[time-nuts] GPS antenna installation problem
Magnus Danielson
magnus at rubidium.dyndns.org
Mon Mar 2 08:09:33 UTC 2009
Steve Rooke skrev:
> Gaffa tape the cable to the supporting pipe with a small drip loop
> into the connector.
No. The glue of Gaffa tape ages. Also, it is not very nice to the cable.
Gaffa should not be used for permanent installations. For temporary
installations I prefer using a strap (no the narrow plastic straps, but
the wither weave-type, not sure what they are called in english) running
at least one turn around the cable. Dropping cable that way helps. For
longer runs the cable should be strapped to some fixed structure or a
steel wire and done in such a way that the cable is not fully stretched,
so that each strap-point actually takes the force of the cable downto
the next strap-point. This way the cable does not get to carry heavy
loads, which it is not designed for, the dielectrum does not get a firm
grip around the center wire...
In general Gaffa should be used conservative and only for short periods
of time as removing the glue becomes an issue and even more annoying as
it has dried out and hardend to the surface but lost the grip to the
actual tape... which makes the grip brittle.
Cheers,
Magnus
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