Tom,

I like the ideas you've already gotten, but I would also be sure  to 
clean all corrosion   from the terminal, whatever the terminal mounts 
to, and the screw itself.  Use a little steel wool, or swipe a plastic 
pot scrubber from the kitchen, or one of your XYL's emery boards when 
her back is turned.  If you use steel  wool, be sure not to leave behind 
any little bits of it.

Before reassembly, I'd use a dab of Penatrox or something similar.  It's 
also called No-a-lox and probably a few other things.  Can be had at the 
Homo Depot or  electrical place.   It's used to prevent corrosion 
between dissimilar metals. You only need a little bit.  Just a thin film 
on the mounting surface, both sides of the terminal, and the screw. 
Don't overdue it.   This stuff also comes packed along with
aluminum antennas  for putting between joints during assembly, so you 
may have some kicking around.

I'd also wonder about the  connection between the wire and terminal.  If 
it's soldered, it's probably fine, if its just crimped, who knows. 
Either way, I'd  check here for problems and at least do a continuity 
test from end to end.

73, Steve KW3A

On 8/7/2012 10:09 PM, Tom Behler wrote:
> Hey, all.
>
> I am sure this will sound very elementary to some on the list, but you guys
> are a tolerant group with lots of good Elmering, so here goes:
>
> In a last-ditch effort to troubleshoot the screw-driver HF antenna on my RV,
> I'm going to carefully examine the feed line for any problems.  There are
> also two round lug terminals on the antenna end of the feed line that I'm
> also going to replace.  One of the terminals is secured by a small round
> screw to the radiating element of the antenna, while the other screw secures
> the round terminal lug that goes to ground.
>
> Tonight, we were out at the RV briefly, and I checked the original round
> lugs on the feed line, and, despite my best efforts to protect them, they
> still felt corroded to me.
>
> So, my question is this:
>
> How does one best protect round terminal lugs that are subjected to outdoor
> conditions from corosion?
>
> I had used a small can of liquid tape from, I think, Lowes, but I honestly
> am not sure it did the job adequately.
>
> Any suggestions would be helpful, and, of course, I'll let everyone know how
> things turn out this week-end, when I'm out at the RV and have time to do
> the work.
>
> 73 from Tom Behler: KB8TYJ
>
>
>