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Shakespeare SeaWitch 2030 TV antenna
I've had this model omni directional antenna on my boat for the past 3 years
and had marginal reception. Often suspecting that the unit might have moisture inside. Possibility no fault of the design since I had it mounted upside down under my radar arch. (no room over the radar) When I installed it initially, upside down, I sealed all the screw holes and around the coax cable connector. Yesterday I took it down because I couldn't get any reception and the fuse in the control unit kept blowing. As soon as I had it off the mount, I could hear water inside. My next though was how to open the case to drain the water. There were the screws on the bottom but no apparent seam between the bottom and top shells. So I carefully drilled a couple holes around the top and bottom and drained about a half cup of water out. I now suspected that the circuit board inside and components must be wet, so I enlarged one of the holes into a slot and held my heat gun, set on low, up to this hole and began the drying process. In about 5 minutes I notice that the tight seam between the top and bottom were opening slightly. As it turns out the seam was only snapped together. I removed the four screws and coax connector nut and pried the unit apart. On initial inspection I found several areas of corrosion on the circuit board. It was obvious that there had been no attempt to "marine seal" this circuit board or the connection to the antennal elements. Fortunately I was able to clean the corrosion with a stiff brush and penetrating oil, followed by a hot soapy water scrub and rinse. (I didn't have any PC board spray on board and will go back later and coat everything before it corrodes again.) I realize my unconventional installation lead to the problem since the rain water must have entered though the "snap" seal around the edge. I really think it should have been sealed with a sealant. I will do that when I'm finished with my work inside. After re-assembly and replacing the fuse for the second time, I found I had better reception on almost all the local channels. (channel #5 seemed to be the exception. However by morning it was working fine. Must have been a bit of moisture under some surface mounted component.) Sorry, this was so long, but if anyone else is having problems with their SeaWitch, I think this procedure would be useful.. -- My experience and opinion, FWIW -- Steve s/v Good Intentions |
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