TopBand: Critters!

[Garry & Yelena]

Topbanders:

I live at the bottom of a redwood canyon in California. I noted today
that one of my new--and still unfinished--Beverages was down and went
puffing up the hill into the trees to ascertain the reason. 

Unlike my current Bevs, which are made out of hookup wire, this one is
made of 300 ohm window line. So I was surprised to find the twinlead 
severed, about 15 feet from where it tapers down to a ground rod. First
reaction--vandalism! Well, sort of, as it turned out. Upon closer
examination of the ragged cut, I noted roughness and incisor
indentations---the damned thing had been gnawed! Right through the
copper-clad steel wires! That's impressive--just when I thought it was
safe to go out in the forest.

That's a first, here. Coax cables on the ground have, to my knowledge,
never been bothered. Best bet is a raccoon, I guess. So, the question
is---how does one go about preventing reoccurences? Is there a good
repellent? Human urine? Ideas are welcome. And so are suggestions on the
best/strongest way to splice that stuff.
-- 
Garry Shapiro, NI6T
160 meters: not a band, but an obsession

--
FAQ on WWW:               http://www.contesting.com/topband.html
Submissions:              topband@contesting.com
Administrative requests:  topband-REQUEST@contesting.com
Problems:                 owner-topband@contesting.com