Cb disaster!!

Sounded to me like the OP could have had a bad antenna mount that he called a "block". This is very common with truck stop junk. A short or open in the wrong place can cause the symptoms he described. A simple OHM tester should be in every CB'rs tool box.

 

I agree with your diagnosis but I never said the antenna was the trouble. My first thought about the OP's trouble was grounding issues as well. I really posted to bring up the difference between Cu and Al issue.

"It is really really simple, there is only a few things that matter with cbs, and phsyics haven't changed yet. .... "

Not yet but if they keep getting too close to a Higgs field induced black hole at CERN you never know.

"I'm trying to figure out how does one hermetically seal an antenna coil"

Very carefully?

 

heat shrink tubing with internal hot glue work quite nicely for sealing a copper coil wrapped around a solid form.

 

Outlaw cb, I wasn't trying to argue, or start an argument. After reading your post I now understand what you are saying. My point about climbing towers to sand their antennss was an exagerated one. Ridgeline said it better when he said millions of au antennas on vehicles and towers without issue. That was the only point I was trying to make. I thought you were just bashing au antennas. Good points also on the static and bridges issue, ive never really thought of it like that before, but it makes sense. I can suck it up an admit when I'm wrong lol.

No worries 73s

 

Got it, sorry if I sound abrasive, its been a rather crappy day that started with the rain last night then fueling up a bunch of customers trucks and vans today, I ended up being sprayed with diesel from the defective nozzle.

Yeppers, the point is that it isn't brain surgery, many make it out to be but it isn't. Like the majority of radios out there in the market and in the past are pretty much the same circuitry and anyone with a screwdriver can figure out how to screw them up.

That's sealing the unit, hermetically sealed has the moister taken out and then usually sealed with an epoxy or in some cases glass. When I got laid off in 2003, I went to work at a place that does that, it is amazing how plastic doesn't melt when it goes through the process.

That said, I thank you for the idea of using hot glue, I am going to make some Baluns soon and I will try this instead of the potting epoxy to see if it makes a difference.

 

Bout Z, No problem I have always been too nit picky anyway. Besides I cannot hate Al my favorite vertical base antenna has always been (and always will be) the old original Sigma IV. Later known as the LW150, Galaxy 27, and most recently a Sirio Vector 4000. Still trying to understand why they call it 'new' in advertising since I have used various versions for over 30 years. Not only is it not new IMHMO it's not 'better' either.

Thinking about hermetically sealing the coil issue, the only one I have seen done right is the old original Audio King design. Even sealing one in a block of epoxy would fail after vibration created enough of a gap moisture would creep in and no doubt many have seen a Wilson coil full of water. In all the copies since if you look through the glass you see rivets at one or both ends of the ceramic form. Combined with poor seals moisture and road salt gets in causing chemical corrosion, partially due to dis-similar metal electrolysis (Cu wire and rivets containing Iron or Al). In the original design the wire was soldered at top and bottom, vanishing through the holes at each end of the form. He assembled them by hand under oil to work all the air out. Copies mass produced have both rivets and air inside, nothing like the original. Even with the original, sooner or later the seals would break down from vibration and heat in the sun. I suppose one finds an original NOS stored indoors but buys several to replace them over the years. Probably not worth the cost since the copies work just fine for 2 to 4 years and if one searches you can get them for less than 30 bucks. As I said elsewhere everything is a compromise.

Posted before I saw Ridgelines post (he must have typed it as I was working on this). I see issues with hot glue as well. The same as epoxy. It will never bond to the metal surface so well that eventually moisture cannot creep along the interface, especially after vibration has widened out the bond surfaces. I still believe the Audio King oil coil is better if one could come up with end seals that could take the abuse forever. Which we all know it cannot. Best bet is be happy with a few years then buy another.

 

lots of industrial shrink tubing has a built-in layer of hot glue which instantly melts and forms a seal when you apply heat from a heat gun and it is specifically made for underground power cables