Chuck, Thanks for that explanation. That's very interesting. I do use N-connectors and when I seal them, I wrap them twice, even three times with coax-seal and then go back over it with electrical tape. I know that there is no way for water to get in, that's why I was leaning towards the condensation. In one of the connectors that I found water in, I cut the tape and the coax seal and noticed everything just outside the connectors and the cable was dry. When unscrewing the connectors, I found water droplets inside. Like you, I didn't think condensation was to blame. So I even went as far as cutting the coax to see if it somehow water seeped through there, and it was also dry. Do you not think that with a big temperature change condensation could take place inside the connector? I can't claim that here in Louisiana we have drastic temperatures, but we do have the occasional upper 90 degrees day followed by a sudden thunderstorm.
I will give the electrical grease a try. Hector -----Original Message----- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Chuck Enfield Sent: Friday, May 16, 2008 10:37 AM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Outdoor wireless and connectors... I've had good success with Scotch 2228 rubber tape with mastic, overwrapped in the opposite direction with a good electrical tape. The electrical tape is primarily for UV protection since the butyl rubber sealing tape doesn't hold up well under the light. It's a good idea to overwrap the electrical tape with friction tape if abrasion is any concern at all. I've never used coax-seal, but I'm familiar with the product. If you're tightly compressing the coax-seal to fill up the gaps, then I'm doubtful that water droplets in your connectors are due to condensation. In extreme weather (100f & 100% humidity) the saturation point of water vapor in air is around 3%. If there's 2 cm^3 (estimated) of air trapped in an N-connector, then there's less than .1 cm^3 of water vapor inside. Condense that vapor and the droplet will be so small that you might not be able to see it. If you wanted to be safe, you could fill the connector cavity with electrical grease prior to mating the connector halves. I've never done it, but it should be fine electrically and there wouldn't be any water vapor to condense. This may also help if the water inside your connectors is due to intrusion rather than condensation. Chuck Enfield Sr. Communications Engineer Penn State University Telecommunications & Networking Services 110 USB2, UP, PA 16802 Ph. (814) 863-8715 Fx. (814) 865-3988 -----Original Message----- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Hector J Rios Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2008 8:35 AM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: [WIRELESS-LAN] Outdoor wireless and connectors... For those that are doing outdoor wireless, I'm wondering what you use to seal your exposed connectors. We use coax-seal but we've had a couple of issues here and there where we still find water inside the connectors, most likely due to condensation. Thanks, Hector Rios Louisiana State University ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.