Should I splice this?

[Jim in Halifax]

if it ain't broke leave it alone.....wrap and tape to keep out any moisture...Outer strand is a shield to keep out any stray noise that could affect picture quality

[Mike134]

to the OP

What part of your TT was that found? Can't really tell from the pictures. Judging from the bare wood doesn't seem to be a place that gets wet.

[dalford]

Originally Posted by Gregg.H

I would base the decision to splice or tape on whether the TV receives a good signal right now. If normally received stations still work, then I’d just tape it.

^x2

[dalford]

Originally Posted by Jim in Halifax

if it ain't broke leave it alone.....wrap and tape to keep out any moisture...Outer strand is a shield to keep out any stray noise that could affect picture quality

Actually it is a little more complex than that but if it ain’t broke, ie, tv picture is good, just tape it…

[Tabasco_Joe]

Originally Posted by Jim in Halifax

if it ain't broke leave it alone.....wrap and tape to keep out any moisture...Outer strand is a shield to keep out any stray noise that could affect picture quality

The outer shield creates the wave guide used to conduct the signal from the amp in the antenna to the TVs. Damaging the shield can cause narrow bands of higher loss known as resonances. Or suckouts in cable tech terms. When this occurs you may still get good signal levels on received channels but poor signal levels on channels you et in another location when you travel in the RV. Any existing resonances may change frequency a bit with temperature of humidity. Meaning a channel may be received well now but later get attenuated to the point of poor picture quality or loss of signal.

The integrity of the coax is even more important when being fed directly by an amplifier. As is the case in most RV antennas.

[The Newsoms]

Originally Posted by Tabasco_Joe

The outer shield creates the wave guide used to conduct the signal from the amp in the antenna to the TVs. Damaging the shield can cause narrow bands of higher loss known as resonances. Or suckouts in cable tech terms. When this occurs you may still get good signal levels on received channels but poor signal levels on channels you et in another location when you travel in the RV. Any existing resonances may change frequency a bit with temperature of humidity. Meaning a channel may be received well now but later get attenuated to the point of poor picture quality or loss of signal.

The integrity of the coax is even more important when being fed directly by an amplifier. As is the case in most RV antennas.

It was definitely a rat. It caused some other issues and I haven’t checked the ductwork yet. 🙄
This coax connects to the roof top satellite dish. The chewed sections will be inside so no worry about water but it will be a pain to redo if it ends up I have to. I have good quality connectors but I’m not sure about the quality of my couplings.

[Glampen]

I don't see any damage to the braid. Tape it as mentioned but do what is necessary to eliminate what caused the chafing in the future.

[flyflotrtim]

Originally Posted by Gregg.H

I would base the decision to splice or tape on whether the TV receives a good signal right now. If normally received stations still work, then I’d just tape it.

I always do the simplest thing first. If taping does not allow a good signal, then you can consider next steps. I would try a piece of foil followed by lots of tape.

[Pred]

Originally Posted by The Newsoms

It was definitely a rat. It caused some other issues and I haven’t checked the ductwork yet. 🙄
This coax connects to the roof top satellite dish. The chewed sections will be inside so no worry about water but it will be a pain to redo if it ends up I have to. I have good quality connectors but I’m not sure about the quality of my couplings.

That's what I thought when I saw the pic and having dealt with hundreds of cases like yours in my previous work for 33 years. Many ways of getting rid of rats which can be nasty; but, one of the things rats don't like is peppermint. Soak some cotton balls with some peppermint oil and place them in the areas they may be in. That will help flush them out and keep them out. Obviously, seal up where they are getting in. Good luck to The Newsoms.

[lesptr]

Originally Posted by Pred

Attachment 265528

He wouldn’t survive long on another forum. (Hunting) there’s a guy that’s kept track of is squirrels successfully hunted over the years. He’s over 50,000.

[TheWolfPaq82]

Tape it and then tackle the mouse problem...or have you taken care of that ? the cable has been nibbled on. Insulation jacket on much of the newer wire and cable is now Soy oil based and very tasty to the rodent population. To them, it's a giant piece of licorice .

[U.S.ArmyVeteran]

As mentioned. If it works now. Don't fix it.
Why look for a problem. It's interior cable? Correct? No water danger.

Tape it.

