Painting an aluminum antenna

[The DB]

now don't be a sore looser captain . you don't see radio stations painting there antenna's either so just man up and say , hmmmmmm there has to be a lot more tests done. no drinking here ok . ps. don't paint any antenna , its like choking your RF . <gotproof>

This is a win or loose scenario? Interesting... News to me... I was under the impression that we were trying to answer a question about painting an antenna, not win an argument... And for the record, Captain Kilowatt is correct.

You also used a "gotproof" emote, where is this proof of yours?

Long story short from someone who has actually painted antennas in the past, you just need to make sure you use the right type of paint, and keep the paint away from the matching section if one exists.

I have used Krylon paints in the past with very good success, and have seen epoxy paints used with great success as well.

Oh, and HVMNJ, to address something you mentioned earlier...

maybe its ok on much higher frequencies . I would not do it on low band tho .

If paint affected antennas a noticeable amount, it stands to reason that the more sensitive higher frequencies would be affected more. The higher 2-Meter/70-Centimeter frequencies don't penetrate surfaces as well as the lower 11-Meter frequencies you are used to, and thus, if there were an effect it would be more noticeable at the higher frequency ranges. The fact that we have people who have painted these antennas with no noticeable ill effects, and some even come from the factory painted, suggests only that the paint is not a problem.


The DB

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

now don't be a sore looser captain . you don't see radio stations painting there antenna's either so just man up and say , hmmmmmm there has to be a lot more tests done. no drinking here ok . ps. don't paint any antenna , its like choking your RF . <gotproof>

Hey Db. See where HVMNJ says radio stations don't paint their antennas. Apparently he does not read so well as i said we DID in fact paint the Sinclair Radio Labs point to point yagis at the station where I worked. Also the Jampro FM antenna bays were painted for the same reason. Further PROOF he is wrong.

He just flashes in here and posts shit at times and then flies out again. i as well as several others are tired of it. He has been warned and has five days off to consider what he wants to do. He is just playing around.

 

[The DB]

Hey Db. See where HVMNJ says radio stations don't paint their antennas. Apparently he does not read so well as i said we DID in fact paint the point to point yagis at the station where I worked. Also the Jampro FM antenna bays were painted for the same reason. Further PROOF he is wrong.

I stand corrected in that regard, although I think he was referring to the main broadcast antennas and not the point to point antennas you referred to.


The DB

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I stand corrected in that regard, although I think he was referring to the main broadcast antennas and not the point to point antennas you referred to.


The DB

Would it really matter? LOL :laugh:

 

[The DB]

Would it really matter? LOL :laugh:

I doubt it.


The DB

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I love how everyone shares a brain in here , and allows google to be there savor .:bdh:

And you have provided PROOF? Where?

you guys are wrong .

There you go again. Everyone is wrong but you.

if you paint the antenna , trouble will follow . I myself and some others have done it.

So have some MAJOR antenna manufacturers and there are no problems. Why can't you admit that Larsen, Diamond, NCG. etc know more than you do? How long does it take for trouble to follow? The VHF Sinclair Radio Labs yagis were more than 20 years old and subjected to severe icing conditions hence the heavy coating of paint. The Jampro commercial FM antenna was of about 1967 vintage and was taken down every 5-8 years to repair ice damage depending on the damage. The gamma arms would get broken from falling ice. each time they were taken down they were given a fresh coat of flat black paint. Upon being reinstalled the SWR was immeasurably low. It only increased due to ice accumulation or damage.

after a while paint melts , rust , swr is effected . a hole bunch of stuff goes on .

Paint does not melt nor does it rust and the stainless or aluminum under it does not either. It may chip off a tiny bit but that is it. Also why would SWR be affected by it coming off if it was not affected by it going on in the first place?

buy a good meter that shows the parameters . its hard to beat a technician and master of the propagation . <gotproof>

You are right. I spent 22 years in the broadcast business and have over 36 years in the radio communications business in general. I have learned a lot of truth and debunked a lot of false info in those years.Some of the meters I have used on systems with painted antennas include Coaxial Dynamics, Bailey, Bird, Nautel, Gates, and Harris. The last three are commercial broadcast transmitters with built in SWR detection systems. If anything was going to go wrong it would with over 25 Kw applied to it. :bdh:

 

[kd-5-bgt]

My experience with painting an antenna ...I personally have not done so but I do see antennas painted various colors. My 2 meter Larsen mobile antenna has a black stinger from the factory...has it effected the performance? I dont think so...swr is all but flat at set frequency and under a 1.5 to 1 at band edges....My personal experience in this matter tells me that painting an antenna will not make any difference if done with the proper prep work,primer,and paint/coating

