Mounting outdoor antenna & waterproofing....

[fires999]

Good evening from East of England.
Quick question please, I have a stand alone telescopic mast ( tripod style) and have fitted a commercial uhf antenna with NType connection.
To keep it dry, clean etc , is there a grease or similar to smear over coax end and N type plugs?
I know I could use self - ammalgamating tape, but I've used that before and whilst it does seal to itself and does the job, but if I need to undo coax it is such a pain trying to remove tape and then go through process once I've finished - with a grease type solution it would be so much easier.
So any idea if such a "grease" exists ?
Off readers use vaseline/petroleum jelly to waterproof engine electrics...can I use same ?
Thanks as always in advance,
Have a safe weekend,
Kevin ( US Airforce Fire Dept- Europe/England)

 

[prcguy]

In my 40+ yr career I have not seen a grease used as the sole weatherproofing item. For moderate weather and home installs a couple of layers of Scotch brand 33+ tape has lasted over 20yrs and when taken off the connectors have been clean and dry. For commercial usurped I always use the Andrew antenna (now Commscope) which puts down a layer of black electrical tape then a layer of thin flat brutal rubber then a top layer of thick wide black tape that will outlive all of us.

 

[TGuelker]

When I connected the LMR400 to my Diamond discone, I used 3M Super 88 tape. The first layer was put on with the adhesive side out. Then another layer was put on with the adhesive side in. If the tape needs to be removed, since the adhesive is not touching the coax, there will be no residue. In my case there was not enough space between the OD of the N connector and the ID of the tube for the discone so I couldn’t use Coax Seal.

 

[JustinWHT]

The first tape layer with sticky side out, we call that a courtesy wrap. Tape about an inch on both sides short of final layers then tape directly in coax sheath.

Removing tap tip - in the utility knife section I store look for a hook shaped linoleum blade. You can cut the tape without accidentally nicking the coax

 

[G7RUX]

There are a number of approaches to this but the process used at many of the transmitter sites I have worked at is this:
1. Wrap connectors with self-amalgamating tape to provide a clean barrier for the second step.
2. Wrap the whole area with lots of lead in and out with Denso tape, using at least 50% overlap on each turn.
3. Apply copious extra Denso grease and smooth over the whole joint, making sure it is properly integrated.

It is messy but works extremely well and you could omit the self-amalgamating layer if you wanted to.

 

[FKimble]

Folks, he's asking about a method for frequent removal for what ever reason, not how to weather proof a connection for a 50 year life span!

Frank

 

[G7RUX]

Folks, he's asking about a method for frequent removal for what ever reason, not how to weather proof a connection for a 50 year life span!

Frank

Denso comes off easily and does not damage what is underneath it. It is cheap, simple to apply and very effective…

 

[JustinWHT]

Removing tap tip - in the utility knife section I store look for a hook shaped linoleum blade. You can cut the tape without accidentally nicking the coax

Also called carpet blade.