Mail*Link(r) SMTP RE>>Scotch Kote?
Ok, this prompts a question from this corner. (I have used the commercial
wrap, it is good, but I am cheap). I have been using two types of wrap under
the 88 tape for 15-20 yrs now and have had nadda problem, but would like a
pro's opinion....i.e., have I just been lucky?
One wrap I have used (and I do not have the commercial name) is a rubber tape
that is sticky on one side. This is a stretchable tape and makes a good tight
seal around the connector. It is a tape used in the telecommunications
industry in the outside plant environment. (On the roll, the sticky side is
protected by a plastic cover that is taken off prior to use). The closest I
can describe it is a quite thick sticky version of normal rubber tape.
The other tape is a soft rubber compound that comes in a tape "form" but the
only "stickiness" is due to the inherent stickiness of the compound. It is
somewhat like the commercial wrap except thicker (probably >1/8") and comes in
widths varying from 1" to 2" (depending on what I can get my hands on). By
stretching it, the thickness will approach that of the commercial wrap.
Again, a product used in the telecommunications industry as a seal for splice
cases, etc. and again, I don't know the commercial name. The nice thing about
this second product is that it is "somewhat" re-usable. That is, it does not
lose its stickiness over time. Of course the removal of it from the connector
shell pretty much destroys that part of it, but the part still on the coax can
still serve as the base for new over the shell itself. It can be formed then
into a seamless rubber boot....
Opinion? Gud stuff or lucky?
ps...regarding the Scotch Kote vapor seal, how would that compare to a
spray-on vapor seal that used to go by the name of Seal Kote (or something
that sounded like that). I had never thought of using a vapor seal over the
88 tape....gud idea.
73
Chuck
WA0ROI
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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
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