How to Weatherproof Your Signal Booster's Cable Connections

After you’ve installed your signal booster system (also known as a cell phone repeater or signal amplifier), there is another step that’s frequently overlooked – weatherproofing the system’s outdoor coaxial cable connections.

What is Weatherproofing?

As the name suggests, it’s the act of making something (the cable connections) resistant to extreme weather conditions, especially water, to prevent damage or loss of function.

Why is Weatherproofing Important?

Weatherproofing is necessary to prevent water or moisture from getting inside your signal booster’s coax cables. It doesn’t just apply to cell signal booster’s though; it also applies to outdoor WiFi antenna cables and TV antenna cables.

In addition, coax connectors are made of metal, so prolonged exposure to water and air will eventually cause tarnishing and corrosion, which will impact performance.

Weatherproofing will ensure your systems coaxial cables, connectors, adapters, couplers, and other accessories remain in tip-top shape to satisfy your connectivity needs.

How to Weatherproof the Cable Connections?

Weatherproofing is simple and inexpensive.

You’ll need two things:

• Waterproofing Tape, such as Moisture Sealing Tape, Weather Tape, or Waterproof Silicone Tape, for moisture protection
• Electrical Tape for UV protection

Step 1: Make sure the outdoor cable connections are securely hand tightened before weatherproofing. The most common outdoor cable connections are where your outdoor antenna's cable connects to the long coaxial cable that runs inside your home or RV, as well as the connection between a coax cable and a window jumper cable.

Step 2: Cut a piece of waterproof tape that’s long enough to cover the cable connectors – about 12 inches should be good.

Step 3: After removing the backing of the tape, place the tape about one inch above one of the coaxial connectors and start wrapping the connection till you’re about an inch below the second connector. As you wrap the connection, make sure to stretch the tape to activate the adhesive for a stronger seal and overlap the layers of tape by about half.

Step 4: Press on the waterproof tape to make sure everything has been sealed properly.

Step 5: Cover the waterproof tape with the electrical tape. Place the electrical tape above the waterproof tape’s starting point and begin wrapping it in the same fashion as before.

Step 6: Press on the electrical tape to make sure everything has been sealed properly.

Step 7: Do this to all your outdoor cable connections to keep your cellular amplifier system working at peak performance.

Additional Tips for Peak Performance

Weatherproofing will extend the life of your cell phone repeater, but if the outside antenna is not properly installed, you run the risk of ruining the antenna and degrading the system’s performance.

Many antennas have two small holes on the bottom, known as weep holes. They are there to allow water and moisture to escape. When installing your outside antenna, more specifically a Yagi antenna, make sure the weep holes are facing down.

If the Yagi antenna is installed with the weep holes facing up, water will slowly accumulate in the antenna casing and possibly seep through the connectors. This will degrade the antenna's performance over time, which affects the whole system’s performance.

To keep your cell booster working at peak performance for a very long time, make sure to install your outdoor antenna properly and weatherproof the cable connections.

Contact Us

Wilson Amplifiers is the leading provider of cell phone boosters by weBoost and WilsonPro. Cell phone boosters are FCC-approved devices that amplify 5G (on select frequencies), 4G, and LTE cell phone signals for any phone with any carrier (including Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, US Cellular, and more) for home, office, or vehicle.

We seriously hate dropped calls and poor coverage, so it's our goal to eliminate weak signal from your life:

• Free consultation (ask us anything) with our US-based customer support (sales@wilsonamplifiers.com) or call us at 1-800-568-2723.
• Free shipping.
• Better signal or industry-leading 90 money-back guaranteed. No questions asked.
• We want everyone to be satisfied, so we provide lifetime technical support and a 2-year warranty for all products.

Ask us anything and we'll be glad to help.

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