I do know certain color pigments for paint do contain metal , will they effect the antenna? Some might do just that if you dont do your homework concerning the type of paint/coating you are using

Plastic coatings ....My dipole has a green plastic coating on the wire and unless I am badly mistaken that has yet to effect anything.I see this on a regular basis all around my area.Some will say use a bare wire only... some will say the coating doesnt matter...personally speaking I dont think the plastic coatings on romex wire will make any difference that can be measured since I see both bare wires and coated wires for diploe antennas

Icing for me personally does make a huge difference that I can see on my SWR meters on any band I run ...the more ice the more trouble I have with SWR as well as ice loading in general

As far as knowing everything about antennas and coatings.....I dont know squat compared to most folks......for me personally.....just use a bit of common sense ,that tends to go a long way in this hobby

 

[kd-5-bgt]

I just had another thought. I wonder if HVMNJ has informed the FAA and the airline industry in general that all those painted antennas on commercial airliners either don't work or will fail at some point causing great risk of life to all on board. A great number of airliner antennas are actually part of the flight surfaces and are in fact painted.

CK that is a very good point...wish my cobweb filled brain would have noticed this before I posted....

About a month ago I talked to a guy that was in a commercial jet on 17 meters ,the planes HF radio antenna is in the leading edge of the rudder and covered by a plastic or maybe rubber as part of the in flight deicing system for the plane.... no trouble hearing him or me getting to him

I guess the FAA comms department dont have a clue as to how radios and antennas work

 

[AudioShockwav]

OK, If this thread seems a bit Fragmented and has a few seemingly off topic comments it is because I cleaned it up as best as possible.
The guy who messed it up was in the wrong section, I hesitate to call him a Cb`er more of a Key-clown because I do have respect for ALL types of the radio Hobbyists, regardless if it is Ham/CB/FRS/MURS/SWL whatever.
Sooo with that said, lets get back to the OP's Questions and answers.
73 All


Jeff

 

[Lil'Yeshua]

CK that is a very good point...wish my cobweb filled brain would have noticed this before I posted....

About a month ago I talked to a guy that was in a commercial jet on 17 meters ,the planes HF radio antenna is in the leading edge of the rudder and covered by a plastic or maybe rubber as part of the in flight deicing system for the plane.... no trouble hearing him or me getting to him

I guess the FAA comms department dont have a clue as to how radios and antennas work

Yea! I was thinking about de icing boots yesterday but didn't know they had one of those antennas in them.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

OK, If this thread seems a bit Fragmented and has a few seemingly off topic comments it is because I cleaned it up as best as possible.
The guy who messed it up was in the wrong section, I hesitate to call him a Cb`er more of a Key-clown because I do have respect for ALL types of the radio Hobbyists, regardless if it is Ham/CB/FRS/MURS/SWL whatever.
Sooo with that said, lets get back to the OP's Questions and answers.
73 All


Jeff

Good move Jeff. I actually was going to have a second look at this myself when I got back home but you beat me too it.

I offer my apologies to the forum members for continuing in the manner it was headed however as said before, this is certainly NOT the first time the key-down clown as Jeff calls him, has done this sort of thing and it gets extremely irrating. Although it may not be the first time hopefully it is the last.

Carry on.

 

[kd-5-bgt]

Lil I didnt know the transcon radio antennas were located there either,and I never really gave it much thought.

The guy I was talking to was the captain of that aircraft and he gave me a link to look at...there was a pic of the plane he was flying as well as a close up of the rudder with a caption saying the antenna was located inside the leading edge.....

I picked him up as he was over the St.Louis area and we chatted till he had to start talking with the tower at Dallas. The radio was a fixed power 450 watt USB only rig that could work 20 to 10 meters ham bands as well as the trans oceanic aircraft frequencies ...slick set up !!

EDIT : here is the linkie for the contact I made to that guy

http://www.worldwidedx.com/dx-contacts/151524-interesting-contact.html

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Not trying to beat a dead horse here or anything but something else just occurred to me. I should have thought about it yesterday but more than 26 hours of no sleep left little room for thought. AM broadcast antennas are actually the towers themselves. They are vertical radiators. They are usually painted alternating colors of white and red. This is not a special paint other than being formulated to protect against rust such as Trem Clad or Rustoleum brands. It is simply painted onto the steel structure and not "bonded" to it. It neither affects the impedance (SWR) nor the efficiency. So now we have seen that painting an antenna does not affect medium wave frequencies, HF frequencies, VHF high band frequencies, and even UHF frequencies. I wonder what could be left. SHF or EHF? Up there you are getting to the point where rain droplets affect things however I doubt anyone here is too worried about that.