PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-560
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 560
JULY 1999
PS 560
50
JUL 99
Make sure the pin is not bent or bro-
ken. You can straighten a bent pin with
needle-nose pliers, but do it
gently
or
you’ll be turning the cable in with a
broken pin.
Just twist the bore brush down into
the socket and turn it several times.
The stiff fibers loosen corrosion and
clean out the grooves.
Don’t overdo it, though. Too much
of this good thing can wear out a
socket.
Finally, treat the feedcone like the
fragile piece of equipment it is. Make
the feedcones one of the last things
you store. Stencil the OE-254 storage
bag to warn folks not to toss things on
top of the feedcone.
MS-116, MS-117, AB-24
Elements
Keep the antenna elements free from
corrosion with water-displacing com-
pound, NSN 6850-00-142-9409, and
silicone, NSN 6850-00-880-7616.
First, though, clean the connecting
area of each element with your
antenna’s guide rope.
Loop the rope around the element.
Pull back and forth from both ends of
the rope.
The friction created by the rope
cleans the connecting area.
good pm
before setting up
will make your
antenna a
solid
sender
!
Don’t
use a scouring pad to do this
cleaning! Scouring pads wear down the
metal and strip the element.
Once the contact areas are clean,
spray them with water-displacing com-
pound. Then give them a light coat of
silicone compound.
Your element PM will be easier if
the elements are attached hand tight.
Elements that have been muscled to-
gether get damaged when they have to
be muscled apart.
Wrap electrical tape, NSN 5970-00-
419-4291, around each connection to
keep moisture out and corrosion away.
CG-1889 RF Cable
The connector that mates your CG-
1889 RF cable to the feedcone might
be your OE-254’s number one prob-
lem area.
For stubborn corrosion, try using a
small arms bore brush, NSN 1005-00-
903-1296. Use cleaning rod handle,
NSN 1005-01-113-0321, for a better
grip and more twisting force.
Take more stress off the cable con-
nector by using electrical tape.
Put a small bow or loop in the cable
just below the feedcone. Tape the cable
to the uppermost section of the mast.
Now tape
the cable
down the
mast about
every five
feet.
A bent or broken pin is often the
result of too much strain on the cable.
To prevent this, use the strain relief
clamp, NSN 5975-00-563-0229, every
time the antenna is raised. Attach it to
the upper guy plate of the mast like it
says in Para 2-4 of TM 11-5895-357-
13. Be careful not to bend the clamp
when you use it. A bent clamp will not
hold the cable.
The diamond pattern inside the clamp
does not quite do the holding job it
was intended to do. Help it out by
roughing it up a bit with a file. Just
scuff it. If you overdo it, the clamp
will cut into the cable.
Bore brush loosens corrosion
Pull rope back and forth
Connector pin damaged?
Use strain relief clamp
Loop cable
Scuff diamond pattern with file
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