[AMRadio] antennas

[Jim Wilhite]

Hi Paul,

Tacky tape is almost like Coax Seal in appearance and consistency.  The 
stuff I have is 1/2" wide and probably near 1/16" thick.  I found this 
by accident as well and did a search for it based on the name on the 
cardboard roller at the center of the roll.  Here is the website for it 
so you can read it.

http://tacky-tape.com/

It is made by a company called Schnee-Morehead and works well.  They 
sell stuff to  the military and other companies like one would expect, 
but I didn't delve into the differences of the various types.  After 
finding it for sale in several places, I checked prices and being a 
notoriously cheap ham found it less expensive so I thought I would pass 
the information along.

Given it appears that it is going to be a long winter, I felt it best to 
do things now while it is very nice, even by Oklahoma standards.

73

Jim/W5JO


----- Original Message ----- 



> Jim,
>
> You've done well to get to your antenna maintenance before it's so 
> cold the soldering gun won't even work (has felt like that anyway).
>
> I googled the "Tacky Tape" to see if it's the same stuff I'm thinking 
> about, and nothing came up to match what I also will pass along --
>
> "Rescue Tape" is one brand of some self-fusing tape that you can wrap 
> connections with and it cuts off cleanly, as opposed to Coax-Seal and 
> other variants of sealant.
>
> This stuff, and there are websites describing it fully, stretches 
> significantly to apply layer pressure on the wrap, and then it fuses 
> to itself like a self-vulcanizing patch.
>
> I originally got onto it when I found a case of it at a state surplus 
> warehouse. Military nomenclature, and it had a taper to it where the 
> center thickness was perhaps twice that of the edges, so it would 
> feather along nicely and not bunch up.
>
> Excellent dielectric too, and apparently they've improved it today 
> from the early stuff.  The directions back then said to wrap it with 
> conventinal electrical tape to prevent UV deterioration, but now I see 
> it has inhibitors built-in.
>
> Don't know about a cost comparison, but anything that's watertight, 
> physically strong, and non-corrosive (unlike silicon seal) is worth it 
> to me.
>
> Best wishes
>
> Paul