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New install...102 or Wilson roof-mount?
- Thread starter The Jerk
- Start date
With my 5000's I take the black rubber tip from the top of a silver load, poke a small hole thru it and it slides over that silver piece, seals real good with some dielectric grease.
I found my performance had dropped on my Wilson5000 due to water incursion (I unscrewed the load from the mag-mount and heard water splashing around inside) so I had to drill a drain hole on the bottom, directly below the hole I accidentally drilled on the top, several months earlier when I was bored.
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Wow, almost afraid to continue this ugly thread I started...
I received my new 5000, unlike my old one; no drain hole.
Keep in mind my "old one" is 1997 vintage, had been installed as a mag mount in three trucks, and a roof mount in the last truck and currently the car. I estimate the road miles in around a million, and the first two trucks saw their fair share of off road. I have ran a 1x2 through it as a mag mount (took the paint off my roof), a straight 4 pill and 1x4 in my last truck, and its sitting behind a two pill right now...flat 1:1 on channel 19.
I took the old one off the Outback to make sure it was a figment of my imagination...its there, plain as day. Its drilled into the base at a slight angle towards the center line...again, I know I opened this hole up to about 1/8".
SOOOOOO, assuming they didn't change anything in the design...I drilled the new one and installed it today. On edit: SWR was 1:1 on 1, 1:1.05 on 40, and 1:1 on 19...it was 1:1.5 when I started...took shortening the stinger nearly 1.5 inches to do it, but it seems good.
I received my new 5000, unlike my old one; no drain hole.
Keep in mind my "old one" is 1997 vintage, had been installed as a mag mount in three trucks, and a roof mount in the last truck and currently the car. I estimate the road miles in around a million, and the first two trucks saw their fair share of off road. I have ran a 1x2 through it as a mag mount (took the paint off my roof), a straight 4 pill and 1x4 in my last truck, and its sitting behind a two pill right now...flat 1:1 on channel 19.
I took the old one off the Outback to make sure it was a figment of my imagination...its there, plain as day. Its drilled into the base at a slight angle towards the center line...again, I know I opened this hole up to about 1/8".
SOOOOOO, assuming they didn't change anything in the design...I drilled the new one and installed it today. On edit: SWR was 1:1 on 1, 1:1.05 on 40, and 1:1 on 19...it was 1:1.5 when I started...took shortening the stinger nearly 1.5 inches to do it, but it seems good.
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Another "after thought", which might be one of the reasons I haven't had an issue...I have a (bad) habit that I never-seize everything.
I know I put NS in the hole the tip slides into and on the threads of the roof mount. Could be the water is actually intruding through the hollow bolt...threads aren't water tight, and the water could actually follow the antenna whip right into the base? My never-seize may be acting as a sealant of sorts?
I have owned no less than three Wilson 1000s and now two Wilson 5000s, never had a water issue?
I know I put NS in the hole the tip slides into and on the threads of the roof mount. Could be the water is actually intruding through the hollow bolt...threads aren't water tight, and the water could actually follow the antenna whip right into the base? My never-seize may be acting as a sealant of sorts?
I have owned no less than three Wilson 1000s and now two Wilson 5000s, never had a water issue?
been thinking.....two things.
1st, in hindsight i really don't think the the drain hole will do much good.
why?
if you look at the "inside the wilson 5000 coil" threads and the pic's that were provided there is mulitiple cavities in that bottom plastic housing allowing water to pool up in those cavities. in order for the drain hole to allow it to drain out, either you have to have a hole in each cavity OR a hole in each of the plastic "fins".
also, i hope that you had the forsight as to install the antenna and hand mark a spot on the backside of that coil for that hole. otherwise if the hole ended up on the front side of the coil it might allow wind driven rain....such as highway driving , to be forced into it.....
just some thoughts....
your use of that compound on the threads may very well have sealed it. im glad to hear that you have mulitiple wilson antennas and have had no problems with them. I was wondering just how old they were?
1st, in hindsight i really don't think the the drain hole will do much good.
why?
if you look at the "inside the wilson 5000 coil" threads and the pic's that were provided there is mulitiple cavities in that bottom plastic housing allowing water to pool up in those cavities. in order for the drain hole to allow it to drain out, either you have to have a hole in each cavity OR a hole in each of the plastic "fins".
also, i hope that you had the forsight as to install the antenna and hand mark a spot on the backside of that coil for that hole. otherwise if the hole ended up on the front side of the coil it might allow wind driven rain....such as highway driving , to be forced into it.....
just some thoughts....
your use of that compound on the threads may very well have sealed it. im glad to hear that you have mulitiple wilson antennas and have had no problems with them. I was wondering just how old they were?
