Several people wrote to me describing Noalox as a greenish substance that
contained no conductive component -- that it was merely a chemically
neutral grease. They explained that this material wasn't suitable for
antennas since it didn't improve the conductivity of the joint.
I took a careful look at the stuff I bought at Home Depot. It is made by
Ideal Corp, which has offices in the US and Canada. There's no other
markings or indication of ingrediants. The package is pretty generic.
Opening the jar, the substance inside is decidedly gray, not green. I put
some on a piece of paper and tested it with a DVM. No continuity until
the tips were brought (barely) in contact. Smearing the stuff around, it
is very hard to tell if there are embedded particles, since they must be
quite small. However, even a thin layer is rather opaque, so it does give
every indication of having embedded zinc.
This substance gives every appearance of being a colloid - a suspension
of very fine particles in another substance. It is extremely thick -
moreso than mayonaise. Spreading it on paper does not effectively wet the
paper like a pure grease would.
Either Ideal has changed their formulation, or they have created a
slightly different substance than what is sold as Noalox by someone else.
I went ahead and used it.
Bill Coleman, AA4LR Mail: aa4lr@radio.org
Quote: "Not in a thousand years will man ever fly!"
-- Wilbur Wright, 1901
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