4NM
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