Hi Group,

What is the best cleaner to shine up my 2 meter beam?

de KJ4UO

On 07 Oct 2004 02:49:44 GMT, (PDRUNEN) wrote:
What is the best cleaner to shine up my 2 meter beam?

Hi OM,

Baking Soda and Vinegar - but why bother, gonna turn it into a
heliograph?

73's
Richard Clark, KB7QHC

PDRUNEN wrote:
Hi Group,

What is the best cleaner to shine up my 2 meter beam?

de KJ4UO

Assuming it's aluminum, I like Brasso. Or just 3M pads with a good rinse.

A 3M pad was worth about .4 dB on a range for me once at 432Mhz on a
17dB antenna. The antenna had been outside for about 2 years in MN.

tom
K0TAR

i suggest using WD-40 and a scotchbright pad
just spray the element down with WD-40 then wipe with Scotchbright pad
till clean then wipe off with paper tower
works well and low on the elbow grease scale as well

PDRUNEN wrote:
Hi Group,

What is the best cleaner to shine up my 2 meter beam?

de KJ4UO

"PDRUNEN" wrote in message
...
Hi Group,

What is the best cleaner to shine up my 2 meter beam?

de KJ4UO

You might try Noxon liquid (available in grocery stores) and a rag. Probably
easier to use than any kind of pad. I would also dismantle the driven
element, and clean off with steel wool any portion that gets clamped/bolted
together.

Tam/WB2TT

Advice from several gurus as garnered from the news groups over time.

For cleaning aluminum tubing, an antenna guru recommends the use of #0 steel
wool, along with dishwashing detergent. Another guru prefers Scotch Bright.
First wet the aluminum tubing with water and wet the steel wool. Add a small
amount of dishwashing detergent to the steel wool and then scrub the
aluminum. Rinse out the steel wool periodically with water. Then add more
dishwashing detergent to the steel wool and clean again. Rinse off the
aluminum tubing periodically. After cleaning a piece of aluminum tubing,
rinse it thoroughly with clean water and then dry it off with a clean rag.



When assembling an antenna, apply a very thin film of Penetrox-A
anti-oxidant to all of the aluminum-to-aluminum connections. Unless you
totally disassemble and clean the traps, never attempt to clean the outer
aluminum shells of antenna traps as water and steel wool fragments can enter
the traps causing shorts and excessive trap moisture content. When
assembling any aluminum antenna, put a thin layer of based-based anti-seize
compound on all aluminum to aluminum joints.



These are Penetrox-A from the Burndy Corporation or another is Noalox. Never
varnish any antenna - the varnish penetrates into the joints and causes
continuity problems. Painting antennas for stealth can be done. Disassemble
the antenna, apply paint, then scrape away any paint where the aluminum
makes an electrical connection. When restoring an old antenna, consider
replacing all the hardware (nuts & bolts) with stainless steel.


--
The Anon Keyboard
I doubt, therefore I might be



"Tam/WB2TT" wrote in message
...

"PDRUNEN" wrote in message
...
Hi Group,

What is the best cleaner to shine up my 2 meter beam?

de KJ4UO

You might try Noxon liquid (available in grocery stores) and a rag.
Probably
easier to use than any kind of pad. I would also dismantle the driven
element, and clean off with steel wool any portion that gets
clamped/bolted
together.

Tam/WB2TT

Keyboard In The Wilderness wrote:

Advice from several gurus as garnered from the news groups over time.

For cleaning aluminum tubing, an antenna guru recommends the use of #0 steel
wool, along with dishwashing detergent. . .

I've read that using steel wool will result in tiny pieces of the steel
being left embedded in the aluminum, resulting in long term pitting and
corrosion. Is that an old wives' tale, then?

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

Try Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish. When I was in basic training, there
was a guy that brought a can of Mother's with him. His stuff looked so much
better than the rest (everyone else was using Brasso) that they told him he
couldn't use it unless he supplied it to everyone. Yes, it's that good.

"Tom Ring" wrote in message
. ..
PDRUNEN wrote:
Hi Group,

What is the best cleaner to shine up my 2 meter beam?

de KJ4UO

Assuming it's aluminum, I like Brasso. Or just 3M pads with a good rinse.

A 3M pad was worth about .4 dB on a range for me once at 432Mhz on a
17dB antenna. The antenna had been outside for about 2 years in MN.

tom
K0TAR

No ! It definitely cleans and shines the anternna so objective is achieved.
Regarding possible destructive action , can you point to a study
that shows measurable losses with respect to exposure time ?
I am assuming that you are refering to cases where a sizeable portion of the
aluminum surface is removed and replaced by steel which somehow
prevent skin depth from attaining its original depth. ( not what the normal
operator had in mind)
But if you are refering to corrosion of the embedded steel particles
'tiny bits' that would be a nye impossible loss to measure and thus would
take it's place as "an old wives tale"
( Unless you have a study that proves otherwise
such as a .01" lump of steel embedded in a 1" diameter tube
provides a measureable loss )

Art

"Roy Lewallen" wrote in message
...
Keyboard In The Wilderness wrote:

Advice from several gurus as garnered from the news groups over time.

For cleaning aluminum tubing, an antenna guru recommends the use of #0
steel
wool, along with dishwashing detergent. . .

I've read that using steel wool will result in tiny pieces of the steel
being left embedded in the aluminum, resulting in long term pitting and
corrosion. Is that an old wives' tale, then?

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

CW wrote:
Try Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish. When I was in basic training, there
was a guy that brought a can of Mother's with him. His stuff looked so much
better than the rest (everyone else was using Brasso) that they told him he
couldn't use it unless he supplied it to everyone. Yes, it's that good.


Thanks, I'll give it a try.

tom
K0TAR