bonnyman
join:2003-04-16
Rome, GA
| Re: Dirty signals (drop cable trivia)
I suspect that the power line is probably not twisted, but probably twisted around a line used to support the AC wires from the pole to your house.
Utility drops from the transformer to the home often have insulated conductors stranded around a bare, grounded messenger/neutral. This affords a measure of safety -- should the insulation fail, the line shorts straight to the bare neutral and on to ground via the utility's grounding system. Such arrangments also get special treatment under the National Electrical safety Code.
This is not done for communications reasons.
As for the telephone drop cable that looks like zip cord, that may be a self-supporting drop cable. Underneath the jacketing, one side of the zip cord-looking cable may contain a steel messenger, the other a twisted pair.
--
Al Bonnyman
Fiber Planners Inc.
See my weblog at:
Community Broadband Networks for FTTH, municipal broadband and powerline broadband news |
