Antron 99 use washers or not?

[Master Virus]

Bought an Antron 99 to get me up and running and i was wondering if the washers were left out would it cause high swr or is this an old wives tale?
I'm also going to waterproof the antenna.

[Master Virus]

Its cool i found out my answer, you need them

[Tigersaw]

You mean the spring washers between the 3 pieces? Nope you don't need them, just makes it a bugger to take apart, and makes the seal poor letting water into the thread (last bit is my opinion after trying both ways)

[Master Virus]

yes the locking washers, some said if you don't use them it works its way apart and the swr goes high, says that in the manual too, but i've seen a lot not use them.

[ROTEL240]

I have never used them I put a rubber o ring over the threads then tightened the two sections up and put self amalgamating tape over the joints. I have a spare set of washes here if anybody wants them FREE pm me.

[Master Virus]

Well i was thinking the washers were going to let in water and you could tape the joints to stop water getting in.
Thanks for the replies though.

[astradyne]

When I used an A99 I didn't bother with the locking washers, but I did use something called Threadlock. You just apply it to the thread just prior to assembly. It's strong enough to hold the antenna together and prevent it from unscrewing, but not so tough as to make disassembly difficult.

[Master Virus]

I don't think i will bother with the washers and i will get some thread lock.
Thanks to all that replied.

[Stronty]

I don't think i will bother with the washers and i will get some thread lock.
Thanks to all that replied.

Personally, I had an A99 up for 8 yrs in serious wind and rain (location dictated that) It's base was around 25/30 ft up. I used the locking washers as the designers intended, thread lock could be used in conjunction I suppose but I wouldn't!

Rather than pass of as my own words see below. That's enough to put me right off!

Locking washers do what there supposed to do if installed correctly, water ingress and other failures on A99's have different cures,leaving the locking washers off isn't one of them imo.

Your choice.

"the problem is that all liquid chemical threadlockers are insulators, and because they have low viscosity and cover most/all of the thread, they ruin any electrical or radio frequency (RF) bonding that a fixing might be supposed to provide."

https://www.emcstandards.co.uk/never-us ... -electrica

[astradyne]

I don't think i will bother with the washers and i will get some thread lock.
Thanks to all that replied.

Personally, I had an A99 up for 8 yrs in serious wind and rain (location dictated that) It's base was around 25/30 ft up. I used the locking washers as the designers intended, thread lock could be used in conjunction I suppose but I wouldn't!

Rather than pass of as my own words see below. That's enough to put me right off!

Locking washers do what there supposed to do if installed correctly, water ingress and other failures on A99's have different cures,leaving the locking washers off isn't one of them imo.

Your choice.

"the problem is that all liquid chemical threadlockers are insulators, and because they have low viscosity and cover most/all of the thread, they ruin any electrical or radio frequency (RF) bonding that a fixing might be supposed to provide."

https://www.emcstandards.co.uk/never-us ... -electrica

I genuinely had no issues using Threadlock. I only used it on the top part of the threaded area. Maybe a centimeter deep or so.

[GoldVolvo]

I think the main issue with threadlock is people using way too much. You only need a drop & certainly don't use the red stuff if you ever want to get the thing apart again without cutting it down! Personally I think I'd stick with the manufacturer's solution of washers & weatherproof it in the way you would any other joint.

[The Collector]

Better to use them than not.

They're anti-vibration washers and supplied for a reason, but won't cause leaks if not used as the water can't get down past the threaded holes anyway. As said above, just a spot of thread-lock solution can be used on jusy say the top 2 or 3 threads and a touch all around the top once tightened in place to seal it nicely. That's exactly what I've just done and talked about on the Imax2000 topic where I've stuck a tank-whip on top instead of the normal top section.

If you don't want to use them OR thread-lock, the possible hassle of having to take it all down again to refit the loose/fallen off section may make you think twice about it.

[Master Virus]

The manual says to use the washers so i'm going to use the washers as i want to put it up and as they say in New York, fuhgeddaboudit
Thanks to all

[108EH002]

The manual says to use the washers so i'm going to use the washers as i want to put it up and as they say in New York, fuhgeddaboudit
Thanks to all

The manual says the A-99 has 9.9db gain aswell,doesn't mean its true

[Master Virus]

The manual says to use the washers so i'm going to use the washers as i want to put it up and as they say in New York, fuhgeddaboudit
Thanks to all

The manual says the A-99 has 9.9db gain as well,doesn't mean its true

Well yeah, i agree with you on that. And don't believe everything i read, i know
To be honest with you i didn't want to use the washers, i was just going to tighten it up and then use the tape and hope it didn't come apart with the wind.
Some say yes and some say no, i suppose its try and see for myself and if it does come apart blame it on the squirrels
Thanks again