Alec Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 A few months ago, I laid in a DMX line in our new church installation to allow control of the lighting from the sound mix position. Routing was awkward owing to the layout of the building and aesthetics. I was quite happy to use the same FST balanced audio cable that we use for our fixed sound feeds - and everything was working a treat. Then recently it all stopped working. I started to wonder if it was all true after all that I should have used "proper" DMX cable. However, tracing along the cable route (some 40m, not all easy exposed) determined the culprit. A rat had chewed right through the cable - leaving droppings behind as a visiting card! We've always had a bit of a rat problem, and I've had nagging concerns about possible cable damage, but nothing has happened before. More worrying was that this was right by an audio multicore which would have been rather less easy to repair. But at least as it was cheap cable I don't mind ripping it out and replacing the whole length when I get round to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrPete Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 From something I heard or read (maybe on here?) ages ago, was that rats liked chewing through cables of certain insulation types - I can't remember if it was rubber or plastic they "prefer". Perhaps someone else could shed some light on that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alec Posted September 23, 2005 Author Share Posted September 23, 2005 From something I heard or read (maybe on here?) ages ago, was that rats liked chewing through cables of certain insulation types - I can't remember if it was rubber or plastic they "prefer".<{POST_SNAPBACK}> Certainly they'd ignored the inch thick multicore which was right next to it, and the 1.3 mm mains cable. I wondered if the thin FST cable was just a more attractive diameter to them? But it might have had just the right smell/taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 We occasionally have problems with rats and cables in ducts. I have a leased "dark fibre" circuit between here and a site about 8 miles away. We leased 16 fibres from a telecoms provider, and we get the ends, so we can light them in any manner we choose. We bought some new circuits, and the leased link fell into disuse - I was still using a couple of the fibres, but not for anything important. Then one day it stopped working. We assumed the link had been chopped or re-routed by the supplier. But we shifted the link onto a different pair and all was OK. A week later it failed again. After going through this cycle 2 or 3 times, we phoned the installations team at the supplier. We didn't have any contract to use these services, but thought we should tell them that they were failing. They came in with a TDR machine, and discovered a break about 2 miles into the circuit. Cross-referenced with some maps and said "That'll be the rats in Bath St...". The company was actually quite happy that we had been using their circuit with no contract, as it had given them advance warning that there were problems in one of their main trunk routes! The installatiosn guys said that in their experience, rats preferred kevlar-armoured cable over the normal stuff. Bruce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich newby Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 Hi guys I have had problems with severed cables, not by mice tho,( form young actors not reading signs on doors say DO NOT USE DOOR, KEEP AJAR AT ALL TIMES, its fine going out, its when they slam the door. resulting in a perfect cut straight though 50m of van damme cable :) :( :( . I have found that a section( the full lenth of cable in this case) wired armoured tubing with the cable inside works perfectly, although it dose need to be very heaverly armoured tube :P . Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robloxley Posted September 24, 2005 Share Posted September 24, 2005 Did you not have any containment for your cabling?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce Posted September 24, 2005 Share Posted September 24, 2005 I agree - running an unprotected cable through a doorway, with nothing but a sign to protect it, is a bit silly... imagine what would have happened if it had been a power cable... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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