[TowerTalk] insulating properties of cured and uncured silicone caulking

[Wes]

I have no opinion or knowledge about this, but if you have any type of impedance 
analyzer, why not just take another connector and slather the stuff on and 
measure it?

Wes  N7WS


On 5/24/2023 6:10 PM, Haring family wrote:
> I've covered the back of a SO-239 at an antenna feedpoint with silicone
> caulking. It wasn't electronic grade... it was probably from Lowe's or HD.
> GE "SIL2KB CLR", Mod. GE284. It's Silicone 2 (without acetic acid).
>
> I started checking my antenna impedance immediately, and all my readings
> were lower than expected. Then I started wondering if uncured product was
> more conductive than cured.
>
> Then I found that silicone caulking can be anywhere from "high dielectric
> properties" to pretty conductive, depending on what the mfgr stuffs in with
> it.
>
> In hindsight, I should have checked the antenna before gooping it. And I
> should have sprung for some electronic grade, maybe.
>
> Ok, here are the questions - but feel free to to add more if I've missed
> the basic issues
> :
> 1. Does anyone have experience with GE284 for electrical insulating
> properties, specifically RF, and what was it?
>
> 2. Would you expect properties to differ between cured and uncured GE284?
> If so, would you expect uncured to be more or less conductive?
>
> thanks in advance,
>
> Dave Haring N3AC
> Forest, Virginia
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