I'd be inclined to look at radome construction. > http://www.mpdigest.com/issue/articles/2008/may/mfg/default.asp The E-3 AWACS is mostly S-2 glass, but they need the strength. For a radome sitting outside, you might be able to do better.
The advantage to S-2 glass is you can buy it easily, especially if you have a Tap Plastics handy. It works well with the Marine Resin they sell, so you know it will last a long time outdoors. You need to cure the resin in a vacuum, though not a particularly good vacuum. There are probably guides on the internet, but here is the basic scheme to make a fiberglass composite structure. Make a form of the final product. Cover the form in mylar. Tap Plastics sells the mylar too. The resin won't stick to the mylar. Cut the cloth to cover the form. Where you overlap, leave at least an inch. You need both the S-2 glass and the thin fiberglass mat. The mat is a very loose weave that can hold more resin than the glass. The basic construction is a sandwich of cloth, mat, then cloth. You can add more layers, but you always want mat between the cloth, and cloth on the outside. You will need more mylar to cover the last layer of cloth. This is to keep the air out. It helps to have this cut ahead of time because the resin will be hardening as you work. Mix the resin with hardener. Brush the mylar on the form with resin. The resin on the form is needed to hold the cloth onto it. Place the cloth on the form. Brush on resin. Cover with mat. Brush on more resin. Cover with the final layer. Apply more resin. Apply the mylar. Use masking tape to keep it attached. Wait two days. Note that the form has to be "destructible", that is you need to pull it away from the radome. Generally you use cardboard. An alternative scheme, though I don't suggest it for a radome, is to use a foam core. You can bush directly onto the form. You need to at least a layer of mat then cloth on both sides of the form. Apply the mylar and wait two days. The form is part of the final structure, so there is nothing to remove. Generally for antennas in radome, all you do is have a "weep" hole at the bottom the antenna to allow air exchange. _______________________________________________ time-nuts mailing list -- time-nuts@febo.com To unsubscribe, go to https://www.febo.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/time-nuts and follow the instructions there.