Years ago I was working on a promising formula for determining the number of mice in a transmitter to determine the last time it was opened for maintenance.
I found 18 mice in an FM transmitter at Anthoston, KY. I knew for sure the station, WGBF-FM now, had been for sale for over 3 years and the Staff had little interest in extra work. A similar find was at Scipio, Indiana. Regular finds of 6 to 10 in a transmitter were regular.
The worst ever was in a remote control at WWWY Columbus, Indiana. A Burke had a nest of mice in it. The computer connectors weren't always sealed on the units, leaving space for ingress of mice. Add babies. After I saw little red eyes looking at me in the semi darkness. I opened the case, watching for any mice that left. (Counted 4). After opening I found 2 dozen small and dead babies. It was packed full of tube insulation from an Econco box. The smell was RIPE. When I say packed it was packed.
IN addition to long times between maintenance there are other factors. Sometimes a transmitter is in a field of soybeans or corn (Like Scipio, IN). Anthoston was in a grass covered field near houses. The Columbus site was near a wooded area off the Interstate.
I figured some sites were never going to be reliably sealed even if they were designed well. Some will have mice as they are in a grain field. Some will have mice because they generate heat the mice are drawn to.
What are your mice stories? Other than mothballs I haven't seen ways that stop them cold. In Columbus, Indiana WCSI FM had snakes in addition to the mice. The site near the other previously mentioned site was in a wooded area in a quonset hut, built after WW2.
I found 18 mice in an FM transmitter at Anthoston, KY. I knew for sure the station, WGBF-FM now, had been for sale for over 3 years and the Staff had little interest in extra work. A similar find was at Scipio, Indiana. Regular finds of 6 to 10 in a transmitter were regular.
The worst ever was in a remote control at WWWY Columbus, Indiana. A Burke had a nest of mice in it. The computer connectors weren't always sealed on the units, leaving space for ingress of mice. Add babies. After I saw little red eyes looking at me in the semi darkness. I opened the case, watching for any mice that left. (Counted 4). After opening I found 2 dozen small and dead babies. It was packed full of tube insulation from an Econco box. The smell was RIPE. When I say packed it was packed.
IN addition to long times between maintenance there are other factors. Sometimes a transmitter is in a field of soybeans or corn (Like Scipio, IN). Anthoston was in a grass covered field near houses. The Columbus site was near a wooded area off the Interstate.
I figured some sites were never going to be reliably sealed even if they were designed well. Some will have mice as they are in a grain field. Some will have mice because they generate heat the mice are drawn to.
What are your mice stories? Other than mothballs I haven't seen ways that stop them cold. In Columbus, Indiana WCSI FM had snakes in addition to the mice. The site near the other previously mentioned site was in a wooded area in a quonset hut, built after WW2.
