[TowerTalk] heat shrink weathering

[Joseph or Ruth Patrick]

Good Morning Grant

 I can't give you an exact figure as to the life of the heat shrink tubing. If 
you can find out who the manufacturer is they should be able to help you out. I 
have used heat shrink on connectors that were hard to seal properly. To close to 
something, not enough clearance etc. I have had some in use for 5 years now. 
Recently I had to replace an insulator on my mobile set up. I cut off the heat 
shrink and the PL-259 was bright and shiny as when I sealed it. I can't give you 
a name because the piece I have left is not marked. I did use the type with 
adhesive inside. Also look for a 3 to1 shrink ratio. If you don't have a heat 
gun I would suggest you purchase a cheap one unless you plan to use it a lot. I 
picked one up  on E-bay for$20.00 + shipping. Yeah it was really cheap but it 
worked fine and still does. Just go slow and don't get it to hot. I also use a 
silicone based paste named "STUFF" inside the connection. Had good luck with 
that also. The adhesive type is hard to remove. Maybe some SteppIR owners can 
help with that.  Good Luck let us know how you make out.
 73 DE K4XZ Joe Patrick
God Made Man
Sam Colt Made Them Equal 




________________________________
From: Grant Saviers <grants2 at pacbell.net>
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Sent: Sun, September 11, 2011 7:59:10 PM
Subject: [TowerTalk] heat shrink weathering

I'm building a new SteppIR beam and they have changed from tape wrapping 
the fiberglass element joints to an adhesive lined heat shrink "CANUSA 
CFTV".

This approach seems better than two layer's of Scotch 33 plus a layer 
self amalgamating silicone tape which is what is in the instruction book.

My question is how long does the heat shrink/adhesive last in the 
weather, sun, etc?  Apparently CFTV has been used for some time in the 
cellular business and a fellow towertalkian might have observed the 
performance for 5 to 10 years.

I have plenty of silicone tape and plain old #33 so could wrap each heat 
shrink piece if that is warranted.

73,

Grant KZ1W
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