Splices, Connections, and other details

**sbrim** · August 6th, 2010, 01:00 PM

I'm actually looking for someone to detail the process of communication cable connections. I'm a civil engineer and not an installer, but a recent project is requiring me to update plans detailing how a splice and a few other connections would look. The client would like to see something drawn in CAD for each connection.

The other connections include pedestals, crossbox, aerial to buried, and buried to aerial. Thanks for any help.

**Dave72** · August 6th, 2010, 11:20 PM

I bet it varies from company to company (or regional ?)..
In our plant; peds are shown as a triangle, crossboxes are a rectangle with an X thru it, aerial cable is a solid line and buried is a dashed line (theres different colours for direct buried or in a duct).
A transition from one size cable to another (or aerial to buried etc) is done with an arrow point. the base of the arrow can be moved off the line to put length and year installed if they want.

Splices are usually just a dot. You interpret the splice config by observing the incoming and outgoing counts (displayed parallel to the cable lines)

**[HAF]Foxtrot** · August 7th, 2010, 02:13 PM

I think I might have attached this image right not sure.

This is a print for one of my area's. Here in this one there is multiple fibers and direct buried copper AT&T lines. As you can see there is a few splices indicated here, along with ped's, repeaters, ect.

**RD_Wrangler** · August 7th, 2010, 02:56 PM

Damn...that's a nice AT&T print!

The crap we have here MIGHT show the cables in the general vicinity of where the roads are...maybe...then again, one of the cables shown may actually be 2 streets over.

**[HAF]Foxtrot** · August 7th, 2010, 09:45 PM

Yeah that is a decent print. There are plenty in my area that are completely jacked up.

Heres another print to pull from. This is one of the more congested area's in Greensboro.

**sbrim** · August 9th, 2010, 11:54 AM

Those plans look legible! It took me so long to figure out how to read the plans I was given at the onset of our project. I'm not so interested in the wire sizes and communication jargon, but showing details of a buried to aerial or new handhole over a duct. I'd like to ensure the surveyor can stake the proposed while the field installer can simply connect the dots. I guess the goal is to minimize discrepancies with the as-built plans and actual field locations.

**4Q2** · August 9th, 2010, 01:28 PM

Vipers. That program has so many flaws and is so time consuming to use, Verizon discontinued it's use in this area and went back to the standard hand drafted plats. Although the company I work for still uses Vipers, I prefer using plats. Much faster. With Vipers, by the time you zoom in and move enough to get a picture, you still find your 3 miles away. Then you move and 30 seconds later the picture reloads only to find you only moved 500'. So you zoom out move and zoom in to get picture and your somewhere else. Then your frustated, close the program and go to the plat files. Is that sorta how your program works Fox?

**[HAF]Foxtrot** · August 9th, 2010, 05:46 PM

Lord no, well Vipers in Raleigh/Durham might. But I mark for AT&T in Greensboro. We use Bentley, all you do is type in the road name the locate is on and then a list drops down for cross streets. You click the cross street and bam, move down a little bit and theres your locate area. If the prints are jacked and theres a phone line but no street name. You go to IPID and you type in like Ped 4 SE School Rd. It highlights the Ped of question and the area your locating. Also you can quarry for address ranges to. Say you want to look at that phone line going from 2000-3000 SE School Rd. You click that address range, it brings it up automatically and highlights it.

**Wirenut** · August 9th, 2010, 09:03 PM

I appreciate that you are trying to be helpful to the original poster but you do know that att plats are proprietary info correct?Last time i checked this falls under jurisdiction of the patriot act.Mods should pull the post displaying the plats and someone can post a standard legend providing the same info without the legal issues.

**[HAF]Foxtrot** · August 9th, 2010, 09:09 PM

Originally Posted by Wirenut

I appreciate that you are trying to be helpful to the original poster but you do know that att plats are proprietary info correct?Last time i checked this falls under jurisdiction of the patriot act.Mods should pull the post displaying the plats and someone can post a standard legend providing the same info without the legal issues.

Hmm he does have a good point. Didn't realize this. This wouldn't be an issue of national security per se, seeing that no one should take these prints for fact. But to be safe it would be a good idea if Cablevine or one of the mods did remove these attachments and I will provide standard legend keys.