[TowerTalk] water in coax

[Jim Lux]

Martin Ewing AA6E wrote:
> The pros often pressurize their lines, I believe, to keep water out.  
> Have amateurs done this?  What would be involved?  PL-259's aren't going 
> to help.
> 
> 73 Martin AA6E
> 
We have pressurized hardline at W6VIO, the JPL amateur radio club, but I 
suspect that we're not exactly amateurs in the sense you mean.  In any 
case, there are fittings made for this kind of thing.  I haven't seen 
them for RG-213 sized coax, but I'm sure they exist.  They also are used 
by telcos with multiconductor cable.  You don't need a lot of pressure, 
just enough to keep stuff out.  Something could probably be improvised 
using a compression "T" type fitting with rubber gaskets instead of the 
usual ferrule.  Some fiddling in the plumbing department of your local 
hardware store might find stuff that would work.

Tessco might have them.  I found all the compressors, etc., but I didn't 
see the connectors/fittings in the catalog, but I'm probably looking in 
the wrong place.