Madtown
Premium Member
join:2008-04-26
93637-2905 |
Madtown
Premium Member
2012-Dec-26 9:08 pm
Comcast truck driving through neighborhood recentlyToday I saw a CC truck driving through the neighborhood going in and out of apt buildings driveways, and coming back out just driving around the neighborhood where I live, what is going on? They don't stop for long (if at all) and they just drive. |
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 Tobin
join:2003-09-21
Burlingame, CA |
Tobin
Member
2012-Dec-26 9:13 pm
Could be testing xfinitywifi? |
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2 recommendations |
to Madtown
The tech could be looking for a leak, verifying plant location, auditing addresses, looking for another tech, looking for a tool they lost, trying to find the source of ingress, increasing the milage on the truck so they can get a new one or something else work related. |
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 RR ConductorRidin' the rails
Premium Member
join:2002-04-02
Redwood Valley, CA
2 recommendations |
to Madtown
Look out, it's the Men in Black, incognito  |
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 owlyn
MVM
join:2004-06-05
Newtown, PA
1 recommendation |
to Madtown
Maybe he was looking for his cheating wife or girlfriend. Maybe it is part of a new Comcast effort to have a presence in the community. Maybe he was looking for his lost dog. Maybe he was just lost. |
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 NetFixerFrom My Cold Dead Hands
Premium Member
join:2004-06-24
The Boro
Pace 5268AC
TRENDnet TEW-829DRU
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NetFixer
Premium Member
2012-Dec-26 10:49 pm
said by owlyn:Maybe he was just lost.
 I can't remember how many times I have done exactly what the driver of the Comcast vehicle did while looking for some bogus address on a work order (usually accompanied by a bogus telephone number, or a number that went to voice mail with no reply from the voice mail recipient). Also have on numerous occasions been pulled over and interrogated by the local PD or private rent-a-cops when someone would call 911 and report me for stalking or casing the neighborhood. |
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LOL! ^ |
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 whfsdude
Premium Member
join:2003-04-05
Washington, DC |
to Tobin
said by Tobin:Could be testing xfinitywifi?
Doubtful. I've seen them installing APs here and they use their construction crews - not techs. I am pretty sure most of the crews doing them are contractors as well which is why you see a ton go up at once. These are what they look like (took these after they went up): Easiest way to spot them is at night as they have a little blue light on them. » lh3.googleusercontent.co ··· 3153.jpg» lh3.googleusercontent.co ··· 3202.jpg» lh5.googleusercontent.co ··· 3223.jpg» lh3.googleusercontent.co ··· 2722.jpgProduct image: » www.sonlte.com/wp-conten ··· x194.jpg |
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 nunyaLXI 483
MVM
join:2000-12-23
O Fallon, MO ·Charter
1 recommendation |
to Madtown
They are required by the FCC to keep signal leakage under control. This is usually done by just driving through neighborhoods. There's a small antenna on the truck and it connects to a leakage meter. You have to get within X feet of every BD box, tap, splice, amp, etc.. or get out and walk it. |
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Madtown
Premium Member
join:2008-04-26
93637-2905 |
to whfsdude
said by whfsdude 
Product image: »www.sonlte.com/wp-conten ··· x194.jpg
[/BQUOTE :Access Denied
The owner of this website (www.sonlte.com) does not allow hotlinking to that resource (/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/BelairLTEMSO-300x194.jpg). (Ref. 1011) |
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whfsdude
Premium Member
join:2003-04-05
Washington, DC |
to Madtown
Closeup of one of the BelAir APs Comcast uses. |
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 camperjust visiting this planet
Premium Member
join:2010-03-21
Bethel, CT |
to Madtown
said by Madtown:Today I saw a CC truck driving through the neighborhood going in and out of apt buildings driveways, and coming back out just driving around the neighborhood where I live, what is going on? They don't stop for long (if at all) and they just drive. I always have cringed whenever I saw a utility truck on my street. The simple reason is that "why is the truck here when my utilities are working fine". More often than not, I have discovered that the result of the ulility truck on my street is that someone's service no longer funtions properly, sometimes mine. I do admit that my suspicion is due mainly AT&T's "efforts" on my street and the resulting loss of my phone service. I also want to say that I've seen Comcast trucks on the street with the result of no degradation to my service. So I have to give Comcast techs kudos for that. |
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jm101
join:2011-07-17
Oakland, CA ARRIS BGW210-700
Ubiquiti UDM-Pro
Ubiquiti UniFi UAP-AC-PRO
1 edit |
to Madtown
That reminds me of most recently when Comcast drove up my street in the morning, climbed the pole in front of our house, shut off us and our neighbor's service, then left. We didn't realize that it had gone off until after he left. Happened at about 9:30 am and when I called they said they'd send someone out within 1.5 to 2 hours or something like that. No one showed up, called again, then they said someone would come by 6 PM or something like that. Lucky for us they came around 1 or 1:30 and got us back in service. If I recall I think the tech said someone put a filter on the lines on the pole and somehow it fed bad signal in. I guess someone's wiring was bad. Then for the next few days more Comcast trucks kept coming and coming. Haha. Was pretty sloppy on Comcast's part but we at least got 3 months of a premium channel in addition to a small credit. |
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to Madtown
I'm not sure if they're doing this nationwide or not, but in our area they've just started a program where a tech is doing full-time leakage drive-out. They set up a special van with leakage equipment and a gps system. The system picks up the leaks and uploads them to a program which generates work orders automatically. The tech driving the van doesn't even know where and when the leaks are. His job is just to drive out 100 miles (here anyway) a day. The leaks are compiled and sent out to the appropriate supervisors.
