Roger's heat shrink removal explanation shows one peril of adhesive heat
shrink, that is the adhesive is not really adhered to the connector
body. Andrew specifies preheating of Heliax connector bodies prior to
slipping on the adhesive shrink and then shrinking the tubing. Of
course the larger the connector, the more it is a heat sink that doesn't
get hot enough thru the wall of the tubing for the adhesive to tightly
bond to the metal.
IMO, unless the adhesive is adhered to the connector the joint will be
tight, but not totally watertight. However, there still is some
protection and an excellent strain relief. I think the cable jacket
fairly easily gets hot enough to have the adhesive stick to it.
Grant KZ1W
On 12/21/2015 12:08 PM, Roger (K8RI) on TT wrote:
If the connection is cool or cold, this approach works better than
warm or hot.
Room temp works well, but may leave more residue.
There is a bit of a learning curve. Some pick it up right away while
others, not so much.
Using a sharp knife, or box cutter with the blade extended just enough
to cut through the heat shrink.
Make a single cut lengthwise from one end to the other of the heat
shrink. A second cut on the other side works well, but it's another
chance to cut into the coax jacket. The cut does not need to go all
the way through the heat shrink
Using a pair of pliers, channel locks / slip joint pliers grab the
heat shrink at or close to the cut with the other jaw of the pliers
about one third of the way around the coax and pinch the heat shrink.
If you go too far it will pinch the coax. That should pull a section
away from the coax jacket Repeat on each side of the cut along the
length of the seat shrink.
Doing takes less time than explaining.
If the connection is cool, the heat shrink adhesive "usually" breaks
away from the connector, leaving the connector relatively clean.
http://www.rogerhalstead.com/ham_files/connectors.htm The splice
shown in the bottom right side photo shows a N-Type connector splice
after the flooded (adhesive lined) heat shrink has been removed. Some
residual glue is visible on the coax jacket but the connectors are
relatively clean
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