Cable-gnawing squirrels! Well that stuffs my idea! Pity. (Fortunately
our (Australian) possums don't seem interested in chewing on cable
insulation.) Maybe if you could hang the cable from thin cords, the
squirrels wouldn't get it?
I'm no expert, and cables no doubt have changed in the last 30 years, but I
feel sure that for long as the insulation remains intact, cables would be
waterproof except perhaps at their ends, depending on how they are fixed.
And even if the outer insulation was chewed, the cable would still be
effective unless the insulation around the individual wires was also chewed.
For the auto-record gear I mentioned, CSIRO somehow "fixed" their dynamic
mics so that the were weather-proof, and they never gave any trouble for the
3 years they were out in the rainforest in a subtropical climate with an
annual rainfall of c. 80 inches.
Alas, the mechanical time-switches and open-reel recorders were not so
reliable, even inside their weather-proof steel cabinet. One unexpected
problem: the cabinet was not insect-proof, and one or more native
cockroaches decided that the recorder was their ideal home ... and
eventually jammed the mechanism with their droppings!
Cheers
Syd
> From: { brad brace } <>
> Reply-To:
> Date: Thu, 9 Apr 2009 16:11:40 -0700 (PDT)
> To:
> Subject: Re: [Nature Recordists] cable length?
>
>
> thanks Syd, squirrels are the likely gnawing culprits in my
> backyard -- I've heard some offers of good long cables but
> they don't seem to be weatherproof or buriable (wouldn't
> _any cable be more or less waterproof?) -- any source
> suggestions much appreciated! (Random cellphone or taxi
> input is likely quite alright, even preferable, for me.)
>
> (I have a big coil of ethernet cable in the attic. Is there
> an inexpensive outdoor video? device that I could hook that
> up to across 200+ feet?)
>
> how would I use RG6 coaxial cable to record sound?
>
> and the frogs are quite splendiferous these evenings/early
> mornings!!
>
>
> /:b
>
> { brad brace } <<<<< >>>> ~finger for pgp
>
> --- bbs: brad brace sound ---
> --- http://69.64.229.114:8000 ---
>
>
>
> On Fri, 10 Apr 2009, Syd Curtis wrote:
>
>>
>> Being technically pretty ignorant, I haven't been following this thread, but
>> would like to offer a comment on the aspect mentioned below by Robb Nichols.
>>
>> For a few years around 1970, I was operating some automatic recording
>> apparatus on loan from CSIRO, to monitor the vocal behaviour of lyrebirds.
>> Several mics were connected by long cables to a central weather-proof box
>> with the recorder and time-switches, set to record 10 seconds every 6
>> minutes, 6AM-6PM.
>>
>> The CSIRO expert who advised me on its use emphasised that I must keep the
>> cables up off the ground - run them over tree branches, etc. If on the
>> ground, the insulation would be chewed off by rats.
>>
>> For what it is worth.
>>
>> Syd Curtis (Brisbane, Australia)
>>
>> [CSIRO = Australia's principal official scientific organisation.]
>>
>>> From: Robb Nichols <>
>>> Organization: Aquarian Audio Producs
>>> Reply-To:
>>> Date: Wed, 08 Apr 2009 11:18:51 -0700
>>> To:
>>> Subject: Re: [Nature Recordists] cable length?
>>>
>>> In
>>> fact, unless you intend to protect your cable somehow from pesky rodents
>>> and others that very well may chew though your cable over time, you
>>> might even want to go with an underground RG6 (cable TV stuff).
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> "While a picture is worth a thousand words, a
> sound is worth a thousand pictures." R. Murray Schafer via Bernie Krause
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