[TowerTalk] Me vs Squirrels - conclusion

[Gene Smar]

Grant:

     Thanks for the info and especially for the link.  I now have it
downloaded into my tower docs on my PC.  The Andrew process seems to be for
symmetrical connections but not for the asymmetrical connection to a shield
ground.  (There is probably a separate doc for that.)  That's why I used the
mastic pad - it could be molded around the odd shapes that comprise the
ground connector and hardware.  For my next shield ground (when I install
the replacement cables on my tower), I'll use the Andrew doc and probably
even the Andrew materials along with the mastic pads.  Thanks again and HNY.

73 de
Gene Smar  AD3F


-----Original Message-----
From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Grant
Saviers
Sent: Sunday, January 01, 2017 9:58 AM
To: Gene Smar <ersmar at verizon.net>; towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Me vs Squirrels - conclusion

Gene,

Your latest waterproofing idea is a close clone of the Andrew splicing
process.

one layer of 3/4" 33 or 88

two layers of amalgamating sealant tape (more like butyl than silicone)

one layer of 2" 33 equivalent,, the 2" is important to not squeeze out the
sealant tape

another 3 layers of 3/4" 33  (actually the kits contain 3M Temflex brand, a
cheaper version of 33)

(my tower guy then adds a heavy coat of acrylic clear spray)

The Andrew kits are cheap (<$16 last bought) and have enough for materials
for a dozen UHF splices.

All comes off clean and is proven in commercial service.

Happy New Year to all!

Grant KZ1W

instructions at
http://www.commscope.com/catalog/doc/pdf/6568/Weatherproofing_Kit_for_Connec
tors_and_Antennas.pdf



On 12/31/2016 17:26 PM, Gene Smar wrote:
> TT:
>
>       A couple of years ago a squirrel (and I know which one he is) chewed
> through the outer jacket of all three of my tower's coax runs near ground
> level.  I taped them up as well as I could at dusk one day, but later
found
> that I had missed a few open jacket spots.  The SWR on the antennas would
> bounce all over the place when I ran near 100 W; I'd have to back down the
> power to get a stable SWR reading.  The braid I could see through the
jacket
> was darkened by corrosion.
>
>       I plan to replace all three coax runs to do the repair correctly
> WIGATI.  In the meantime (today), I  cut off the bottom five feet of each
> coax run and replaced it with a short jumper, a new crimp-on (I'm a big
fan
> now) PL-259 on the old cable end and a PL-258 barrel connector.  Before I
> cleaned up at the tower, I decided to take apart the homebrew shield
> grounding connection to see how it stood up to time (I installed the tower
> and cables in 2001.)  I posted about the HB copper flashing connector at
the
> time and subsequently:
> http://lists.contesting.com/archives//html/Towertalk/2011-03/msg00337.html
> .
>
>       I found that the outer layers of self-amalgamating tape and 3M 33
tape
> (one layer and 3 layers, respectively) were tough to cut through with a
box
> cutter (I cut my finger only once, though) but I was able to peel them off
> once they were opened.  The mastic was another story.  It had flowed into
> the open edge of the copper flashing and into the copper coax braid above
> and below the edges of the flashing.  Fortunately about 80 -90 % of the
> inside of the flashing was untouched by the mastic and, presumably, made
> good contact with the shield braid all this time.  The mastic was
impossible
> to get off the SS hardware and the flashing, though, so I'll have to
discard
> those materials.
>
>       In the future I will not use the mastic as a first layer.  I'll
> probably use a layer or two of 33 or 88 tape and THEN use the mastic pad
to
> cover the connection and the bulges around the nuts and bolts and to seal
> the gap between the coax jacket and the ground wire.  I would then finish
> with three wraps (up/down/up) of 88 tape then a single layer of
> self-amalgamating tape.
>
>       I have concluded that:
>
> O   The mastic tape does a good job in its intended purpose - permanently
> protecting electrical power connections and other energized materials.  It
> is NOT intended to be re-entered.
>
> O   I would not recommend trying to undo this type of connection up on a
> tower while being held in place by a climbing belt or harness.  I was
> pushing back from the connection too much while I was opening the
connection
> with a knife on the ground; that's too much risk for me aloft.
>
> O   I'm getting old.  My hands are sore from taping over the 3 new
> PL-259/258 splices.  Each splice was three wraps and each wrap was about
27
> turns of tape while keeping tension on the tape roll.
>
>       I have photos but haven't put them up on my Photobucket account yet.
> That'll have to wait until 2017.  Happy New Year to all.
>
>
> 73 de
> Gene Smar  AD3F
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
>
>
>
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