VERY MESSI COAX!
Last year I bought some Messi and Paoloni Hyperflex 5 coax cable from ML&S and last night I decided to reroute it. This involved me cutting off the PL-259 and putting a new one on, but sadly I wasn't able to complete the work.When I cut the outer sheath, I could see that the copper braiding was black as the ace of spades! My rerouting meant that I could afford to cut back much further, but no matter how far back I went, the braid was a matt black and I wasn't convinced that this would make a good connection to my new plug, so I binned the whole lot.
From what I've read, the "Black Death" is usually due to the outer sheathing becoming porous and the spongy dielectric stores the moisture, making the problem worse. Some people say it's due to UV damage to the sheathing which then becomes porous. One thing's for sure, though - it's not due to any moisture ingress through the PL-259 because I used very high quality compression plugs and then double-taped them (self-amalgamating tape and UPVC tape).The coax is only a year old and rests on top of a tiled roof. It's never been stretched or under any stress. It's very disappointing indeed, especially considering that I've got other antennas fed with much cheaper 4yr old RG8 MINI.
Anyway, lesson learned - you don't always get what you pay for :-(
73, Tom, M7MCQ.
4 comments:
Hello Tom, never seen water coming through the outer sheat of a coax. I use Aircell7, H2007, LMR400 and some pieces of RG213. I thought Messi&Paoloni is high quality coax? So far it happened to me once but that was water coming through the PL259 which I covered in rubber tape but probabely not good enough. Self amalgating tape will crack in a few years time, especially when it gets hot. There is also a difference between the one and the other self amalgating rubber tape. I now use very thick stuff but use to have the thin variant before. Well, only buying new coax is an option for you now unfotunately. 73, Bas
Hi Bas, hope you're okay.
Yes new coax arriving today. Messi & Paoloni IS supposed to be high quality but someone actually warned me about Hyperflex when I bought it - it turns out he was right.
I used the thick self-amalgamating tape (that rubbery stretchy one) and then covered it well with UPVC for added protection. When I was removing it to get to the PL-259, it was VERY MUCH intact and in great shape, so no issues there.
Very strange indeed.
Best regards,
Tom, M7MCQ.
Good morning Tom, that is very sad for sure and I would had thought Messi and Paoloni cable was better than that. Did you contact them and send them pictures of the coax? I would like to read their answer and how they deal with you as a customer with coax that really in the big picture is not that old.
73,
Mike
VE9KK
Hi Mike, to be honest, I don't feel inclined to contact M&P because I imagine that they'll be defensive and point the finger at me in some way, so I decided life's too short and ordered something else.
The new stuff just arrived so I'm hoping the rain stays away when I get home from work.
Thanks for the comment.
73, Tom, M7MCQ.
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