I echo Merv's comments.
Here in the US Southwest the main chewing culprits are Javelina and Pack
Rats. Any "normal" coaxial cable of the RG-59 and RG-6 type, "zip" cord, or
house wiring type cable is regularly and consistently chewed and/or cut in
two by these animals.
I have found two replacements which have solved the problem in my
installations. For coax, the PE covered and flooded 1/2" CATV hardline
takes care of the coaxial cable requirement.
For on ground or near ground Beverage wires the Rural "C" wire, as Merv and
others have commented, is NOT bothered by the animals. Another distinct
advantage to the "C" wire is its strength.
I have a couple of long, phased, on the ground Bevs made of "C" wire. The
wires are attached at each end with the regular wire holders designed for
the wire, held in place by the ground rods. I place the ground rod "acorn"
connector above the wire attachment to preclude the attachment slipping off.
I put more than 100 lbs. of tension on the wire (yes, it is made to make
LOOOOONG aerial spans on poles spaced as much as 600' feet apart) which
keeps the wire tight on the ground. At contest time I walk the Bevs and
place temporary risers under the "C" wire to make it a normal above ground
Bev.
This is all in an area which is frequented by grazing cows. When the "C"
wire is on the ground the cows just walk on it. When installed on the
temporary risers the cows (or strong winds) can push the wires over and it
just returns to the ground due to the tension. There is no chance of the
animals becoming entangled in the wire or the wire being destroyed.
YMMV, de Milt, N5IA
-----Original Message-----
From: Merv Schweigert
Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 2:01 PM
To: topband@contesting.com
Subject: Re: Topband: Fw: Deterring Critters was:Re: How Good is Good
Enough?
I know for a fact that the telco drop wire does not appeal to chewers,
I put down a BOG and in one days time it was in 4 pieces, due to
mongoose activity, yes one of the fine imported species in Hawaii,
Or it could have been rats, we have roof rats that will chew anything
in sight also.
The wire was teflon insulated, and they did not mind the teflon.
but while clearing part of this 30 acres I ran across a long length of
telco drop line that had been laying here since the 1980s, it was intact
and in fine shape, no chew marks, dont know what the difference is
but it the rodents did not take a liking to it.
Above ground beverages have to be 10 to 12 foot up due to the
hundreds of deer crossing the property daily. I used WD12 for those
runs.
Merv K9FD/KH6
> That material that looks like superman's zip cord is known as "Rural C"
> drop wire. My book says that comes in 18.5 gauge (yes, half a gauge!)
> which is RUS standard #PE-7 spec #4295, 14 and 12 gauge (AWG)
> configurations which is "Bell System Type" spec #4283. It lists it as
> 30% copper CCS wire with a HDPE jacket. Tough stuff. I'm looking in my
> General Cable catalog and it shows the minimum length as 1,000 feet so
> it isn't unrealistic to order this stuff if you have a lot of runs to
> put in.
>
> This stuff used to be the standard telephone drop cable used in rural
> and suburban areas and it is *strong*. The newer cable is a few 24 AWG
> twisted pairs with a glass fiber support strand and overall PVC jacket.
> I know the telco guys replace the old cable periodically with the new
> stuff (like when someone orders a second line or fancy DSL service that
> needs the twisted pairs) so it might be worth calling the local telco
> service yard to see if you can get their old scraps if you want to keep
> it cheap.
>
> -Bill
>
>
>
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