I wonder if E-field antenna could be casted in resin to make it more weatherproof. Would casting detoriate the performance? I have thought to put the antenna inside a plastic pipe tube and then fill it with resin to seal it from rain and weather.
Comments appreciated,
OH4GRM
Basically potting the antenna. Potting should be fine since we are looking for very low frequencies.
May want to look for resins that are designed for that purpose.
OH4GRM Wrote:I wonder if E-field antenna could be casted in resin to make it more weatherproof. Would casting detoriate the performance? I have thought to put the antenna inside a plastic pipe tube and then fill it with resin to seal it from rain and weather.
Comments appreciated,
OH4GRM
This is what I did for my E-Probe. I installed a dummy 2" vent with a cap near the top of the rood. It sticks out about 12" above the roof line
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attachment=4217]
From inside the attic.
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attachment=4218]
I mounted the amplifier to a shortened 3/4" cap, put the coax inside the 3/4" pipe, screwed the end to the amplifier and place the cap on the pipe. The pipe is just long enough, so the probe wire does not touch the outside cap.
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attachment=4219]
I now place the 3/4" pipe inside the 2" and it rests on a screw at the bottom. (see picture 2)
This keeps it safe, dry and easily reachable. No going up and down the roof.
I forgot to mention, instead of using epoxy which is sort of permanent, you can use conformal coating. You get it in both brush on and spray.
For such a small board, I would use brush on. It will allow you much better control and keep it off the screw connectors.