Damaged coax

timo_w2s

timo_w2s

Retired moderator
My Satellite Setup
Vu+ Duo 4K SE
Dr.HD F15
My Location
Maidenhead, UK & Helsinki, Finland
I was out in the garden yesterday when I noticed someone had damaged one of the coax cables running to my Hispasat dish. Very rarely use that dish so it could have been like this for some time and judging by the water damage, I think it has... luckily it didn't short anything.

Any idea what could have done this? The cable is behind a shed where no one walks, so it must be an animal. We've got cats, foxes, badgers, squirrels and birds visiting the garden regularly.
 

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Wouldn't have thought that was Cat or Bird.

More likely to be a Rodent of some sort. Don't forget you're never more than 6/10/20 feet (Depending upon what the local folklore is) away from the nearest Rat!
 
I'd say rat or grey squirrel, the latter is known for chomping on mains cables in attics they set up home in, and rats chew anything cos they're stupid... :D
 
When we had house rabbits they had a nasty habit of chewing through cables, though we never ended up with fried bunnies...probably a rat Timo
 
Thanks everyone. Yes, I forgot I've also seen mice, rats and hedgehogs too.

A few suspicious holes have appeared in the ground by a rotting tree stump next to my dishes - about the size a mouse would fit down. I'm now thinking I should start protecting the other cables as I've got lots that are exposed and running past the holes in the ground. If they where chewed through while I was away in Finland it would be somewhat annoying and inconvenient for the slingbox users...
 
Our Mice are partial to foam pipe-insulation.

It's a real bu**er clearing up the shredded scraps, especially if they fall onto the loft insulation.
 
timo_w2s said:
I was out in the garden yesterday when I noticed someone had damaged one of the coax cables running to my Hispasat dish. Very rarely use that dish so it could have been like this for some time and judging by the water damage, I think it has... luckily it didn't short anything.

Any idea what could have done this?
Click to expand...

Something that knows the cable wasn't suitable for satellite reception ?
 
Channel Hopper said:
Something that knows the cable wasn't suitable for satellite reception ?
Click to expand...
:-rofl2 OK, OK, I know it's not quite WF100 (which I normally use!) but it is double screened cable (not obvious from photos) and it's running to a temporary setup (hence the cable was lying on top of the ground available for chewing)...
 
Next time put some plastic tube over the exposed cable to protect it ?

I doubt a rat or something else would be able to chew that.
 
A grey squirrel is most likely, we had a plague of them about five years ago and a neighbour went on holiday for two weeks and left the bedroom window open and a grey got in. They had not left a key with anyone but fortunately the bedroom door was closed and upon their return the curtains were in tatters, the bed and bedding was totally destroyed and shredded, even most of the wallpaper had been removed from the walls before it eventually found it's way out back through the same window
 
wod said:
Next time put some plastic tube over the exposed cable to protect it ?

I doubt a rat or something else would be able to chew that.
Click to expand...

Wanna bet? :-rofl2
 
Agree with 2CV on that. A rat can chew through metal if it has to.
 
Rats will also chew their way into wheelie bins too, and they're thicker and tougher than the average pipe... :-rofl2
 
Almost exactly a year later and the phantom cable chewer returns! This time at the other end of the garden.

I've just replaced a section of coax in the garden after discovering something had chewed through it while I was away. It was a bit of coax that runs by a hole under the fence that the local wildlife tend to use. Luckily the cable wasn't being used but I didn't want it to get any wetter than it already was so it's now patched up and fixed higher up the fence away from the ground and the hole.

Some other cables have also been exposed elsewhere in the garden from holes that have been dug next to them and the lawn (moss) is covered in hundreds of little holes too. These are bigger than ones the squirrel usually makes. There's also a few large tunnels dug into the compost heap and evidence from the fairly large qualities of poo spread over the lawn that they have eaten other non-digestible yellow things (earthing cable like bright yellow!!).
 

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Try and find some of the stuff below at your local Electrical supply.
Code: 
http://www.southwire.com/products/AlfexTypeRWA.htm

It's chew proof, I use it for the drip irrigation tubing, the ground squirrels are looking for water so they are chewing up all my dip tubing, but not with that stuff on it.

You can get the 3/8" stuff (10mm?) the coax will slide right through it, and it's flexible enough to go around things.
 
Possibly a conclusion to this thread, last night I woke up at 5am to hear some frantic scratching coming from the garden. There's a fence that's fixed to the side of the house and something was clawing away at it and the sounds where echoing through the walls into the bedroom. So I grabbed my torch and opened the window to see what on earth all the fuss was about. As I shone the light at the bushes by the fence a very large and fat badger casually appeared from under the foliage and waddled over to the other end of the garden into the darkness. There is a small hole under the fence at this location but it's only really big enough for a fox or the local cats to get through so maybe the badger was trying to enlarge it a little...

After the problems last year with the cable being cut at this location I moved the coax to run slightly higher up the fence. Seems this has saved me having to patch up the cable again!
 
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