[TowerTalk] Protecting Aluminum Antennas

[Jim Thomson]

Date: Sat, 19 Mar 2016 08:53:51 -0700
From: David Gilbert <xdavid at cis-broadband.com>
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Protecting Aluminum Antennas


I'm not advocating anodizing antenna elements, only disputing that it 
makes any difference electrically,  Anybody not capable of abrading the 
anodizing at the joints shouldn't be putting up antennas anyway.

Dave   AB7E

## agreed,  simply grind off the overlap portion with emery cloth etc. 
Now this all assumes that the tubing was anodized on the outside only. 

##  back in the late 70s,  I had a spray bomb of this  stuff,  called 
high voltage acrylic plastic,  made by GE.  Came out clear.
It was the bomb.  Even used it on air variables on a friends 
160m  shunt fed tower.   Previously it would  arc with just 100
watts, (and tuned to flat swr  with low power).  After spraying
it with the GE glop,  it  would not arc with 1.2 kw ccs. 

##  I used it for all sorts of stuff, including hv supplies  etc, or anywhere
you wanted a cheap and fast method of beefing up HV  stand off.

##  Then built a HB  10m yagi, using 1 inch  6061-T6  tubing..and 
.875 inch tips. ( 1980).    Tubing was scrubbed  with  sos /jets scouring pads,
( used for scouring pots and pans) till the  tubing gleamed. (6061-T6 is gunky 
since its oil quenched, done in an oil bath).   Then rinsed with garden hose and dried in the sun. 
Then spayed the GE  glop  on all the  els  for an experiment.  They stayed
shiny and clean, and just started wearing off   just a few years ago. 

##  So it will easily last  30 years.   Problem is, I have never been able to find
it anywhere, and have casually looked over the last 15 years, to no avail. I anybody
knows where to buy it, let us all know. 

##  Dunno what GE put into the mix, but it was the best stuff out there. 30++ years
of exposed to water, ice, UV, snow, dirt etc  is good enough for me.   It was also used
to make a gamma  match for yagis, just by spraying it on the inner al tubing.

Jim   VE7RF