Comparing Cable Protection: What are your Cable Weather Proofing Options?

• IP68 Rating – no dust ingress and no water ingress after being submerged in water for a minimum of 30 minutes exceeding 1 meter deep
• Incredibly easy to install
• Can be installed in temperatures ranging from -15° Fahrenheit (-26° Celsius) up to 158° F (70° C)
• Tear Resistant
• Acid and Alkali Resistant (making it more resistant to corrosion)
• Resistant to Ozone, Oxygen and UV

On top of being incredibly weather resistant Cold Shrink has the added benefit of creating a strong seal between the connector and the connection point: a seal that helps protect against vibration.

The only downside to Cold Shrink, (if you want to call it that), is that it’s not easy to uninstall.  It’s not as difficult to remove as many Heat Shrinks or Tape since there’s no adhesive but it’s not exactly easy to uninstall either.  It’s meant to be a permanent weather proofing solution, is that really a downside?

Cold Shrink accomplishes the seemingly impossible feat of being an incredible weather protection solution while also being incredibly easy to install.

There are a couple of things to know about the boots however.  First, because they slide up and over the connector they don’t provide the vibration protection you get with Cold Shrink.  Secondly, to create the necessary seal between the boot and cable the boot must be installed during manufacturing and therefore can’t be used on another cable. We’ve had numerous requests to purchase the boots alone but to work properly they must come installed on the cable.

We recommend using RF Weatherproofing Boots in situations where you know you need to revisit the connection.  If you know you need to go back to that connection in the near future to reset a radio/access point, (or something of that nature), you don’t want to be cutting cold shrink, heat shrink, or tape off the connection with each visit. Weatherproofing Boots make it easy to disconnect your connection without having to change out your weather proofing.

There are a few key differences about the Slide Locks to keep in mind:

First, unlike the Slide-On Boots, Slide Locks do not need to come installed on the cable. This is important because Slide Locks are our only form of cable protection that could be reused from one cable/connection to another cable/connection as long as the cables/connections are the same sizes.

However, (and this is the second key difference), the enclosures can only be reused about 4-5 times before the weather proofing capabilities diminish. Lastly, Slide Locks do not provide the vibration protection you get with Cold Shrink.

Slide Locks are a great option in that they install very quickly and provide great weather protection but they don’t provide the level of protection that you get with Cold Shrink or the re-usability you get with the Slide-On Boots. If however, you know you need to revisit a connection several times or possibly swap out a cable then Slide Locks are a great option for you.

Magic Tape (Self-Amalgamating Tape)

As far as tapes for cable protection go you won’t find a better option than our magic tape. It removes the need for adhesives and makes it possible to weather proof those incredibly difficult areas where solutions like Cold Shrink or Slide-On Boots aren’t an option.

However, installing with tape is never an easy process. We’ve heard lots of stories about guys putting tape around a screwdriver and using the screwdriver as a wrapping tool to try and make the job easier. There’s no good solution for installing tape. It’s time consuming and increases in difficulty with the more cables/connections you have.  Putting installers through this process while perched high on a tower is far from ideal.

Another key issue with tape is that it has so many potential points of failure.   The cable is wrapped and re-wrapped in tape because tape leaves you vulnerable to so many points where water and other elements can work their way in. It can’t be guaranteed against ingress the way a solid unit like Cold Shrink, Slide-On Boots or the Clam Shell Enclosures can.  Granted, this is why installers wrap and re-wrap cables to reduce or possibly eliminate those points of failure, but it’s next to impossible for tape to meet the standards of Cold Shrink, Slide-On Boots or Clam Shell Enclosures.

Although tape isn’t at the top of the list it can still be a good solution in those places Cold Shrink, Boots, etc. can’t get to.  It can also be used for short-term repairs and is a great option to keep in your bag since you’ll never know when you might need it.

Should you use heat shrink as your primary cable protection for cables being used outdoors? Probably not. Heat Shrink does not offer anywhere near the same level of protection against ingress that you get with Cold Shrink, Slide-On Boots, or Slide Locks.  Additionally there can be problems with the adhesive in warmer and more humid environments. For these reasons when we install heat shrink on our cables we do so indoors, in a controlled environment.

Installing Heat Shrink is also fairly difficult, particularly if you’re up on a tower. It requires a heat gun or a torch and it has to be heat shrunk correctly onto the cable so that the adhesive doesn’t work it’s way into the connection.  The heat gun or torch needs to go around all sides of the heat shrink to shrink correctly and, (again), it’s not easy to do while on a tower.  Additionally, removing heat shrink isn’t the easiest, especially if it has adhesive.

Our recommendation is to use Heat Shrink as a first layer of cable protection.  More often than not it comes already installed on cables but you should use Cold Shrink, Boots, or Clam Shell Enclosures as that additional layer that seals the connection.  You can use Heat Shrink but it’s difficult to install and doesn’t provide the same level of protection.

Conclusion

Each type of cable protection has its place, (hence the reason we manufacture each type), but the majority of the time we recommend Gamma Cold Shrink.

It’s always tempting to look for the least expensive solutions which is why so many often end up using Heat Shrink, but quite often it comes back to hurt you in the end. Not using proper cable protection/weather proofing typically results in lost time and additional repairs.

It’s fascinating if you think about it that people will buy high end antennas and radios and then try to purchase the cheapest cables and weather proofing they can. Your radio and antenna won’t do anything without those cables and yet too often cables and weatherproofing, (relatively smaller expenses), are where people try to cut corners.

Don’t treat cable protection as an afterthought.  Save yourself time and money in the long run and do it right the first time.