Cat5 and rodents!!

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DS248

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#260018 6-Nov-2019 19:37

A couple of our landline extensions stopped working recently. Son tracked down the problem (photo below) inside a ventilation duct. A rat or mouse had stripped the outer sheathing, chewed the wire insulation over about 100 mm and even managed to severe 5 of the 8 wires!

An electrician installing new wiring several weeks ago had warned us a data cable in the duct had been attacked by rodents. Didn't realise it was so bad or would fail so soon.

RunningMan

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#2349084 6-Nov-2019 19:41

~~Cat5e~~

Rat5e. There, fixed for you.

hio77

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Lizard Networks

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#2349091 6-Nov-2019 20:50

run it through a 10mbit switch and they are less attracted to it.

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

loceff13

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#2349097 6-Nov-2019 21:15

poison time

xpd

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#2349113 6-Nov-2019 21:27

FluffyCat is what you need.

XPD / Gavin

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afe66

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#2349272 7-Nov-2019 10:17

Mice did the same to my cable to the weatherstation.

Traps were deployed with good effect...

Also has to learn about cable, connectors and crimping tool so something interesting came out of the experience..

FineWine

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#2349332 7-Nov-2019 11:21

When I was an alarm company control room manager in Sydney in the eighties, one of our clients was Olivia Newton-John's father. For a period of several months we kept getting alarms off his property, tech's would go out and do all the appropriate testing but could not find anything wrong. It must be noted that Mr Newton-John was an alcoholic so we, wrongly, assumed these false alarms were caused by him. Anyway one tech noticed a lot of cockroaches around, inside & out, of the property, so just on a hunch he opened up a large conduit at the box end that disappeared into the ceiling space and out popped a family of cockroaches. The property was rewired and no more false alarms.

Another story concerning a different species is we also monitored a bordello in the Cross, panic alarms & the Madam's private residence. Well we quite often got panic alarms from the front desk. Our strict instructions were to never send the police but to send one of our own security officers. He would investigate but the girls were always perfectly alright. One sharp eyed security officer noted, after several months of the false alarms, that the girls would lean back in the chair at the front desk and put their high heeled feet up on the desk. What he noticed is that the high heel end would hook under the desk and if the girls got it positioned just right the tip of the high heel would hit the panic alarm. Tech called, button moved further back under the desk, no more false alarms.

Oh there are more fun stories with alarm systems - but another day.

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.