Good deal Tom, Hope to catch you on some of the 160 contests this season.
Don't know if you can find the butyl rubber locally, perhaps a search on
e-bay will turn up something cheap.
Here is a link I had sent you some time ago:
http://www.championradio.com/shop/Weatherproofing.6
I've never bought anything from him, but it is run by K7LXC who has a
tower install business in the Pacific Northwest and he also runs the
Towertalk mailing list.
My personal preference is to use silicone self vulcanizing tape.
(sometimes called cold fusion, or splicing tape) and then several layers
of 3m Super 88 or 33.
As for the pulley thing: There has to be a way for you to get your
dipoles up and down by yourself. Put your thinking cap on.
73, Steve KW3A
On 10/22/2011 8:49 AM, Tom Behler wrote:
> Hey Steve:
>
> I know for a fact that my friend did the tape in the shingle-like method you
> suggest. He is a perfectionist that way.
>
> In the "should of" department, I can't seem to find those darn butyl sheets
> anywhere around here in semi-rural Central Lower Michigan. But, I'll keep
> looking. As for pulleys, according to my friend, pulleys don't seem
> practical for the current 160-meter sloper arrangement. I will gently quiz
> him on that today, since there might still be time to make a change if we
> want to.
>
> Finally, thanks for the "heads up" on the 160 meter CW contest tonight. I'd
> have to find out my grid square, but I can certainly get on QRZ and look it
> up, so that won't be an issue.
>
> Will keep you posted.
>
> 73 from Tom Behler: KB8TYJ
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Steve Forst"<[log in to unmask]>
> To:<[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, October 22, 2011 7:23 AM
> Subject: Re: Small dilemma; Need some advice
>
>
>> Tom,
>>
>> Like most of the multitude, I wouldn't worry about it. I've never been
>> a fan of coax seal. It is a real mess when the time comes to undo it.
>>
>> The 3M tape you used is good stuff. I think the only difference
>> between the Super 33 and Super 88 is the thickness, both are rated for
>> outdoor use. If your friend knows what he is doing, he should have
>> wrapped the final layer up from the bottom, towards the top. This
>> makes the final layer lay like shingles on a roof and water won't try
>> and work it's way under each tape seam, like would happen if the last
>> layer were done from top down. Either way, 3 layers of good quality
>> tape is going to be fine.
>>
>> Here are a few things in the "should of" department: Some time ago
>> there was a discussion of butyl rubber sheets for sealing coax outdoors.
>> Also some discussion of using pulleys to allow you to raise and
>> lower the antenna yourself. Oh, well...
>>
>> If your 160 antenna is up, there is a 160 CW contest tonight.Exchange is
>> 4 digit grid square and points are based on distance between grids. Try
>> it out and see if it works.
>>
>> 73, Steve KW3A
>>
>> On 10/21/2011 10:30 PM, Tom Behler wrote:
>>> Hi, all.
>>>
>>> Well, to make a very long story short, I have decided to take my
>>> troublesome
>>> Carolina Windom 160 compact antenna down, and am in the process of
>>> replacing
>>> it with a 160-meter sloper, and an 80-meter sloper that I purchased at a
>>> swap in my area last week-end.
>>>
>>> We are in the middle of the antenna replacement process, but I'm hoping
>>> it
>>> should be done by later tomorrow.
>>>
>>> All has gone well, except for one small issue, which I'm torn about how
>>> to
>>> deal with. This is the kind of issue where we've all been there when
>>> trying
>>> to deal with volunteer help who doesn't do things like we would.
>>>
>>> Anyway, my friend installed the 160-meter sloper at the top of my 40-foot
>>> mast, but when I asked him how he sealed the coax connection at the feed
>>> point, he said that he coated the connector with a dialectric grease, and
>>> then tightly wrapped three layers of electrical tape around the
>>> connection.
>>> The tape he used was some real good 3 M tape that I had gotten a while
>>> ago.
>>> I had wanted him to put coax seal on top of the tape, but he would not do
>>> it, arguing that what he did should be fine.
>>>
>>> Obviously, my concern is that the electrical tape eventually will
>>> deteriorate, and let water into the connection.
>>>
>>> I'm trying to figure out a tactful way to bring up this issue again with
>>> him
>>> when he comes back tomorrow, but, at the same time, I don't want to
>>> offend
>>> him, since he has done so much for me already.
>>>
>>> Does anyone have any ideas as to how to tactfully handle the situation?
>>> Obviously, if just having the electrical tape was good enough, I wouldn't
>>> stress about it, but I would sure hate to be introducing unnecessary
>>> problems into the situation here.
>>>
>>> 73 from Tom Behler: KB8TYJ
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>
>
|
