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Posted: 5/30/2021 7:54:30 AM EDT
[#1]
Quoted: ARGH. I forgot to wrap coax sealer around the fitting before I cranked the antenna up. It has rained for the last 2 weeks pretty much daily. SWR went from 1.1 to 2.0. I'll post a pic from the antenna analyzer when I ran the cable test. I have RG-213 up 50 feet into my antenna. It has been up 4 years and survived 90+ mph winds, hurricane wind and rain and I never wrapped anything around the so-239 connection. It still works just fine. SWR can go up just from the wires being wet and the guy chord being wet especially if the chord or wires took a tree or the ground. Water conducts electricity. After it dries out, I bet everything is fine and the SWR goes back to normal. ETA: I also have 2 VHF antennas with no wrap |
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Posted: 5/30/2021 9:54:01 AM EDT
[#2]
Are there any trees near your antenna? I have a bunch of pine trees within ~15 feet of my trap dipole and when it rains, the swr skyrockets on 15, 20, and 30. On 40 and 80, it's barely noticeable.
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Posted: 5/30/2021 1:01:54 PM EDT
[#3]
If you have actual 9913, water just flows down the spiral around the center conductor and rapidly ruins the entire cable.
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Posted: 5/30/2021 2:53:13 PM EDT
[#4]
I've transitioned a lot of my stuff to use N connectors for these very reasons. A nice Amphenol PL 259 crimp connector is about the same cost as an N connector.
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Posted: 5/30/2021 3:21:34 PM EDT
[#5]
As an FYI, SWR isn't necessarily a good indicator of water intrusion, sometimes the problem just goes into loss and SWR doesn't increase or even decreases.
The only PL/UHF type connector that's even remotely weatherproof is the RF Industries clamp connector, but I'm not sure if it has a gasket inside the threaded collar or not. Anything that goes up in the air needs at least a quick wrap of silicone self-sealing tape. |
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Posted: 5/30/2021 10:13:45 PM EDT
[#6]
Quote HistoryQuoted: If you have actual 9913, water just flows down the spiral around the center conductor and rapidly ruins the entire cable. Real Belden 9913. Dumpster find. New on reel. |
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Posted: 5/30/2021 10:17:19 PM EDT
[#7]
iirc, 9913 is well known and referred to as "garden hose"
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Posted: 6/1/2021 9:05:47 PM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted: If you have actual 9913, water just flows down the spiral around the center conductor and rapidly ruins the entire cable. Quote HistoryQuoted: If you have actual 9913, water just flows down the spiral around the center conductor and rapidly ruins the entire cable. Quoted: iirc, 9913 is well known and referred to as "garden hose" FK. One end was hanging from the bottom of the antenna. It DOES have a platform above it. However, I have no idea how much water blew onto it. I think I'm going to chop 10' off of each end, strip the insulation from the removed 10' section, and poke it with a moisture meter. I think I can find a piece that has been indoors its whole life to do a baseline measurement. I'll let you know what I find. Garden hose. FK. |
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