Black Comtelco Antenna Tuning

[jorenwendschuh]

Wondering the proper way to *easily* remove the black antenna covering (almost like a teflon coating) when tuning a mobile Comtelco whip. Stuff does not seem to easily come off any way I've tried, making tuning it a long ordeal.

[Jim202]

Wondering the proper way to *easily* remove the black antenna covering (almost like a teflon coating) when tuning a mobile Comtelco whip. Stuff does not seem to easily come off any way I've tried, making tuning it a long ordeal.

Why do you need to take it off? Most of the service people I know cut from the top down, not the bottom up.
Getting rid of the static ball makes it that much less prone to get caught in tree branches and garage doors.

Jim

[jorenwendschuh]

Interesting! It's just the way I've always done it. Figured they put the corona ball on the end for a reason - never gave it a second thought. The ball really isn't that useful? Can't say I've ever had it get caught.

Thanks!

[mmckenna]

I've always cut from the bottom up, preferring to keep the ball on top. I've had the sharp point at the end of a whip get jammed in a parking garage fixture and pulled the nmo mount out of the truck roof. Might be faster for the techs to do, but I wouldn't risk doing that to a customer. Yeah, shouldn't have been in a parking garage with a full size truck and a 5/8's VHF whip on the roof missing the ball.

Anyway, a file or a quick trip to the drill press with either a wire wheel or sanding drum will make quick work of it. Also deburrs the ends really nicely.

[jorenwendschuh]

Thanks! I'll give that a try.

[MP 6.7]

I used a dremel with a wire wheel to take the black off a couple Larsen whips. The dremel is easy to take out to the vehicle and use while tuning. The paint came off easily...not sure how similar the Comtelco black is to Larsen's but it can't be too much different.

[Will]

The Comtelco black is a plating, not a paint.

[MP 6.7]

The Comtelco black is a plating, not a paint.

Ok, dremel grinding wheel then!

[SlimBob]

The ball can also have certain end-loading effects.