In the past leakage was done by techs with audible leakage detectors noting and repairing each leak as they go about their daily routines. Unfortunately some of the time these leaks don't get repaired because they're found while the tech is doing other work and are forgotten about. The new system documents the leak and they will remain in the system until the work orders are closed out.
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 gar187erI DID this for a living
join:2006-06-24
Seattle, WA |
is a regional thing, the new DOT is big into leakage.
other areas use the GPS leakage system, but the new push is cause of him. |
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RR ConductorRidin' the rails
Premium Member
join:2002-04-02
Redwood Valley, CA |
DOT? I bet it's not Department of Transportation  |
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pandora
Premium Member
join:2001-06-01
Outland |
to RR Conductor
said by RR Conductor:Look out, it's the Men in Black, incognito
As long as there is no guy outside the truck with a drill in his hand, the OP's neighborhood may be safe.  |
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to SeaSeaTee5
We used to have a truck for that. Now we have the Trilithic systems installed in our trucks. About 80% of the trucks have it, Should be 100% fairly soon. The system has portable device that sits in a cradle for work outside the truck. Otherwise it just sits there while I drive. It has GPS for recording the location of the leaks. When I return to the shop, it has a WiFi system to upload the leaks. Only thing I have to do is turn it on. |
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to gar187er
I've got a few "rat killers" that I have to fix.... |
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 PeteC2Got Mouse?
MVM
join:2002-01-20
Bristol, CT |
to rendrenner
said by rendrenner:The tech could be looking for a leak, ...or taking one! |
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to RR Conductor
I'm guessing the spell check got him. D T O as in Director of Technical Operations... |
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 burner50Proud Union THUG
Premium Member
join:2002-06-05
Iowa |
to rendrenner
said by rendrenner:We used to have a truck for that. Now we have the Trilithic systems installed in our trucks. About 80% of the trucks have it, Should be 100% fairly soon. The system has portable device that sits in a cradle for work outside the truck. Otherwise it just sits there while I drive. It has GPS for recording the location of the leaks. When I return to the shop, it has a WiFi system to upload the leaks. Only thing I have to do is turn it on.
I guess leakage detection equipment has really taken off since I got out of the industry... I was elated when I got my Trilithic Super Plus. |
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 quetwoThat VoIP Guy
Premium Member
join:2004-09-04
East Lansing, MI |
to SeaSeaTee5
I doubt it is a new program that just started. Comcast in our area has been leak detection since the 1980's -- because it is required by law that they file with the FCC, just like any other cable operator.
The law also states that as soon as a leak over X mw is found, the tech needs to correct the leak immediately. This is usually done via a quick disconnect. They then write a work-order for somebody else to fix and go on their way. If they are simply writing repair orders for other people, then they are in violation of the law -- doubtful since the fine is pretty big. |
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gar187erI DID this for a living
join:2006-06-24
Seattle, WA |
to SeaSeaTee5
said by SeaSeaTee5:I've got a few "rat killers" that I have to fix....
cracks me up that 300 is a killer. loose fittings give that off, let alone a cracked 320. |
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| gar187er |
to SeaSeaTee5
said by SeaSeaTee5:I'm guessing the spell check got him. D T O as in Director of Technical Operations...
ding ding ding |
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| gar187er |
to quetwo
leakage isnt new but going to GPS based systems is the new push |
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 newviewEx .. Ex .. Exactly
Premium Member
join:2001-10-01
Parsonsburg, MD |
to Madtown
They're making note of all the DirecTV dishes for their next direct mail campaign. |
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skuv to whfsdude
Anon
2012-Dec-28 3:19 pm
to whfsdude
said by whfsdude:Doubtful. I've seen them installing APs here and they use their construction crews - not techs.
I am pretty sure most of the crews doing them are contractors as well which is why you see a ton go up at once.
Yes, they obviously use construction crews and contractors to do the initial installs. But what do you think they do after they are installed? |
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19579823 (banned)An Awesome Dude
join:2003-08-04 |
to Madtown
He could have been looking for people who are getting cable AND NOT PAYING FOR IT.. (The boxs give off certain signals and if he pulls up to an apartment that DIDNT PAY THEM FOR SERVICE and he got a signal,he would then know! (I have heard of them doing this sometimes) |
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said by 19579823:He could have been looking for people who are getting cable AND NOT PAYING FOR IT.. (The boxs give off certain signals and if he pulls up to an apartment that DIDNT PAY THEM FOR SERVICE and he got a signal,he would then know! (I have heard of them doing this sometimes)
That honestly sounds like something a typical Madera resident would take part in. There you have it, people. A rare burst of sanity from the dude. |
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