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Re: LF: Pyrotechnic insulators

To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: LF: Pyrotechnic insulators
From: "Mike Dennison" <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2001 16:53:52 -0000
In-reply-to: <000801c0846c$fed23fa0$90ce28c3@ericadodd>
Reply-to: [email protected]
Sender: <[email protected]>
G3YXM wrote:
> I sympathise about the insulators, with QRO it's a battle just to
> keep things running...

Keen subscribers to this group may remember that my cable-tie insulators failed last weekend, and that I assumed this was due to them becoming brittle in the sub-zero temperatures.

I took the mast down on Sunday and found that the insulators had been sparking and had burnt through. Since they had worked fine up to then, I assume this was because they were coated in ice and snow. I have replaced them with 100mm lengths of 5mm thick perspex (that's Plexiglass for those divided by our common language) cut from a large piece that I picked up at the Puckeridge LF site. I did wonder whether the cable ties had been sparking before they became iced up, and expected to see an increase in current at the feed point caused by an increased voltage at the far end. However, there was no change so cable ties make perfectly good insulators when not icy.

I have taken some photographs of the dead insulators, and will post on my web site soon.





Mike, G3XDV (IO91VT)
http://www.lf.thersgb.net



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