Retro-reflective Tape on L-Per arms

Eclipse · October 13, 2010, 12:41:18 AM

I came across some large pieces of Retro-reflective labels, and have been trying to find a place to use them.

It struck me that if I cover the bare-wood arms of the L-Per this thing would become a searchlight anytime anyone
hit it with a light at night.

Any reason (other than aesthetics), that this is bad idea? Is there some hidden property of reflective tape I don't know about that will
destroy my L-Per?

a2capt · October 13, 2010, 12:52:33 AM

Well, if you suspect anything - you can put up a test beacon and swap between stick sets with, and without reflector tape on them. But I suspect any metallic properties are no more than the clips holding the coax down.

But.. I have done that exact thing on mine and noticed no ill effects, nor did I find ELTs any faster, so nothing good came of it either ;-)

Major Lord · October 13, 2010, 01:06:50 AM

The plastic tape will not interfere with antennae. Reflective tape usually consists of microscopic glass beads encapsulated in plastic, and will not have any effect on the VHF and UHF frequencies we work on. If you see aluminum-colored surfaces on your particular tape, you might not want to use it. Anything metallic in the antenna can change the antenna dramatically. One test is to stick a sample piece of the tape in your microwave oven. If it sparks and flashes, it has a metallic base. Tool-dip coating the end of the elements also increases visibility and might keep you from losing an eye!

Major Lord

a2capt · October 13, 2010, 09:27:18 AM

Tool dip.. Hmmm.. interesting. Never thought of that. I've put silicone in the tips when They're still present, but ..

Also another nicety, I think - is to drill another hole through both sticks about an inch below the existing one while it's closed and then offset the sticks so that it uses one of the old holes and the new holes for the bolt, and when it's opened, an eye hook on a short lanyard from the other bolt can just get stuck through that second hole set.

No more risk of chopped off hands, and constantly straightening the thing out. You can even get rid of the wingnut and put a teflon nut on there with it tightened to just before snug. It's a lot faster to open/deploy that way, from the totally folded up position.

Eclipse · October 13, 2010, 01:50:02 PM

Quote from: a2capt on October 13, 2010, 09:27:18 AMAlso another nicety, I think - is to drill another hole through both sticks about an inch below the existing one while it's closed and then offset the sticks so that it uses one of the old holes and the new holes for the bolt, and when it's opened, an eye hook on a short lanyard from the other bolt can just get stuck through that second hole set.

Pic?

es_g0d · October 18, 2010, 05:15:29 AM

I have done something similar, but with glow in the dark "cat eye" tape on several L-Pers I've used. I put them on in the shape of an arrow, indicating the directionality of the unit while in receive mode. Its probable completely unnecessary, but it seemed like a good idea at the time since most electronic searches seem to occur during the hours of darkness. The cat eye tape has not metal whatsoever and likely won't interfere with incoming RF energy. Retroreflective tape may have a little bit of metallic material, but its effect should be negligible.

Honestly, there are only a few minor modifications you can make to a Little L-Per to make it better. They are excellent devices.

Good luck and good hunting,
-S

Eclipse · October 18, 2010, 02:27:45 PM

^That's actually a really good idea!

ltcmark · October 18, 2010, 11:13:40 PM

Some of the reflective tape on the market has a foil backing. You can usually tell when you pull the release paper off, you can see the foil though the adhesive. Putting on full length strips on the vertical and horizontal mast would affect the performance of the antenna. Putting on that much foil would create reflections off of the mast.

I have put small strips (1/2" x 1") on with no adverse effects.

One trick that I have done is on the little protective caps on the antenna tips. Ours have fallen off over time. I used red wire nuts (the kind that you use for house wiring) in the 10-12 gauge size to protect the tips and your eyes. Screw them on, you are done. If you really want them secure, put a drop of super glue in the nut before you screw it on.

SarDragon · October 18, 2010, 11:48:38 PM

If you go that route (good idea, BTW), make sure they don't have the coiled wire insert. That will have an effect on antenna performance.

kj5kb · October 30, 2010, 10:58:52 PM

^^^

re: wire nuts on antennas.

I would be surprised if the small amount of metal in a wire nut had any significant effect on the functioning if the L-per, which is a low-precision analog device anyway.

I've used wire nuts as tips on transmitting antennas many times with no problems found.

SarDragon · October 31, 2010, 09:04:04 AM

Quote from: kj5kb on October 30, 2010, 10:58:52 PM
^^^

re: wire nuts on antennas.

I would be surprised if the small amount of metal in a wire nut had any significant effect on the functioning if the L-per, which is a low-precision analog device anyway.

I've used wire nuts as tips on transmitting antennas many times with no problems found.

Kool beans. I wasn't sure what that little coil of wire might do. Given that it's not a transmitting antenna, it probably won't make a lot of difference, now that I think about it a little more.

I prefer to err on the side of caution with things like that.

ltcmark · November 01, 2010, 02:15:32 AM

Quote from: SarDragon on October 18, 2010, 11:48:38 PM
If you go that route (good idea, BTW), make sure they don't have the coiled wire insert. That will have an effect on antenna performance.

I agree with kj5kb. That amount of metal is very small. Antennas operate according to the length of the wire, not necessarily the mass or diameter of the wire. It might increase the length of the antenna by about a 1/8", which on an AM receiver antenna where the full antenna wave is 8.09 feet, that is pretty much nothing.