25 January, 2026

Do deer like antenna wires?

Our garden is frequently visited by roe deer. They like to trek along the little brook that runs at the edge of the garden. Usually that has few consequences.

But this weekend as I was about to contact stations during the CQ160CW contest, I noticed that nobody could hear me. I heard many stations, but nobody seemed to hear my signal.

I have an inverted-L antenna for 160 m. After some digging in the snow, I found that the wire from the coax shield that goes to the ground stake and also to the several ground wires that have been spread out, was cut off. 

Balun (white) and broken ground connection (red ring)
Missing any other suspects, I will blame it on the deer. But fortunately for me, it was easy to fix, and I was back up on the air again in time to enjoy the last evening of the contest. 

 

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3 comments:

  1. Anonymous25 January, 2026 20:46

    Squirrels love aluminum tubing and coax. I lost coax to the tree rats and had them sharpening teeth on my collection of tubing. Hopefully, you do not have anymore broken lines.

    73,
    Don
    NN4DX

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  2. mouse10 March, 2026 04:04

    What a classic "deer-did-it" story! It's amazing how wildlife can find the one critical connection in your station and just... sever it. Glad the culprit was (presumably) identified and the fix was straightforward—nothing a little digging in the snow and a reconnection couldn't solve.

    Good to hear you made it back on the air for the final evening of the CQ160CW contest! Sometimes the most memorable moments in this hobby aren't the QSOs themselves, but the unexpected challenges along the way. 73 and hope the deer stay clear of your ground wires next time! https://morsecode-generator.com/

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