Radio power output down to 30% or so

[TheRATT]

So, I just put up a Sirio Tornado a few weeks back and worked Japan, Australia and Brazil in addition to tons of southern US stations.

This past weekend, I left my radio on (just receive) for about 8 hours and when I came back, the first time I keyed up the radio (AM) was down on the meter from 90% RF out to 30% RF out.

The thing that happened that day was a huge downpour.

My first inkling is water in the coax, as my backup radio is behaving similarly. I don't wanna take the thing down unless that is the problem. I already have new coax and two types of 3M tape to waterproof the connection.

1. Do you think I'm the right track?
2. How do you waterproof YOUR connectors?

Thanks guys!

Here's a pic of my shack as a reward for reading my post.

 

[sp5it]

Measure on dummy load and come back with results.

 

[buickid]

Butyl rubber for weather proofing. Usually comes in a kit with several rolls of butyl, a roll of narrow electrical type tape, and a roll of wide electrical type tape.

It's a little messy but it lasts for years. First you wrap your coax and connector with the narrow tape. Always wrap from the bottom up to create a shingle effect, but not all the way up, you want a little metal showing where the butyl will seal. This is called a "courtesy wrap", makes it easier to remove it all for service later. Then you get your butyl, you don't need a ton, just enough to go around/over the whole connector and an inch or two of coax. Cut it a little short and stretch it a bit to soften it up. Wrap it around and press it together well, especially around the top where it meets the bare metal on the connector, and at the seam. Then you go over it with a wide electrical tape. Pull fairly tight, the idea is the wide tape squeezes the butyl together and fills any gaps left, so water can't get in. Again, bottom up, now go all the way to the top so it squeezes the butyl up against the bare metal of the connector. Try to keep it as wrinkle free as possible. Then, the last step, again with the narrow tape, bottom up, is a final layer over the wide tape, which makes it look nice, and adds a layer of protection over the wide tape. Don't pull tight, just slight pressure, and especially no pressure for the last inch or two of tape so it doesn't flag later.

One thing to note, some antennas have a weep hole at the bottom near the connector to let out moisture. If it does, do not block it with the butyl.

 

[TheRATT]

Sooo, finally got some daylight and low wind here in Western Wa, my inkling was WRONG!

The top set screw on the Sirio Tornado let go. The antenna simply slid out of tune.

Cancel red alert: all's well in the shack!

Thanks everyone!