27 meg Aerial.

[Donny Boy]

My 27 meg antennae has a plastic coating on it which has cracked, split, broken open to expose the copper wire beneath.

Question : Is there a place / does anyone know where, I could get it re- coated, or will I just put the rubber shrink tubing around it and heat it until it fits ????

Did that for the CB in the 4be & seems to work fine, but that ain't the water...

[bigjimg]

Get the heat shrink with the hot melt inside it.Get from electrical supply joint.Jim

[finga]

Jaycar matey.
That's the shop or Tandy have the heatshrink with the goo too.
Like this http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView...k&form=KEYWORD
You would not need the super duper good stuff as it won't be submerged (hopefully).
Just take all the loose white stuff off and make sure the copper wire is reasonably clean and slide the heatshrink on and heat up with mum's hair dryer.
Better then new.
Or if you want to colour co-ordinate just use the normal heatshrink of the colour of your choosing and put some sealer ie sikaflx around the perimeter of the aerial at each end under the heatshrink before you shrink it.
Pretty yellow or blue would be nice.

[Donny Boy]

Pretty yellow or blue would be nice.

OOOooooooooooohhhhhhh thuper. xxxxx

[PinHead]

Come on Don...just makes it a marvellous lightning conductor just the way it is.
Where is your sense of adventure ?

[SatNav]

1. The antenna is stuffed, the inner wiring has been exposed to the elements, so forget the expensive glue heatshrink option, waste of time.

2. The antenna is obviously old, replace the antenna, much better option in the long term.

[finga]

1. The antenna is stuffed, the inner wiring has been exposed to the elements, so forget the expensive glue heatshrink option, waste of time.

2. The antenna is obviously old, replace the antenna, much better option in the long term.

Could you expand on that a bit please?
I, for one, am curious and always willing to learn.
Thanks then
Scott :smiley:

[Noelm]

I guess I sort of agree with satnav, a 27 meg antenna is really quite cheap when you consider thay often last for years and years, just buy a nice new one, that way all the connections and things will also be nice and new. By the wya, I reckon it could be repaired as mentioned, but you need to weigh up saving a few dollars, against the thing buggering up altogether just when you need it.

[finga]

Yep, absolutley, totally agree if the aerial is years old and the white stuff has been coming off for yonks and the copper is all green and yuck.
But if the crack just appeared and the copper wire is nice and clean is there any reason not to do a repair??
In these cases much better to be safe then sorry.

My VHF split aerial 2 weeks after I got it. It rubbed on the tie down strap and let go like an over ripe banana.
I was initially worried about the conductor but investigation and surgery found no problems. A bit of resin cored heat shrink and jobs done.
I was amased at the lack of quality the factory coating has. Near GladWrap quality I thought.

[Noelm]

yep, agree on the coating, especially on the budget ones, kind of hard to imagine how they can get plastic so thin huh! I assume they make the whole thing, then just dip it in molten plastic and hang it out to dry.

[FNQCairns]

Also too with 27meg if the SWR goes out too far from a less than fit aerial, it will kill the radio...not worth the risk IMO.

[deckie]

Jaycar matey.
That's the shop or Tandy have the heatshrink with the goo too.
Like this http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView...k&form=KEYWORD
You would not need the super duper good stuff as it won't be submerged (hopefully).
Just take all the loose white stuff off and make sure the copper wire is reasonably clean and slide the heatshrink on and heat up with mum's hair dryer.
Better then new.
Or if you want to colour co-ordinate just use the normal heatshrink of the colour of your choosing and put some sealer ie sikaflx around the perimeter of the aerial at each end under the heatshrink before you shrink it.
Pretty yellow or blue would be nice.

Yeah i cant see jaycar being much use for the stuff with goo in it...unless he wants a matt black aerial :cheesy:.

The only stuff with the goo they sell is black...i;ve said to em 20 times why the hell dont u stock at least red as well.

They do all sorts of colours and sizes pretty cheap in standard stuff tho...for the price may as well renew it every 12mths.

[jtpython]

Have a 27 meg unit here and arial for you if you want it mate . Not used here
JT

[oldboot]

Forget checking the SWR of any of the ground independent aerials....they arent tuned by SWR and they usualy dont read well by groundplane standards.

As far as dual wall adhesive lined heatshrink...I have never seen it from any supplier in any other colour than black........

The heat shring used by the manufacturers or these antennae is a hard thin plastic and a but difficult to get onto.

The original stuff would not be adhesive lined.

If you are using normal heatshrink...the black stuff will probably cop the UV better.

If you are going to put some goo up the shrink , then shrink it, to seal it .... silicon is better that sicaflex ( polyeurathane)...I've found the poly sealants are a bit too viscous and the shrink hasn't got the force to squeeze it.

cheers

[finga]

Yep, only ever seen black in the goo filled.
The better quality heatshrinks can push the sikaflex out no-worries at all.
I do it all the time. And it's not as though your putting a tube of the stuff up the heatshrink. Just a smear around the circumference of the aerial and you can see it come out when the heat goes on.