[Elecraft] Weatherproofing Connectors.

Steven Pituch spituch at ev1.net
Wed Feb 16 10:16:42 EST 2005


Hi all,
Living in NJ for a while and having to have my connections withstand the
cold and ice, and now living in south Texas with the heat and humidity I
read years ago how to professionally waterproof electrical connectors. I can
not remember the source, but it might have been some 3M documentation.

1) make sure the connectors are tight.

2) wrap the connector completely with the vulcanizing rubber stretch tape
available at home depot.  This stuff has a red plastic backing that needs to
be removed.  You start the vulcanizing process by stetching it, If you don't
stretch it first it won't work.  When you stretch it it gets thin, dull and
greyish.  This stuff is very reasonably priced.  If it is cold out, warm up
the tape inside the house first, put it on your car dashboard defroster, and
store it in your armpit to keep it warm.

3) Overwrap the connection with vinyl electrical tape.  Stretch the tape so
that it is tight against the rubber tape.  You want no gaps.  Not stretching
it at the end is good to do to minimize the tape creeping in the heat, but
the next step takes care of this problem.

4)Now I can't remember what this next stuff is called but it is made by 3M
and is in a red can and is next to the electrical tape at Home Depot. Buy a
can of this stuff.  It has the consistency of contact cement or dark brown
snot.  This is really messy stuff.  The lid has a paint brush on it.
Throuroughly paint the electrical tape with this snot.  Put two coats on.
What this does is it totally seals all the edges of the vinyl tape.  There
is no way the vinyl tape wll delaminate once you do this.  The second time
you use the container of snot, you will need a pipe wrench to remove the
lid.

These connections will probably last forever.  I have never had a seal go
bad.

I use 10 gauge stranded house electrical wire for all my wire antennas.  The
insulation on the wire works pretty well after I solder all the connections
including the ends of the dipole. I coat all the exposed copper with this
snot, and it totally proects the copper from corrosion.

Geoff, you are right. Kurt N. Sterba, the antenna Guru, has constantly
faulted the ARRL for not properly showing how to waterproof the end of the
coax at its connection to the dipole.

Regards,
Steve, W2mY/5

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