Probelm with upgrade to v 3.1.12

Jim WA9ABB

Howard,

That seems like a good solution, but probably not for me. Too much responsibility at my age and health conditions. I do like dogs and have had several in the past. My last dog was a Golden retriever - beautiful, friendly and loved to chase the squirrels. 

About 6 years ago, mice or rats chewed on a wiring harness under the hood of my car.  What a mess that was.  But in the past 30 years, this is the first time, I have had damage to coax - except when I get a little too careless with the lawn mower.  My daughter looked it up on the internet, and we know the internet is always right.  She says the squirrels don't like the smell of coffee and to put my coffee grounds around the base of the antenna.  Who knows, it might even improve my signals  hi hi.

Just happy it was only a coincidence that the antenna connection went out just when I did the software update and not a software or hardware failure . 

Thanks again.


73
Jim WA9ABB

Bob Needleman

Never heard about coffee grounds being a rodent repellant but I sure know about peppermint oil. Mice and other rodents, like squirrels, hate the stuff and you can soak some cotton balls with it and place near the coax -  the smell will hang around a long time. Very pleasant odor - smells like candy canes.

Bob K3AC

Jim WA9ABB

Bob,

Thanks for the info. My daughter also mentioned peppermint oil and mothballs from her internet search. I sure would not want to get them addicted to caffeine Hi HI. They are already hyperactive enough. But I am a coffee drinker and usually just toss the coffee grounds into the garbage. I may give that a try first and see if it gets them to avoid the base of my vertical antenna.

Jim              WA9ABB

[Deleted User]

.22 caliber or Bounce fabric sheets work good. Rv'rs use them when winterizing their RV

Jim WA9ABB

Steve,

.22 caliber can be effective, but not practical in a close neighborhood situation, and police frown on gun fire in town. But had not heard about the Bounce. Just put some coffee grounds out this morning after chasing squirrel away from base of antenna. Will continue to observe and see what happens next.

73
Jim  WA9ABB

Jim WA9ABB

It has been 24 hours since I put coffee grounds around the base of my vertical antenna.  So far the tree rats have been staying away from the antenna, although they are still running around the yard. 

Jim  WA9ABB

Bob Needleman

Jim - in addition to the coffee grounds (the 'aroma' of which will dissipate fairly quickly outdoors unless you replenish it often), you may want to consider investing in one of the heavy duty ultrasonic pest devices. They're AC powered but they do come in outdoor models and emit strong (silent to humans) ultrasonic waves that rodents avoid as I think it's painful or annoying to them. I have used one on the porch and rear deck for several years and it does seem to keep the 'critters' away. 

Jim WA9ABB

Bob,

Thanks for idea.  I will go online and check it out. The antenna is ground mounted about thirty feet from the back of the house. No convenient electrical outlet nearby. But will investigate that possibility.

I drink coffee every morning, so no shortage of coffee grounds. So far it seems to work. Also have had suggestion of using peppermint oil, but the coffee grounds are cheaper.

73
Jim  WA9ABB

Bob Needleman

OK Jim - the heavy duty ultrasonic rodent repellants made for outdoor use will cover several hundred square feet so shouldn't be an issue keeping it 30 feet away from the ant. I have outdoor receptacles on front/back of the house I use to power my anti-rodent devices and  which work well without needing an extension cord. Glad to hear the coffee grounds idea is working - yes, much cheaper than peppermint oil since you're making fresh grounds every day. It's good to let a few days go by without putting fresh grounds down. Then hit the coax with a good slug of grounds - that way they won't develop a tolerance to the smell (I do the same with my ultrasonic repellant - turning it off and on every few days). 
73,
Bob K3AC

Patrick

Had that happen to me on my direcTV antenna leads, which I had to run via a tree to my house in the air.  I laughed for 3 days, should have took a picture of the coax.  Get this, center conductor was bare, the shield was holding on by two threads of the shield.  Before I discovered the affliction, my signal strength on the afflicted transponders was bouncing up and down, and I was cursing direcTV for **** service.  Any way, to solve the problem had to buy new ground mount and burry the coax.....them pesky tree rats....this happened after a banner year for acorn production.  Leading to a big year of tree rat procreation!  Luckily it caused a big influx of Hawks!  That ultimately solved my tree rat problem....... Nature always wins!

Jim WA9ABB

Bob,

I have been a ham since 1961 and have read many antenna articles and books over the years,
but  don't recall this subject ever being mentioned.

I have seen ads for ultrasonic repellents for insects and rodents before, but was never sure if they really worked.  I will keep it in mind for the future if the coffee grounds don't work out.

Thanks for your input.

Jim  WA9ABB 

Bob Needleman

Jim - yes, the definitely do work, but as with a lot of electronic deterrants, the 'critters' can develop tolerance if you expose them to the ultrasound for a long period of time. I have an issue with field mice getting inside the walls of my home to escape the cold in winter. The scratching can get quite loud, especially at night. Last winter when I was being inundated with the noise, I turned on my indoor rodent device and within a minute or two, the scratching was gone. And they didn't  come back - not sure where they went, but they must have moved on somewhere else (my neighbors?).
I'm not a rodent expert, but I suspect their hearing, like dogs, is very acute and they must be able to detect very high freq. sound, into the ultrasonic spectrum. The device I have emits a variable harsh sound, like a siren, although it's really not audible to a human unless you switch to 'audible' and then you can hear what the critters are hearing and it's pretty harsh sounding, so guess they are disturbed by the noise and will move on. I don't want to give any plugs to brand names of these devices, but I have one type that I use indoors and another outdoors. Drop me an email and I'll give you the info. I'm good on QRZ.
73,
Bob K3AC