[TowerTalk] Coax ground braid

[Jim Brown]

On 4/16/2012 11:08 AM, Bob Ad5vj wrote:
> In doing so, after removing the outer jacket I see places where the copper is black in some areas. Some places as much as a foot long.
>
> 1. Will this hurt the conductivity as a ground braid assuning I clean it up where I make contact from the equipment?

YES -- that's corrosion, and it can greatly reduce the conductivity of 
the braid.

>
> 2. Has anyone seen this before?

Sure. it means your coax has gotten wet.

>
> 3. Does this mean I need to changeout all my 3yr old coax outside which came off the same roll at the same time?

If it all looks like that, YES.  I'd do some more inspection first.  
Water gets into coax either at connectors, or at tiny breaks in the 
outer jacket, look for damage and for poor waterproofing.

And I would be a lot more careful with what  I bought to replace it, and 
I'd also be VERY careful about proper installation of connectors, and of 
waterproofing all the connections.
73, Jim K9YC