[NavyLCDR]

Originally Posted by The Newsoms

I would prefer to change it out but I’m really nervous about trying to pull through new cable. Do any of you know if I can depend on it not snagging up?
The metal sheathing is not broken but the little metal wires (that like to poke your fingers) are missing on one half.

The missing shielding (the little metal wires) will cause more issues with signal interference than the tiny little bit of signal loss that a good splice causes.

[Tabasco_Joe]

Originally Posted by The Newsoms

It was definitely a rat. It caused some other issues and I haven’t checked the ductwork yet. ��
This coax connects to the roof top satellite dish. The chewed sections will be inside so no worry about water but it will be a pain to redo if it ends up I have to. I have good quality connectors but I’m not sure about the quality of my couplings.

It's even more important to have good coax integrity for satellite systems. They use a higher frequency IF between the dish and the receiver than UFH TV. Coax splices aren't hard to make. Buy some coax at Home Depot and make a couple practice connections.

It can save you a lot of headaches down the road. I have almost 40 years of experience leading design teams developing CATV, wireless, and satellite equipment. Can't tell you how much time gets wasted troubleshooting bad coax.

[gw1800]

Originally Posted by wildcatter

I would splice it, it is acting like a big antenna right now. I would use good quality ends and a barrel connector.

You will need a high frequency barrel connector. Companies that install satellite dishes should have them. Also available on Amazon. The center of the barrel is blue. Or if you see a cable truck, ask the technician if he has one.

The best male connectors are the compression style.

[bbells]

Here is what I do on my ham radio antennas if I can't replace them. 1) Check the shielding and make sure it isn't damaged. The damage could cause interference and signal loss. 2) If damaged, wrap with aluminum foil and then wrap it up with tape, really tight. 3) If not damaged, just wrap it really tight with electrical tape or liquid tape and let it dry.

[jkierl]

Originally Posted by bubbles

Could have been damaged during installation. If the top area is showing foil then the coax is a quad RG6 cable and there would be another wrap of shielding under the foil. Anyway just the outer insulator appears to be damaged (can't see the conductor) so I think taping would be sufficient; it would certainly be easier. Don't know how much of an EMI problem exists on our units. As said, tape it, try it.

Definitely not installation damage. Make sure you put out some traps and bait for the rodents before they do more damage.

[NavyLCDR]

Originally Posted by bbells

Here is what I do on my ham radio antennas if I can't replace them. 1) Check the shielding and make sure it isn't damaged. The damage could cause interference and signal loss. 2) If damaged, wrap with aluminum foil and then wrap it up with tape, really tight. 3) If not damaged, just wrap it really tight with electrical tape or liquid tape and let it dry.

The problem with electrical tape is that it is not waterproof. Not only will it let water in, but it will trap that water and cause corrosion in the wire under the electrical tape. The best solution is to cut the bad section of cable out and splice it with waterproof connectors (compression type, not crimp or twist-on) with waterproof heat shrink tubing over the waterproof splices. You can now buy a compression fitting kit for coax at Walmart.

[Pred]

Originally Posted by NavyLCDR

The problem with electrical tape is that it is not waterproof. Not only will it let water in, but it will trap that water and cause corrosion in the wire under the electrical tape. The best solution is to cut the bad section of cable out and splice it with waterproof connectors (compression type, not crimp or twist-on) with waterproof heat shrink tubing over the waterproof splices. You can now buy a compression fitting kit for coax at Walmart.

Double rubber tape (DR Tape) comes in rolls similar to vinyl tape and is designed to waterproof cable splices. It stretches and self vulcanizes making a good waterproofing method for cables and is easier to use. Heat shrink tubing is okay; but, will allow water penetration over time.
Applying a vinyl tape wrap after the rubber tape provides additional protection.
Duck Brand also makes a self-fusing rubber splicing tape and I'm sure there are others.
If your cable is not being affected by moisture then obviously vinyl tape is just fine as long as your shield is satisfactory.
If you can easily replace the entire length of cable, then that's the way to go.

[RockyGBOT]

The signal quality should be pretty tolerant of the damage shown unless the shield can short to the center conductor, if exposed. Trim the loose ends of the shield braid/wires to prevent any contact with the center conductor and tape it up. Keep it simple, post repair testing will tell if further efforts are required. BTW, does the antenna amplifier power travel on this coax?