[TowerTalk] PL259 Cobbectors Part 2 - Murray W9EHQ

[Jim Thomson]

Date: Sat, 14 May 2016 03:08:04 -0400
From: "Roger (K8RI) on TT" <K8RI-on-TowerTalk at tm.net>
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] PL259 Cobbectors Part 2 - Murray W9EHQ

Yes and it does!

Liquid electrical tape is about the only thing that works and stays.  I 
will be using it where the matching coax ts soldered in on the C3i 
antennas.  I was really surprised to find the solder joints gone on the 
144 and 440 antennas.

Epoxy works, but it deteriorates over a few years where the outer layer 
of the liquid tape only dulls a bit, which I believe is due to dust 
settling or "stuff" in the rain.  At-any-rate the liquid tape remains 
viable as long as I've had it up so far. (Not quite 12 years)
(bottom photo on link) http://www.rogerhalstead.com/ham_files/tower.htm  
Click on photos for a larger view.

Unfortunately I have no current photos as that is now near the top of 
the tower that I can no longer climb.  I might give the 500mm telephoto 
lens a try.

I'm going to add a common mode choke of 8 turns of RG-400 on 7 cores as 
it is an end fed quarter wave fed against the tower. I've been thinking 
about a number of coils in a box switched in at the feed point to add 
length, so I can switch the resonant point down.  I believe that will be 
more efficient than just a tuner in the den, or shop.

73 es thanks.
Roger  (K8RI)


##  a  c3i is a 6m yagi.   On any of these f12 yagis, or similar, I use
10 ga  silver stranded teflon wire, with heavy duty crimp lugs, for the 
10-24  machine screws going through them.   After crimping them, I also solder them. 
The completed lug then resides between  2 x  SS flat washers, with a 
split ring ss  lockwasher outboard of that, then a pair of SS nuts outboard
of that.  Then put what ever  goop you want on the hard ware. 

##  Im not fond of using SS hardware for ant connections to an AL  DE.
Phosphor bronze hardware is what the big boys all use in the commercial world,
for their  1-300 kw HF  AM SW  arrays.   SS  will turn black if you put enough 
current through it.   


Jim   VE7RF