Waterproofing PL259 Trick

I've been doing this for years, works particularly well with the new style connectors from Messi & Paoloni or EcoFlex from SSB Electronics. Callum.
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[@AlvinMcManus]

I love this simple and available, nearly no cost solution. If you don't have any Vaseline at your QTH find someone with a baby. They'll have some for sure.

[@vbrindle]

Short, sweet and to the point. I never thought of putting it on the thread though.

[@caerffili_callin]

I use an old bike inner tube cut into long thin (12mm - 15mm approx) strips, wrap from the bottom up, overlapping and stretching as you go held in place by electrical tape and a cable tie. Easy and non messy to use and remove.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Nice!

[@Siskiyous6]

I started doing that this winter with good results!

[@PajeroMark]

Hi Callum, loving all your videos as a fairly new Ham, shame about the other channel, all that work gone. I've another suggestion for you that you may not have heard of, that we've used in the heavy vehicle trade for years, "Denso Tape". It's a grease impregnated tape that you mould around the nut, joint etc. Keeps water etc out, and even after years when you go to strip the job down again, the thing is like new when you remove the tape. We used to use it on leaf spring U bolts that are exposed to all the road dirt and grime, and nut and threads as good as new underneath. Without it on they usually are seized and need heat to remove...Good stuff, and a roll lasts ages. All the best, Mark. 73 2E0SWK

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Ah cool!

[@edkretchmer2167]

Vaseline is a great inexpensive idea for connectors. But it can soften certain materials like latex rubber. I don't know if some gaskets or other flexible materials are made latex, but if they are, non-petrolium greases should be used. As a side note, I've used KY jelly for lubricating cable pulls and car vacuum hoses. It doesn't react with materials since it is water-based. Once it dries, it is gone without residue. (The downside is explaining why I keep KY in my toolbox!)

[@richardskalla8756]

I like that one!!! Great idea and I always have some on hand ready to go. Greetings from Siloam Springs, Arkansas.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Right on!

[@temporarilyoffline]

This winter might have finally done me in... Updates coming soon on the channel.

[@aldewitt9]

I know how you feel. You get to a point where you recognize good weather is a real blessing.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Ah. Did it finally bite you?! You need maintenance Steve!

[@temporarilyoffline]

@@DXCommanderHQ I need the snow to go away and the weather to warm up! In the meantime, there are other antennas to try.

[@EdzashedFudwinkle]

Only the outside plugs I do, vaseline someone has mentioned mentioned me before, I use a clear bath sealant, sets like jelly, and peels off in 1 piece. I do ha e some rg213 and mini8 that need plugs on, so I'll remember to add shrink wrap on 1 of the end's too.

[@GordonHudson]

I used to melt candle wax on them. With air cored coax I would run some of it into the first inch of the dielectric. I now feel like something from the 1920s. GM4SVM

[@DXCommanderHQ]

HAHA!

[@brothertyler]

I appreciate that, i thought my ATAS-120A went bad but it was water intrusion! Ill try the grease trick. Might use a lithium base though.

[@W9HJBill]

Harley riders ... the hard core ones ... have known about this trick to keep their chrome from rusting for decades. 😁

[@gothikia]

We do this with the motorbikes since no matter the manufacturer, the wiring is always atrocious. Like you say, works a treat!

[@Mr.Modulation.StatenIslandMic]

I use vaselina also since when you first had this video up a few years ago thanks for the tip cal

[@DXCommanderHQ]

No problem!!

[@davewood4604]

For many years I used to use liquid tape. Horrible sticky black paint goo that sets like rubber, that worked fantastically well but was a mess to put on, horrible on clothes and a pain to get off. Then when I started putting connectors onto all types of coax like waterproof F connectors; they are put together with special tools and you use silicone grease to put them together. Now that stuff is great, doesn't melt, doesn't run and resists just about anything. It is also an extremely good dielectric and does not react with plastics and so on. So I now use that on all my connectors. It is great but a little tacky on the fingers. Whilst I am still playing with my DX commander I have used it as Callum suggests on the threads. Once I get it moved to its more permanent home I'll use self amalgamating tape. I also use glue lined heat shrink from the connector body over the coax

[@stuartlee8041]

Years ago I used Lard, it worked brilliantly...

