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Instructions | DO YOU REALLY NEED A NEW LNB? Many so-called "LNB faults" are caused by a simple bad connection. The bare copper wire corrodes. Before spending your hard-earned cash on a new LNB, you might like to cut back the cable a couple of inches and refit the plug. Coat the copper wires with silicone grease to prevent corrosion in the future. (We'd love to sell you a new LNB but we believe in honesty and we'll help you to save money whenever possible.) Most LNBs have a slide-down cover. These need no rubber boots or tape. Simply fill the inside of each "F" plug with silicone grease to keep out condensation. I can not stress too strongly the importance of applying a waterproof grease coating to the copper wires in the 'F' plug. This will prevent corrosion caused by the combination of moisture, air and electricity. See Silicone Grease You can easily test to see whether I'm right about copper. Take an old copper coin or copper wire and leave it in vinegar until it's bright. Rinse it in water and dry it. Apply silicone grease to part of the coin or wire. Leave it on a shelf somewhere - the more damp the better. See what happens after a few weeks! Many otherwise "professional" people attack my suggestion but why take the risk? I am a qualified electronics engineer and one of my previous occupations was "Reliability Test Quality Assurance Engineer" - a job in which I subjected various equipments to rigorous environmental tests in a humidity chamber. In all cases of connections with no protective plating or poor quality plating, the connections that were carrying electric current failed very quickly, due to a build-up of corrosion that forced the metal contacts apart. The best solution I found was silicone grease. (Also, I would personally squeeze a blob of "Blu-Tack"* over any unused outputs to keep out moisture.) *The real Blu-Tack®, not "white Tack" or other substitutes that don't survive outdoors. Reading your mention of silicone grease took me back to a radio programme I heard on the old BBC Radio London when Johnny Longdon was the engineer there and used to broadcast a technical session once a month. One broadcast dealt with rigging aerials and one of the BBC riggers recommended the plentiful use of silicone grease in all aerial connection boxes and connectors. I have followed the advice ever since, especially during my time as a licensed radio amateur, when I found a complete absence of corrosion in connections given the treatment and taken down after many years exposure to the elements. I find it especially useful these days when applied to F connectors under their boot. Kind regards, Jack This photo from "What Satellite TV" magazine shows what can happen when inferior rubber boots are used without silicone grease protection. Moisture has corroded the connections. This photo shows the corrosion which can occur after 5 years when no silicone grease is used. Photo courtesy of David Barber. The corrosion is so bad that the 'F' plug could not be undone with a spanner. "Luckily, I was able to cut the cable, fit a new plug, and connect it to a spare LNB output with lots of silicone grease!" says David. Picture of obsolete LNB for illustration only. Only if you have an older style LNB without the pull-down cover. Our special flexible rubber boots are designed to provide a tight fit to the cable and "F" connector to keep out moisture. If the LNB outlets are spaced too close together to permit adjacent boots to fit, you can trim away excess rubber with a sharp blade. Before fitting each boot you should smear a little petroleum jelly ("Vaseline ®") or, preferably, silicone grease inside. This will allow it to slide easily on the cable and onto the "F" connector. Silicone grease will also help to seal out moisture and allow the boot to be removed more easily in the future. (Petroleum jelly gradually oxidises and is not long-lived). The rubber compound is designed for high-temperature use and is UV resistant. It should last a long time but you can extend its life by smearing silicone grease on the outside (after installation is complete) or applying an oil-based paint. Too much grease left over? Read about other uses. Approximate Dimensions of Flexible Rubber Boot Ensure that each boot is pushed firmly as far as it will go towards the LNB. As a final measure to keep moisture out of the cable, you may make a tiny "O" ring out of "Blu-Tack" or "White-Tack" and insert this inside the "F" connector. Simply take a tiny ball of "Tack" and push it down the protruding copper wire. This may be repeated at the receiver end if there is any possibility that the cable may move and chafe on roof tiles or bricks. Suitable for single-and twin-output LNBs. (May not fit on small 4- or 8-output LNBs.) UV resistant and guaranteed for 10 years if used with silicone grease as described. Note: If you order cable from us with rubber boots, we do not fit the boots to the cable, for the reasons explained HERE. Note: rubber boots can not be fitted to cables with compression 'F' plugs - only to cables with plugs that unscrew. By popular request, we are now offering low cost rubber boots! Economy rubber boot pack. This low cost neoprene boot is available in a pack of 4 for just 99p. We can't guarantee it will last like our flexible boot (above) but it's cheap. Movie--> Self Amalgamating tape or Rubber boot? Stretch the tape to twice its length and wrap tightly, overlapping so it bonds to itself. Alternatively, use a rubber boot with silicone grease. Later (modern) LNBs use a pulldown cover instead so simply fill each plug with silicone grease. Cap unused outputs with Blu-Tack. ©2011 SatCure
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