RE: [amsat-bb] Vultures

["Frederick M. Spinner" <fspinner@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sounds like a WONDERFUL use of a California Kilowatt!  heh heh...

Or, even better 10 California Kilowatts...

Fred W0FMS

>From: Bruce Bostwick <lihan@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu>
>To: <amsat-bb@AMSAT.Org>
>Subject: RE: [amsat-bb] Vultures
>Date: Mon, 5 Feb 2001 18:39:52 -0600
>
>>  > Does anyone have any previously used solution to bird perching?
>>>  And does anyone know if the white material is bad for aluminum?
>>>  I found a manufacturer of plastic spike strip to deter the birds.
>>>  Anyone have experience with it.
>>  > Tnx Kevin N6CWF Phoenix Az
>>
>>The final answer.  Termination with extreme prejudice.  A
>>sudden case of high-velocity lead poisoning.  14.4 grains of
>>lead at about 850 feet per second.  I am a high-power rifle
>>competitor.  They asked me to pick out a pellet rifle, they
>>paid for it, and once a week I remove the critters from the
>>work area.  At first there were too many, I got too tired
>>pumping the air rifle.  Now there are one or two a week.
>>They are the stupid ones, the smart ones moved to the
>>horse track.
>
>I've used an air rifle for this very purpose, although it wasn't an
>antenna I was trying to remove the birds from.  Try not to hit parts
>of your antenna though -- a BB driven at maximum muzzle velocity will
>a) punch a hole clean through any aluminum elements it hits, which
>will mess up your SWR as sure as shooting, and b) ricochet off any
>steel parts (like the tower) in dangerously random directions.
>Pellets are a little less likely to ricochet, but they also don't
>have the penetrating power a BB does, and on my rifle at least,
>cycling the "bolt" will reload while it arms the pump mechanism, so I
>can fire them a lot faster than pellets ..
>
>Seriously, though, the plastic spikes may keep the birds off, but if
>they are attached directly to the element they will add both lumped
>and distributed capacitance to it (they are, after all, made of
>dielectric) and this will require you to retune the antenna with the
>bird guards in place.  They will also drastically increase the wind
>cross section and you may have wind/rotator problems with the bird
>guards on the antenna.  An air rifle is probably by far the simplest
>solution ..
>
>--
><BGB>
>                  --... ...--  -.. .  -. ..... ...- -...
>              Bruce Bostwick  N5VB  Austin, TX  Grid EM10DH
>ARRL / UT ARC / Austin ARC / Travis Co. ARES / ARRL+W5YI Vol. Examiner
>    http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~lihan/  mailto:lihan@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu
>----
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