[TowerTalk] CRITTERS AND CABLES

[Dan Hearn]

My water comes from a deep drilled well. The sprinkler system is supplied
through a black plastic tubing about an inch in diameter tapped into the
well casing at about 3 feet depth. Recently a large pool of water appeared
about 6 ft from the well casing. Sure enough, a gopher had chewed through
the tubing. This has happened only once in 8 years.
  I temporarily laid a piece of RG213 on the ground to try out a 6 meter
yagi. It was chewed by gophers in less than a month.
They are tough little critters and very smart. Trapping or poisoning them is
very difficult.
73, Dan, N5AR
-----Original Message-----
From: towertalk-bounces at contesting.com
[mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com]On Behalf Of Craig Clark
Sent: Wednesday, August 01, 2007 12:57 PM
To: towertalk at contesting.com
Subject: [TowerTalk] CRITTERS AND CABLES


For those of us living in areas with chewing critters, I'm not sure
there is much you can do. It has been opined that it could be due to
salts from manufacture or handling that the animals are attracted to
the cable but that is not the issue. In speaking to one of the
plastic engineers, he made an analogy why would a horse chew a wood
railing when there is lush grass near by? Becuz they are stupid
animals I asked. Bingo he said.

The best way to protect your cable run is to put it in to conduit.
One customer bought hundreds of feet of gray plastic conduit to run
his 213 as the critters in his neighborhood had already eaten several
runs of cable.

Application of moth balls might help as possibly would a pepper solution.

Over my 30 years in the woods of NH, I have lost several runs of coax
and control lines and have chalked it up to the cost of doing
business. I do have runs of flooded LMR600 and RG6 and they have done
well for me.

I also had a break from my son and his chain saw when he was cutting
cord wood. Not much I could do about him.

Largest direct burial rotor cable we sell is 14/18 which should work
on pretty long runs.





73, Craig Clark, K1QX


RADIOWARE AND RADIO BOOKSTORE
PO  BOX 209
RINDGE NH 03461
603 899 6957
WWW.RADIO-WARE.COM




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