In a message dated 96-08-27 23:52:22 EDT, you write:
>My friend Ben, KR6E, is about to put up a beam. He told me he bought some
>CoaxSeal. I told him that there was some much better stuff. Think it
>Scotch Kote or something like that. Think you sell it? You sent me your
>sales sheet, but I can't lay my hands on it (sorry!). Could you please send
>Ben the info. Thanks.
Hi, Hank --
CoaxSeal, or similar products, is used as a vapor barrier to keep
moisture out of a coax connector joint. I'm not a big fan of CoaxSeal
because it's not a quality vapor wrap like what professional communications
installers use. Tower Tech carries a butyl rubber vapor wrap by db Products,
a supplier of professional communications products and we sell it by the
foot. It runs $3.00 per foot (it's 3 inches wide).
The most important thing to remember when using any material like this is
that you need to apply electrical tape over the connector FIRST, and then
apply the vapor wrap. Putting CoaxSeal directly on the connector renders the
connector unusable if you ever try to reuse it -- it just gunks everything
up. Put 2 layers of tape over the vapor wrap and that'll give you a
professional, bombproof joint.
Here's aother hint: apply the last layer of electrical tape (you are
using Scotch 33 or 88, aren't you?) so that it runs UP the coax. That way
water will run down the layers of tape and not INTO them. It's like shingles
on your roof; if the tape is applied in a downward direction, the tape laps
actually channel running water into the joint.
BTW, ScotchKote is a liquid that is applied to the electrical tape when
you finished the above steps and it gives additional weather proofing to the
joint. By coincidence, Tower Tech has it for $16.00 per bottle.
73, Steve K7LXC
TOWER TECH -- professional tower supplies and services for amateurs
NON-standard disclaimer -- I DO speak for my employe and my opinions are his.
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