Bandit, you are right. By looking at the pics located in this thread here http://www.worldwidedx.com/cb-antennas/136545-inside-wilson-5000-coil-part-2-a.html
There is 4 areas where pooling of water can happen. Since its calling for rain around my parts for the next 4-5 days, I think I'll try drilling 4 holes and see if it is worthy of doing it to other wilsons as well.
There is 4 areas where pooling of water can happen. Since its calling for rain around my parts for the next 4-5 days, I think I'll try drilling 4 holes and see if it is worthy of doing it to other wilsons as well.
Binrat, in looking at the images closely, maybe one hole will drain this area well enough to keep any water from reaching the coil, and that should be enough.
You might even see more drainage with a hole in the bottom than in the side as suggested earlier.
how do you figure that? i think that the origonal design leaves alot to be desired. if that bottom plastic housing were flat, one hole would surfice. i think the most important thing here is to make sure that the mast section is sealed to prevent a gross amount of water from getting into it in the first place. it is just as bad to have water running down the inside from the mast section as it is to have it pool up in the botton of the coil.
i would be affraid of having multible holes drilled in it becuase of the possibility of having water driven into it while driving at highway speeds while it is raining.
i don't think any "one fix" will do it. but expermentation is what it is all about, let us know how you make out.
i would be affraid of having multible holes drilled in it becuase of the possibility of having water driven into it while driving at highway speeds while it is raining.
i don't think any "one fix" will do it. but expermentation is what it is all about, let us know how you make out.
I really believe that the design has changed from the original and I hope it's for the better.
Seems the older ones may have had some issues, i can't speak to that, and others have, but mine is a newer one bought in 2008 or early 2009.
It is all plastic hdpe, with no seal on the bottom, you can look back to my earlier post with picture on it and see that a seal has been formed of the actual hdpe.
The tolerances on my antenna are very tight. The mast fit's in very tight, the mast it self is very tight against the cap and I have no evidence of water intrusion at these locations that may have been a problem in the past. It does not mean it may not be a problem after wear and tear, I just have not seen it up to this point.
So I hope that Wilson has improved the design as it appears to have done. As soon as i get a chance I will take some more pics to show what i am seeing on this "newer" wilson 5k antenna of mine.
Seems the older ones may have had some issues, i can't speak to that, and others have, but mine is a newer one bought in 2008 or early 2009.
It is all plastic hdpe, with no seal on the bottom, you can look back to my earlier post with picture on it and see that a seal has been formed of the actual hdpe.
The tolerances on my antenna are very tight. The mast fit's in very tight, the mast it self is very tight against the cap and I have no evidence of water intrusion at these locations that may have been a problem in the past. It does not mean it may not be a problem after wear and tear, I just have not seen it up to this point.
So I hope that Wilson has improved the design as it appears to have done. As soon as i get a chance I will take some more pics to show what i am seeing on this "newer" wilson 5k antenna of mine.
I just don't get the big controversy. Many antennas are made in a way or have features that deal with wind, weather, and rain, so what is the big deal. Either they have it or they don't.
I bought a Wolf .64 ground plane that I believe is some sort of co-linear type design and maybe not specifically a .64. I paid good money for it, and it has an upside down gamma match feeder. The top or the bottom of the gamma, take your choice, for that antenna was not plugged. I didn't think a thing about it, but at some point after installing it outside it got water in it. Surprise! surprise!
Until it leaked out or dried up, the antenna didn't work too good at all. Do y'all think that was something the manufacture should have addressed. Of course it was. Common sense suggest that may have been why Wilson put a hole in the base, end of story.
The same thing with this Wilson idea, so again...what is the big deal that we have guy's arguing it is good, it is bad, it's only on older models, or the newer model are better, because it don't have a hole in it.
This ain't no big deal, but I guess it is a topic for discussion.
I bought a Wolf .64 ground plane that I believe is some sort of co-linear type design and maybe not specifically a .64. I paid good money for it, and it has an upside down gamma match feeder. The top or the bottom of the gamma, take your choice, for that antenna was not plugged. I didn't think a thing about it, but at some point after installing it outside it got water in it. Surprise! surprise!
Until it leaked out or dried up, the antenna didn't work too good at all. Do y'all think that was something the manufacture should have addressed. Of course it was. Common sense suggest that may have been why Wilson put a hole in the base, end of story.
The same thing with this Wilson idea, so again...what is the big deal that we have guy's arguing it is good, it is bad, it's only on older models, or the newer model are better, because it don't have a hole in it.
This ain't no big deal, but I guess it is a topic for discussion.