Rubber boots a must?

[rowemance]

The easiest solution is to keep all your connections inside and if you have to ground outside then put it in a box.

This make your connections stay dry and looks a h*ll of alot better.

My personal favorite is the DNSC Techs that use the 2' leads off the dish and then use F-81 connectors to hook up the main lines putting an extra 4 connections outside, I can't count how many times these have rusted out.

 

[LarryG]

used heat shrinkable boots on mine, keeps all the water out

Same here, with a little RTV silicone sealint

 

[Mike500]

For those who are giving the hex crimp connectors a hard time.....Those blue PPC gel-filled connectors, 60%-quad, last for a very long time!!! Anyone who has used them in cable can tell you they can easily compete with any compression connector......you just shouldn't use them indoors because the silicone might leak out.

Although I still have a sizeable quantity of these, they are no longer made. Cox Cable was an avid user of the PPC blue hex crimps. They are no longer posted on the ppc web site; www.ppc-online.com

 

[Burt]

You should ALWAYS put on rubber boots when working with satellite stuff....

 

[SimpleSimon]

You should ALWAYS put on rubber boots when working with satellite stuff....

Nope, as several top-notch installers here have already said - and if I do say so myself, one more on that side.

I am fortunate - Colorado is arid. The only corrosion issues I have seen here is when drip loops aren't used, or vertical connections, or the like. In other words, when water can follow the cable into the connector.

As for the extra connections at the dish - that's just lazy/stupid. The only possible excuse is to tie in a meter, and there's no need to do that. Just pull back the main feeds and use a jumper. Duh.

 

[miguelaqui]

Messy? Weakens grd? I think not. Nothing is easier, cleaner, less expensive. or more effective.

The tech with over 20 years experience in the cable business said that anytime you install a non-conductive substance between a metal to metal connection, the connection will be weakened.....It does makes sense to me.
We switched to "F-Seal"...Multilink made it. On the tube, it said that the connection was made at the mandril, not at the threads; therefore the connection was not affected.. It was more of a teflon type, than silicone grease based. Using the teflon based compound also provided a better threadlock; it was less likely to allow the connector eventually vibrate off.
As far as not using connectors with o-rings....unless the port is 100% smooth and the mandril of the connector has not been bent at all...you are right, you do not need the o-ring.
I worked for one of the cheapest cable companies, but they still used the connectors with the o-rings, even back in 1989 when the SNS was new, because they decreased the number of service calls due to corroded connectors.
I can see where young techs could say that weather boots are a must. I recently had a COX tech tell me that, but I have pulled away several weather boots and saw lots of white corrosion.
The best way I ever saw was that company which used teflon on the threads only, not inside the connector near the mandril. The teflon prevented water travelling down the thread inside the connector. The o-ring inside the connector prevented moisture coming in from behind the mandril. The Compression from the snap-n-seal connector prevented moisture from getting inside the cable. There was a metal to metal connection at the mandril.

 

[inwo]

The teach with over 20 years experience in the cable buisess said that anytime you install a non-conductive substance between a metal to metal connection, the connection will be weakened.....It does makes sense to me.
We switched to "F-Seal"...Multilink made it. On the tube, it said that the connection was made at the mandril, not at the threads; therefore the connection was not affected.. It was more of a teflon type, than silicone grease based. Using the teflon based compound also provided a better threadlock; it was less likely to allow the connector eventually vibrate off.
As far as not using connectors with o-rings....unless the port is 100% smooth and the mandril of the connector has not been bent at all...you are right, you do not need the o-ring.
I worked for one of the cheapest cable companies, but they still used the connectors with the o-rings, even back in 1989 when the SNS was new, because they decreased the number of service calls due to corroded connectors.
I can see where young techs could say that weather boots are a must. I recently had a COX tech tell me that, but I have pulled away several weather boots and saw lots of white corrosion.
The best way I ever saw was that company which used teflon on the threads only, not inside the connector near the mandril. The teflon prevented wather travelling down the thread inside the connector. The O-ring inside the connector prevented moisure coming in from behind the mandril. The Compression from the snap-n-seal connector prevented moisture from getting inside the cable. There was a metal to metal connection at the mandril.

Only 20 years experience? Thats the mistake. After he's been around as long as I have, he will come around.

No, good electrician, will make a dry connection of disimilar metals. And all "oxide inhibiters" are not conductive either. All sealing material is squeezed out of the actual contact points.

A good test is automotive battery cables. I have always used burndy oxide inhibiter grease in them (not on). Never a problem!

 

[miguelaqui]

I found what I was looking for!

As I said, I never saw filling the connector with grease cause a problem, but , just once, I did a cable repair where the previous tech had filled the connectors with silicone grease. There were a total of six outdoor splices.

The signal was good at the tap. The tech had used the old crimp type; he must have been a contractor because we had not used those since 1989.
He had put so much silicone in the connectors, the barrel connectors were also filled on the inside.

I replaced all of his connections, then it was OK. I'm not sure whether it was a bad barrel or too much silicone.
I did find this chart..... Does it make sense that silicone grease would cause this much signal loss?

http://www.wavehunter.com/stuf.htm

 

[OoTLink]

You should ALWAYS put on rubber boots when working with satellite stuff....

[PS: If you think that pic aint too hot, I took it while standing under the roof, which was still about another 6ft up lol.]

 

[mntmst]

Here in the northwest rainforest I have always used scotchkote on the connectors . I have opened up cable connectors that have been exposed to saltwater and spray for years and are still shiny and bright because they were sealed with scotchkote on them.

 

[ZandarKoad]

miguelaqui, that is an amazing chart. Thanks for that. I've been using STUFF for the last 14 years (er... months. ). Works fine for me. My supervisors tells me to put a tiny little bit on the stinger. But the STUFF tube says to FILL the connector. I fill the connector about half way. It still squeezes out when I tighten the fitting. He says that it will weaken the connection. He's wrong (imho).

OoTLink: ROTFL!!!