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IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
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join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

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Enclosing an underground drop in conduit

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Underground drop
When the underground drop on my duplex when bad a couple of years ago, Comcast replaced the drop at their expense but cut corners really bad. The old drop came in under the driveway and through a conduit in the concrete front porch. When they replaced it, they pulled it around the back of the house (so they would not have to go under concrete as they only had to pull it through soil) and they just used direct burial wire. What I am looking to do is cut the fitting off, pull the wire out of the house, enclose it in 1/2 trade size PVC conduit (from entering the building until it goes about 6-12 inches underground) to prevent vandalism (burglar cutting line to disable the burglar alarm) and from damage from lawn and garden tools (weed whacker, lawn mower, etc).

I am just posting this to inquire about the legality of touching a Comcast drop (maybe should do it with the supervision of a Comcast Tech). I have all the tools to terminate coax wire (strippers, compression tools, Thomas & Betts Snap n' Seal fittings). I would also use a hand garden trowel to avoid damaging the wire when digging around it.

Maybe Comcast could install a lockbox with a two-way tap and hardline going up to the front of the duplex but I doubt it.

It's a good thing its my responsibility to do the lawn per rental agreement (and a small rent discount) as I use extreme care when doing the lawn around it. I also do basic maintenance on the unit per our rental agreement as well. I lived here for over ten years. The neighbor's drop went bad but CC used an overhead wire on a pole in an adjoining lot. Technically we are underground drops for both sides.

NetFixer
From My Cold Dead Hands
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join:2004-06-24
The Boro

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Using PVC conduit might provide cable protection from a weed whacker, but it would not even slow down someone whose intention was to cut your alarm connection.
rody_44
Premium Member
join:2004-02-20
Quakertown, PA

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Its underground and if a burglar wants it cut. Any burglar worth a shit goes to the pole and cuts everything. They aint walking around your house and finding connections when they can just go to the pole and take care of it at one spot.
TBBroadband
join:2012-10-26
Fremont, OH

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I thought you mentioned before you had an actual landline from Verizon? If so why worry about someone cutting a Comcast line for the alarm.

And I would assume they would not be required to use the PVC as they did before as long as you have service and the install meets their requirements and the code.

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
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join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

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said by TBBroadband:

I thought you mentioned before you had an actual landline from Verizon? If so why worry about someone cutting a Comcast line for the alarm.

And I would assume they would not be required to use the PVC as they did before as long as you have service and the install meets their requirements and the code.

I switched my phone back to Comcast as Verizon was getting too expensive and it cheaper to bundle with Comcast.

beachintech
There's sand in my tool bag
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Your only leverage for them to come back is it is not grounded before entering the structure, even that won't make it at the top of anyone's list.

Burglary reasoning isn't even worth mentioning. Like was said, they will go to the ped / pole and just cut everything. One swing of a hatchet will go through everything, even pvc conduit.

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
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join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

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said by beachintech:

Your only leverage for them to come back is it is not grounded before entering the structure, even that won't make it at the top of anyone's list.

It is grounded as it runs the length of the basement back to the front of the house (where the old cable came in through the conduit in the front porch) and there is a ground block on the ceiling, where it is grounded right before the first splitter (2-way to cable modem and the next is a 4-way going to a phone modem and three TVs) and it is bonded to the house grounding cable (coming from the circuit breaker panel going to the cold water pipe from the city water).

OSUGoose
join:2007-12-27
Columbus, OH
Apple AirPort Extreme (2013)

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The point was per NEC and to any respectable inspector, how would we know that? Just like when I was installing DirecTV, we could ground inside, but the job would still fail QC if the QC guy couldn't gain access inside. Its also the reason why Telco techs try to ground and install NIDs near the electric service entrance to bound to ground, it eliminates any issues coming inside and clearly shows where it was grounded at, inside it could get buried behind a wall, cut, ect and thus house catches fire...cant tell if it was grounded inside.
OSUGoose

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Also whatever sat tech installed your system, needs to come back out and redo that, no bushings for the wire entering the house, no visible outside grounding, piss poor service loops. Looks like a hack/contractor job.

IowaCowboy
Lost in the Supermarket
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join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA

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said by OSUGoose:

Also whatever sat tech installed your system, needs to come back out and redo that, no bushings for the wire entering the house, no visible outside grounding, piss poor service loops. Looks like a hack/contractor job.

The satellite system is no longer in use as it was cheaper to buy a triple play through Comcast. The DTV system was also grounded inside.

The wire on the far right is a Comcast wire going to my bedroom. The unit came with a cable outlet in the living room and master bedroom so I paid then AT&T Broadband to install an outlet in the second bedroom. The reason dual coax was used was the system used to be a dual cable system (with the A/B cable that utilized the pain in the butt A/B switches or you could hand more $$$ over to Comcast for a converter that switched the A and B cable lines automatically). Dual wire comes in handy as one goes to the cable modem and the other goes to the TV.

OSUGoose
join:2007-12-27
Columbus, OH
Apple AirPort Extreme (2013)

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I figured it was one or the other, as I ran into old AT&T BB cabling like that or TWC Satellite (cant recall the exact name, as I didn't keep a section of it). Personally I would remove the DTV stuff if it was me, as you basically have a big lightning rod that's not in use or properly grounded to DTV and NEC standards.