Topband: Repairing beverage coax lead-in

[Donald Chester]

As I get ready to extend my beverage back to 900 ft when the crops are in, I 
notice some damage to the RG6 lead-in that goes from the transformer at the 
end of the antenna to the receiver in the shack.  The run of cable is about 
600 ft, and I prefer not to replace it.  Last season I just let it lie on 
the ground on the back side of my property where I thought it would remain 
undisturbed, but evidently it was attacked both by animals and vandals.

I notice several sets of tooth marks that have penetrated the vinyl jacket, 
and a couple of diagonal slashes that have cut through jacket, shield, foam 
insulation all way down to expose the centre conductor, without actually 
damaging the wire itself.  I attribute the tooth marks to a stray dog or 
other animal, but the diagonal cuts must have been made with a knife or 
other sharp object, because I don't think an animal would have made such a 
straight, clean cut.  No clue why anyone would slash the wire in that 
fashion and not do any more damage to anything else.

I have thought of either wrapping the damaged areas with self-vulcanising 
rubber electrical tape or using "coax-seal", then wrapping that with  vinyl 
tape.  Anyone with experience on which of these would work better?  This 
year I plan to construct temporary supports to get the wire off the ground, 
even though the pesky giant rats that roam the property (white-tail deer) 
will probably do damage to that setup.  Any thoughts on the best repair for 
the RG-6?  It worked throughout the season last year, and I didn't notice 
any degradation in performance near the end of the season due to the cuts 
and pierces, but I don't to put it back out in the weather again this year 
with unrepaired holes in the protective jacket.

Don K4KYV

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