RG6 and Critters

[jpanhalt]

I am finally getting fiber optic internet service at my home (July 22). The home is in the woods, and there are lots of creatures that like to chew or claw on things. Ground hogs (woodchucks) and raccoons are just two.

The installer says they need to loop the RF cable after conversion from FOIS outside the box and then back into the house, because the bend radius is too sharp to do it inside the box.

Some critter has already chewed through wiring in my F150. I am concerned about the same with the RG6 and am tempted to supply the installer with a right angle RG6 crimp-on plug.

1) Do critters bother the cable, i.e., pull on it or chew it?
2) What sort of losses would one see with a high quality right angle compared to a straight connector? I do not know the actual frequency after conversion, but I suspect it is fairly high. I am planning on having the connector crimped directly on the cable.

John

 

[MikeMl]

To keep water, critters, bird crap off my runs of RG58, RG6 and RG8, I buy the **broken link removed** at home depot, and thread the coax through it.

 

[unclejed613]

most wire and cable made overseas (and even some made here in the US to conform to "green" regulations) has some kind of soy product in the plastic, and critters just love to munch on it. some kind of wire mesh, like ground braid expanded out, would keep them away from it... the black plastic pipe might also work (depends what it's made of.... PVC is yummy, ABS probably is not). metal conduit would be the best solution.

 

[jpanhalt]

I was aware of the attraction "green" insulation has. Mice have caused some problems to the electrical on my 2007 truck, which I don't drive much.

We went ahead with the standard installation. I talked the installer into letting me put a hole in the back of the box. Now, the RG6 has a small loop out of the box, re-enters the box and goes into the house. He had to follow company protocol and not use a right angle connector to the RF converter to stay wholly inside the box. He also grew up around here and knew how bad ground hogs can be, so if there is a problem, we planned ahead and can easily fix it. The fiber optic cable itself is inside a 3/4" flexible electrical conduit. It is pretty thick walled.

Ironically, there was a ground hog waiting under his truck when he went to leave.

As for the service, I love the FOIS. I am getting 7.5 Mbps down and 3.5 up. My Cleveland cable gives 1.7 Mbps down and about half that up.

John

 

[BeerBelly]

I am finally getting fiber optic internet service at my home (July 22).
John

Sure beats sitting around McDonalds.
Sounds good John!
.
I never had a problem with critters eating that black drip tubing. I would stay away from the 90' connector.

 

[HiTech]

"Direct Bury" RF coax has a flooding agent in it to prevent moisture entry as well as thwart off critters from gnawing at it. However, I agree it's best to run it through some schedule of conduit or narrow irrigation piping.

 

[unclejed613]

avoid getting that "flooding agent" on anything. it's some kind of thick silicone grease that sticks to everything and is a pain to remove..... i think alcohol might be a decent solvent for it, but haven't used any cables that contain it in a long time...

 

[HiTech]

Yea that flooding agent can be a real mess to deal with.... sort of like the darn adhesive residue from duct tape-- that stuff is awful. WD-40 removes them both.

 

[dr pepper]

I have some flexible plastic conduit with a split down it, would probably do the trick for your application too.

I've never seen a woodchuck, I'll have to youtube it.

 

[jpanhalt]

Woodchuck = groundhog -- an ugly, rodent creature with a skin/fur so tough that a caliber .177 pellet gun projectile will not penetrate. In my area, they are mostly grey and black. They are terribly destructive to log homes and particularly to foundations. As for my cable installation, we brought the RG6 through the log wall directly into the box. I have had no problems.

John

 

[dr pepper]

I like animals, but I wouldnt have them getting at my foundations.