[TowerTalk] RTV? What Kind?

[Tom Dawson]

GE RTV 162 (White-remains pretty flexible when cured) and RTV-167 (Grey, 
Rather stiffer when cured) are Mil-Spec, Electronic Grade RTV's you can use 
in and electronic application.  It is non-corrosive.  Used to be about 9 
bucks for the small tube, and if you have the money, you can get it in a 
larger tube for a caulk gun.  Look at places like Piedmont Plastics for 
sources.  Keep it in the freezer to extend the shelf life.


73
Tom
WB3AKD


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Keane K1MK" <k1mk at alum.mit.edu>
To: "DENNIS BRICKEY" <n4dd at embarqmail.com>
Cc: "towertalk" <towertalk at contesting.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2008 10:01 AM
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] RTV? What Kind?


At 02:26 PM 2/4/2008, DENNIS BRICKEY wrote:
>It calls for sealing of the connections with
>RTV.  What kind of RTV is recommended by the masses.

You definitely want to use a non-corrosive type of RTV.

The general purpose RTV you'll find at the local
hardware store is most likely to be an acetoxy
cure RTV which releases acetic acid as a
by-product. The sniff test is that a corrosive
RTV will smell like vinegar while curing.

You want to use an RTV that is intended to be
used on electronics, one that has an oxime cure
or alkoxy cure.  Most manufacturers offer both
general purpose (corrosive) and electronics
(non-corrosive) RTV sealants, you just have to
look a bit harder to find a non-corrosive RTV. At
work we use the Dow-Corning line of RTVs which are non=corrosive.

The other thing about using RTV is that RTV needs
to be exposed to moisture to cure. So you don't
want to cover up RTV with anything like tape or
other sealants at least until the full cure time
of the RTV, otherwise the RTV will never fully harden but rather remain 
tacky.

73,
Mike K1MK

Michael Keane K1MK
k1mk at alum.mit.edu

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