outside coax pl259 to antenna connection.

[merlin]

In time, the connections will go bad, even for humidity. If you are lucky, you may only have to clean the antenna SO239 and cut back a foot of coax and new connector.
I pack the inside of connections with DOW # 4 compound (Molycoat), wrap a layer of electrical tape and cover the woks with FlexSeal. 20 years and like new.

 

[mmckenna]

thanks. i hope there is no damage.

Oh, one thing I left out about the electrical tape.

The tape itself is like plastic and it'll stretch. Often you'll see people pull the tape to break it rather than cutting it.
When you stretch the tape like that, it elongates before it breaks. The adhesive gets stretched along with it, and ends up being too thin to hold.

So, when doing the electrical tape wraps, always cut the tape with scissors or a razor blade.

If you pull it until it breaks, the weak adhesive will result in the tape unraveling and flapping in the breeze.

A sign of a good technician is when you see them with the scissors or razor blade along with the tape.

 

[Delivers1234]

Thanks. 2 antennas re sealed. That coax seal was a little brittle and harder to manipulate so I had to cup it. I used the super 88 after. I also found spiders. One more antenna comet gp3. It’s higher than the rest though. Thanks for help.

 

[paulears]

I think it is wortused just a few h thinking about things like this from a practicality aspect. The one thing with comparing typical amateur/hobby radio to professional installation is the necessity for long trouble free life vs cost and simplicity of process.

What I mean is that if you stick up a Diamond on the end of 10m of RG213, then what you are really looking for is an instantly working antenna and decent performance. If in two years time it dies due to water ingress, the antenna bolts will be rusty and perhaps snap off and the antenna, cable and connectors get scrapped. You've spent perhaps well under a hundred quid and got two years. If you sealed the cable end up top with stretched PVC and a decent overlap and lots of winds - 2 years is not unreasonable - but once the water is in, it gets up the inside very rapidly. Water can easily travel a very long way.

If you buy a roll of proper tape, and do the job properly - for the less demanding amateur use using the professional sealing techniques can extend life quite a long way - my commercial UHF antenna has been up for nearly ten years, performance the same as new.

Much depends on what you want, and how long you want it to last. It's just a choice. PL259s vary from decent ones with seals to ones with tapered threads - one foggy wet night is enough to start the rot!

 

[Delivers1234]

So one more question. My antennas are around the 2nd floor roofs. Which should be higher my 2m/70cm comet antenna or my gmrs antenna?

 

[paulears]

The highest gives the best performance.

 

[mmckenna]

So one more question. My antennas are around the 2nd floor roofs. Which should be higher my 2m/70cm comet antenna or my gmrs antenna?

Yeah, really depends on what you want to listen to.

Higher gives you more range. But a couple of feet isn't going to make a big difference. Usually you can run things through a "distance to horizon" calculator and let that help you decide, but in reality, plus or minus 5 feet doesn't translate into a very big difference in distance to the horizon.

If you are using mostly repeaters, then it won't matter. All your repeaters are going to be mountain tops in your area.