I'm trying to understand why a soldered connector, assuming both types
are weatherproofed properly, is superior for corrosion protection. Seems
to me Sn/Pb solder will corrode just as fast or faster than anything
else in salt air.
I'd say 90% of hams have no clue how to properly weatherproof a
connector. All you have to do is watch which end of the cable they start
wrapping stuff from to tell the connector is going to leak. Such as
starting the tape wrap at the connector and working down. You've just
created 6-8 seams for water to ingress. Start wrapping the tape, 3M 33
or 88, not some cheap crap from Home Depot, down on the coax and work
up. Layers of tape laid like shingles.
I weather "proof" my crimp connectors with glue impregnated heat shrink,
followed by 33/88, followed by coax seal followed by rubber tape and a
final layer of 33/88. All layers rolled half tape width per course and
bottom to top. It ain't pretty but I've never seen a connector I did
have a water problem, even 259's.
On 5/13/2016 2:46 PM, Don W7WLL wrote:
I live on the coast, just a few hundred feet from the Pacific. Most
wind is from the ocean onshore. The cable and sat installers here use
crimped connectors, fast which counts for the installers. HOWEVER,
later, they also spend a lot of time repairing lines and replacing
connectors which corrode via the salt spray and air, specifically the
work that is outdoors for periods of time. Varies of course depending
upon the protection provided. Like Paul, every connector used outdoors
at this house is 4 hole soldered for just the latter reason. And the
coax cover is properly screwed into the connector. Where I use barrels
to interconnect two cables they are covered with flooded heatshrink
and the heatshink ends double sealed with an application of 3M liquid
tape. I learned when I first moved here that while tape was great for
keeping water out most of the time, when I did find dry connectors,
they still were coated almost pure white with salt. So FAR DIFFERENT
from when I lived inland in Portland. There what corrodes and rusts
here in a couple of weeks would not reach that condx for years and years.
Crimping is great but one has to consider the environment when
choosing, at least that is the case here.
Don W7WLL
-----Original Message----- From: Paul Christensen
Sent: Friday, May 13, 2016 11:21 AM
To: towertalk@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] PL259 Cobbectors Part 2 - Murray W9EHQ
'I'm perplexed, but not really surprised, that hams still insist on
using
this kind of backwoods engineering when a better way has been
available for
decades. I guess old habits die hard."
If you mean crimped connectors as a "better way," I agree when they're
used
either indoors or when they're adequately weather shielded. Mechanically,
I've had more crimped connectors break and fail than soldered type when
high, accidental lateral force is exerted. For indoor use, I exclusively
use crimped type. For outdoors, almost exclusively soldered type.
Paul, W9AC
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R. Kevin Stover
AC0H
ARRL
FISTS #11993
SKCC #215
NAQCC #3441
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