[OFARC] Antenna repairs

[Matt P]

Ralph,

The liquid electrical tape is good for limited situations however can wear
off or crack in the sun and weather eventually letting in moisture. Better
options that are more durable and keep your connectors in like-new
condition would be rubber tape (3M type 130C, good but expensive), or even
better self-amalgamating tape such as CO-AX seal  or readily available 3M
type 2228.

All of these tapes have to be stretched to bond and to each other and form
a virtually solid mass forming a water-tight seal. Don't ever use Type 33,
88, or other vinyl tapes to try and seal connections; these will not give a
water-tight seal no matter how much you use and are really only used for
color coding wires or other temporarily "fixes".

73,
Matt
W2NS

On Mon, Sep 13, 2021, 18:46 ralph phillips <ke5hdf at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> My 2m antenna has been doing really well but started acting erratic this
> morning.  SWR started at at 1.8 and finished at 4.5!
>
> Not good when a storm is coming.  I have an antenna for 440mhz and one for
> 2m fed with a single coax and then a tee with jumpers the antenna.  Took it
> all apart, liberal use of contact cleaner, put back together and heavy
> coating of liquid tape.  Used a hair dryer to help it set.
> SWR now 1.2
>
> LESSON ..... Connections can work well in dry weather but leak when it
> rains.  Check the seals periodically
>
> Ke5hdf
> Ralph
>
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