cdru
Go Colts
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join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
1 edit | What about the CableCos and SatCos?
Has the NY PSC checked cable companies and satellite installers as well? I won't argue that the installs should have been done correctly and up to code to begin with. I just seem to get a whiff of something fishy every time this issue surfaces.
I know installs around here by both satellite and cable companies are pretty shoddy when it comes to grounding issues. Neither my parents nor my house had the 4' cable grouding rods bonded to the main service grounding rod. And when I had Dish I had to nerve to inconvenience the sat installer to ground my roof mounted dish. |
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bogey780
join:2004-03-19
Here | Yea... pretty much. For all the horrible ground work done in those photos I've see much the same from MSO's and dish. |
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jaa
Premium,MVM
join:2000-06-13
 ·Optimum Online
 ·Vonage
| reply to cdru
Most installs tie to an existing ground - they don't put in grounding rods. It would be nice to have all companies checked for code compliance.
I'm wondering what they ground - isn't fios glass?
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NOTHING justifies terrorism. We don't negotiate with terrorists. Those that support terrorists are terrorists. |
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cdru
Go Colts
Premium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
| said by jaa  :Most installs tie to an existing ground - they don't put in grounding rods. It would be nice to have all companies checked for code compliance. It doesn't matter if they are tying into an existing ground rod. If they touch it, it no longer is grandfathered in under an old code that may have allowed it.
I'm wondering what they ground - isn't fios glass? It's been brought up many times in past thread. The ONT is fed via glass fiber, but there is still copper wiring on the inside of the house. The grounding is there just as much for the internal wiring as a safety ground as what it would be had the fiber been copper. |
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NormanS
Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
 ·Pacific Bell - SBC
| reply to jaa
said by jaa :Most installs tie to an existing ground - they don't put in grounding rods. It would be nice to have all companies checked for code compliance. I'm wondering what they ground - isn't fios glass? On this premises, cable was installed probably 20 years ago; then cancelled for satellite.
The cable drop was only tied to a flimsy ground rod. I should pull it out to see if it was really deep enough. No more than 1/2 in. diameter.
The satellite lead was not grounded at all; and the phone link was improperly connected to the station protector, per an SBC tech troubleshooting a line problem.
I took care of the phone connection; and, when the landlady upgraded the satellite service, I made sure the installer bonded the ground to the electric service panel.
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Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum |
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jaa
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join:2000-06-13
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| reply to cdru
I'm curious what the code is for grounding/bonding. If I have my house wired with ethernet, and connect a switch to that wiring, does it have to be grounded/bonded, other than perhaps a 3-prong outlet?
I just don't understand the differnce between that and an ONT. Anyone have a reference to the code violation the NY PSC is quoting?
These are Verizon union installers, wouldn't they know?
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NOTHING justifies terrorism. We don't negotiate with terrorists. Those that support terrorists are terrorists. |
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cdru
Go Colts
Premium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
| said by jaa :I'm curious what the code is for grounding/bonding. If I have my house wired with ethernet, and connect a switch to that wiring, does it have to be grounded/bonded, other than perhaps a 3-prong outlet? No. Network cabling is not required to be grounded.
Grounding is done to provide a safe path for excess power to travel. With telephone and cable lines, there is usually opportunities for the connection outside the house to come in contact with a power line or a nearby lightning strike. Also, TVs and VCRs and bleed voltage and current from the main power across the coax. Properly grounded, if the bleeding became excessive then a breaker could trip.
With the ONT, you don't have to worry much about the outside cabling, but there is still a chance for internal wiring to cause a problem. This is why the ONT needs grounded.
Also, "bonding" is the term used when you are talking about connecting multiple grounding points, typically a copper or copper-clad rod driven into the ground. NEC requires that all grounding rods be tied together or bonded by a 6ga copper wire or larger. This allows all grounding rods to be at the same potential. Without being bonded, each grounding rod could have a different potential which is dangerous.
I just don't understand the differnce between that and an ONT. Anyone have a reference to the code violation the NY PSC is quoting? I can't quote the exact passage, but my guess is that the NEC requires cable, telephone, and power lines to be grounded at the entrance of the premises.
These are Verizon union installers, wouldn't they know? They should. But being union doesn't necessarily mean that they aren't sloppy, weren't trained properly, or just have bad habits. |
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jaa
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join:2000-06-13
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| said by cdru :I can't quote the exact passage, but my guess is that the NEC requires cable, telephone, and power lines to be grounded at the entrance of the premises. That is my guess too - it is based on copper cables coming into the premises, and has not been updated to reflect non-conducting cables (such as fiber) and therefore the whole thing is a joke.
If someone wires you house for sound with copper wires, does NEC require the amplifier be grounded? So long as no copper wires go outside the premises, I see no reason to require grounding to a rod for an ONT.
The only possible rational explanation is there is a chance that currently, or in the future, copper phone or TV cable will be run outside the house, and hence the grounding requirement.
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NOTHING justifies terrorism. We don't negotiate with terrorists. Those that support terrorists are terrorists. |
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cdru
Go Colts
Premium,MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN
| NEC 800.100 is the section that covers grounding of metallic sheathed communications cables. You can view a free copy of the NEC here. Follow the link towards the bottom that says view the 2008 version. Free registration required.
Coax cabling would be covered under this section. As an overwhelming majority of ONTs are installed on the exterior of the house, there would be an entry point for the coax.
I can't argue for or against if something should be grounded. I'm going to defer that to people that know much more about that type of thing then I. However, regardless of if it should be, the point is that it currently is required by NEC. The NEC gets updated every couple of years (it was just updated this year) and fiber connections aren't new. |
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battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000
| reply to cdru
The guy that installed my Direct Tv in January told me that they had become real anal about grounding in the last year. He said his company that he worked for would charge them for improper grounds.
I was at a hotel doing some work a few weeks ago and a Comcast tech was there doing some work as well. Some how we got on the subject of grounding and he said they had recently become real strict on grounding as well. |
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jaa
Premium,MVM
join:2000-06-13 | reply to cdru
Ok, so if they put the ONT inside the house no need for a ground - no metallic sheathed communications cables. |
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cdru
Go Colts
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join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN | Possibly, but I don't know. And interior ONT installs are definitely the exception to the rule. |
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