Coaxial Cable Replacement and Dielectric Grease Compatibility? (1 Viewer)

[Grayscale]

Internet is fickle. I keep having problems with a junction on the roof. Corrosion, cleans up well. Is dielectric grease not correct to keep the threaded part from getting nasty? Any positive experiences with a brand of weather resistant coax and connectors; this stuff is from the last century?

 

[1911]

I use NO-OX-ID on my outside ham radio antenna coax connections:

NO-OX-ID Electrical Contact Grease- Conductive Lubricant | Sanchem, Inc. - https://www.sanchem.com/electrical-contact-lubricant.html

You can also use a self-fusing silicone tape wrap around them after assembly.

 

[thatcabledude]

Use the grease if you want, but even without, the connection should be fine for a very long time unless you are installing garbage connectors or live on the beach.

Make sure you have “drip loops” in the cable to keep water from running down the cable and possibly entering the connection.

 

[Grayscale]

The earth connection for the cable is on a roof water drain vent, so if nothing else, it is a stinky steam cloud when the weather is cold and the wind blows that way.

The other day, I replaced a splitter that the cable company placed on the roof, and relocated it in the crawlspace, eliminating a couple of connections in the harsh sun (7,000') and weather. New RG6, and some connectors from HF that came with a good tool. Covered the equipment with electrical harness wrap, used tiny bit of dielectric. I was really tempted to shield the connections with heat shrink tubing, but, I don't know if the use of heat (lighter) will be worse that just uncovered exposure?

Just the section that was outside was replaced, I'll do the rest of the crawlspace work later, but, so far, it is much better running thru some old sections of 20-year-old coaxial. For everyone who has coaxial in their walls, how important is it to upgrade to RG6 to keep up with EMF interference?

I have this same problem about every five years, so maybe the cable should be routed thru conduit as it goes from the roof to the crawlspace? Home was built in the 50's, so most wiring is hackish with no ground on the original construction.

Thanks for the advice. I didn't know if dielectric was okay for sensitive electronics / digital signals.

 

[thatcabledude]

The earth connection for the cable is on a roof water drain vent, so if nothing else, it is a stinky steam cloud when the weather is cold and the wind blows that way.

The other day, I replaced a splitter that the cable company placed on the roof, and relocated it in the crawlspace, eliminating a couple of connections in the harsh sun (7,000') and weather. New RG6, and some connectors from HF that came with a good tool. Covered the equipment with electrical harness wrap, used tiny bit of dielectric. I was really tempted to shield the connections with heat shrink tubing, but, I don't know if the use of heat (lighter) will be worse that just uncovered exposure?

Just the section that was outside was replaced, I'll do the rest of the crawlspace work later, but, so far, it is much better running thru some old sections of 20-year-old coaxial. For everyone who has coaxial in their walls, how important is it to upgrade to RG6 to keep up with EMF interference?

I have this same problem about every five years, so maybe the cable should be routed thru conduit as it goes from the roof to the crawlspace? Home was built in the 50's, so most wiring is hackish with no ground on the original construction.

Thanks for the advice. I didn't know if dielectric was okay for sensitive electronics / digital signals.

Cable doesn’t go bad inside your wall. No reason to replace unless it is damaged. It doesn’t go bad outside either unless it has been chewed or damaged some other way. Any color jacket besides black degrades and falls apart from UV but that takes a long time. Rg59 sucks and warrants replacing if that’s what you have.

 

[Grayscale]

The tech from the cable company told me that the cable was bad / marginal for the length and specific use (to the modem). So, he ran a new independent line, just like an extension cord, on the floor of the crawlspace, and kept the old equipment for the televisions. That was years ago, and I think that it is time to update the entire coaxial line to the modem RG6 because I was under the impression that RG6 has better shielding from modern EMF interference. Whatever the cable company originally installed, it wasn't marked, or the marking faded. Regardless, I need to install the cable with more than x-mass lights sophistication; the internet suppliers told me to hire an electrician, but, I'm confident that I can route it myself along floor joists.