[@nathanw851]

And all the nearby rats come for a sniff, and then think "ooh, coax. I bet that'll worth a nibble" :D

[@stuartlee8041]

@@nathanw851 I was very young, and I put a CB aerial on top of an apple tree fixed to the trunk, after a while the performance dropped, I climbed back up the tree and found water in the connector, with nothing else available I coated the pl259 in lard, it worked for perfectly well for years, when I took it down and scraped off the lard, the connector was shiny and silver underneath and as good as new, no teeth marks honestly 😃

[@chrisjohnson8741]

Anhydrous lanolin is king of the hill for keeping fittings operating smoothly on boats. It's cheap and long lasting and available at almost any pharmacy. I'm not sure about its electrical properties but I'd be inclined to try it, at least on the threaded parts.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Yes, I think that would also work!

[@aldewitt9]

Great advice

[@acestudioscouk-Ace-G0ACE]

Simples! ...and genius.

[@ArcticBlues1]

Good Job! Thank You :)

[@jackK5FIT]

I tend to check antenna systems from time to time and a couple of times a year I will check my pl259/so239 connectors that are out in the elements. Since your tip about using petroleum jelly I've been coating the so239 with a light coat on the threads then resealing with self amalgamating (did I spell it right) tape. Never had an issue and we get a LOT of rain and wind and those awful summer temperatures. Trade off for mild winters. Thanks! Jack K5FIT

[@DXCommanderHQ]

That's the real trick.. Regular checking and maintenance! Good tip!

[@blomidon]

My DX Commander mast has been under 20cm and more of snow since I took it down in early January for adjustments. The next day it snowed and the snow is still there. We do have a bit of rain forecasted for this week but temperatures are still hovering around zero. It’s not going to wake up from its hibernation yet. The PL259 should be fine as it’s been below zero, but I did take your advice and used Vaseline as a precaution . VO1OK

[@macgyver5108]

I just use dielectric grease like you're "supposed" to use on all your exposed automotive electrical contact points, like fuses under the hood, signal lights ETC. And for more permanent base station use I slip on adhesive lined heat shrink tubing first before filling the connectors with dielectric grease. It comes off easy enough with a few light and careful passes with a razor blade and lasts for DECADES that way too!

[@chrissewell1608]

Vaseline does work, in a pinch. but may wash away eventually? A being a petroleum product may dissolve some plastics and rubber o-rings. Silicone grease is used for under water seals and o-rings, because it doesn't wash or dissolve away. But I think its conductive to electricity! And that is where Dielectric Grease comes into play. Its tacky and won't wash / dissolve and doesn't conduct electricity!

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Oh yes :)

[@VickyGeagan]

Callum, I have a mate that used to my an US Air force Mechanic "been retired for quit some time. He told me that they used petroleum jelly for the same thing. They also use Phillips Milk of Magnesia in place of never seize on the Air force's ram jets. Due to the fact that it holds up under extremely high heat.

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Amazing!

[@SeanBZA]

Silicone tape works well there, and will come off as well, without leaving a sticky mess, because it only sticks to itself.

[@paulhastings3109]

Been doing it for years. Just use good coax and Connectors

[@jessiehorne]

I am going to have to be the person I guess 😅 I have for years been using No Ox-ID A special dielectric grease for my electrical/radio connections. I guess it due to be always having some around the house from when I was boy as my father was an electrical powerline service/repair man (linesman).

[@leo3times]

Yeah, we used to call it No-Lox. It's for dissimilar metals l, Copper to Aluminum connections. Keeps aluminum fittings from binding when tightening. I use it on car battery terminals also.

[@JustinWoodTV]

funny thing is I put my 10 meter dipole outside yesterday and I used silicone around the connector

[@mikeymouse4629]

Thank you for that information. Should you stick with a non-conductive grease (like vaseline / dialectric grease) or can you use a conductive grease like Noalox ? DX Engineering video says not to use conductive grease, but other videos say to use it to seal coax threads. So, should I use Noalox or Vaseline? Thank you

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Oh heck, I don't know.. All I can say is that for YEARS, I've been using Vaseline on threads. Works for me.

[@michaelpolimer2128]

glue lined heat shrink over the connector to cable section, Dow Corning DC-4 grease on the threads and on the face of the SO-239..........if you use tape, if water does get in it can't get out, DC-4, self amag tape, Scotch 33 for something up on a tower you don't want to fool with for years, by all means Vaseline for temp situations....... cheers Mike, K1FNX near Boston

[@YLRaisa]

I never imagined that Vaseline could be used for such a purpose, Callum 😆

[@DXCommanderHQ]

@YL Raisa Yes Raisa, I am ALWAYS connecting and disconnecting PL259s so for me (and holidays) keeps the threads good and my hands soft!

[@oldfartonabmx2122]

I recently read about “conductive grease”. I’d been thinking of trying that. Good for battery posts too apparently. Wonder how either would go in the Australian heat? I guess I’ll find out.

[@larrypicard5969]

I don't know where your conductive grease will be going but I suggest that there would be a real possibility of it bridging the center conductor to the braid side causing a short. Alternatively, if the Vaseline gets into the socket, it could form a thin dielectric layer. I would suggest being very careful about applying Vaseline directly to the connectors. This would be especially so if you disconnect-reconnect them frequently. Some one should do an experiment with a few brands of coax and see what long term exposure/contact does to the jacket and insulating materials. I think that there would be considerable risk from Vaseline. There may be better alternatives but I recently purchased a product sold as dielectric grease. I have yet to try it. Placing this around the connection but not within the connector might be a good alternative. I would also suggest wrapping the connector with gauze or absorbant paper impregnated with a product like dielectric grease. I think you would still need to wrap with self-annealing tape.

[@oldfartonabmx2122]

@@larrypicard5969 good points. The conductive grease would go on the braid as the plug is screwed on, and the thread of the plug when in use. I’ll have to think about it further.

[@paulgraham5790]

I don't know how good that would be in Australia when it gets above 100 deg F.

[@stevet7522]

What about Teflon tape? The stuff I use in plumbing. That should work pretty well

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Of course. I'm sure but often I am disconnecting and connecting regularly..

[@W9TSB]

I use dielectric grease.

[@jesseobrien5864]

I live 3 stories up in Portland Oregon. I have a handheld radio and pl259 connecter. What can I use for an antenna to slap on my sheet metal roof outside my window

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Mobile magmount.. CB antenna.

[@ferdinandwp4rjl377]

Lord CALLUM, Good morning. I have a question about an antenna that keeps giving me trouble. It is for 2M/70cm. The end that screws into the antenna so259 gets water logged and it's damaging my LMR400. The antenna is Tram 1481. Suggestions

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Hmmm. I guess you need to find where the water is dripping from alternatively, wrap it all up in self-amalgamating tape..

[@ferdinandwp4rjl377]

@@DXCommanderHQ thank you, I have done just that a few times and it is really driving me bonkers.

[@ShadoMoosess]

How often do you need to change/add more vas?

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Erm.. I can't remember. Say annually? The stuff I put on 2 years ago is still OK.

[@w4kxt]

Do you recommend that with solder on connectors or crimp connectors?

[@DXCommanderHQ]

Erm.. Depends on the connector type. I use EITHER Mesi and Paoloni OR SSB Electronics and follow their instructions. They are also waterproof anyway.

[@davewood4604]

@@DXCommanderHQ Second that, both the ones I use. I have not seen better.