Fishtape

[wet_boots101]

BOY would this have come in handy three days ago~!!

Comcast had an "unshielded" (dielectric) FOC going about 150 feet from a manhole to a node ped. I had their fiber specialist tech come out two days ago and confirm it was unlocatable, he would put a tracer wire into the interduct "sometime soon" but it wasn't urgent right then.

So then today a subcontractor for AT&T started digging the base out for a V-rad they are installing and guess what - they exposed the interduct!

THANK YOU GOD I got lucky and those guys were careful diggers! I did not report the unlocatable fiber after my visit with the Comcast guy, so I would very well have been at fault - DON'T ASSUME that since there is new copper trunk in the ground that it was joint buried with the new fiber interduct! That was my mistake, and if there was an actual hit, I'd have been at fault.

The interduct was completely unharmed, there was also orange safety tape buried in the trench so these subcontractors hand dug the rest till I got there.

The point of all this: I located the fiber with the subcontractors' fish tape because I didn't have one of my own when I first did the locate 4 days ago. I know for certain my sup has one, maybe I should have one, too?

But here's what bugs me: What does that make me, lead tech? Because I have all this extra stuff nobody thinks of carrying in my truck? (I should start a new post on that topic), but my point is this - what thanks would I get for going above and beyond? None. Still, I agree with Goldenboy, some of us do give a damn, we wouldn't be who we are if we didn't.

[Wingfoot]

Comcast has an "unshielded" (dielectric) FOC. I did not report the non-locatable fiber after my visit with the Comcast guy, so I would very well have been at fault - If there [had been an] actual hit, I'd have been at fault.

The point: I located the fiber with the subcontractors' fish tape because I didn't have one of my own. What thanks do I get for going above and beyond? None. Still, I agree with Goldenboy, some of us do give a damn, we wouldn't be who we are if we didn't.

I have used the fish tape with success many times with my RD in f8/f33/f65 w/o continuity.

In my small, postage stamp size territory, I have encountered 7 dielectric fibers not buried joint with a traceable line; 5 AT&T fibers (432 strand trunk, (2) 144 strand exchange fibers, (2) 24 strand V-rad feeders), an Everest CATV exchange fiber and a 60 strand Time Warner CATV feeder. I did not rely on my sups to 'get er done.' If I did, these dielectric fibers would still be non-traceable! A telephone call by me to the proper utility rep got the problem solved.

The first response by the utility reps to my explaining the problem was the same in every instance, "I will not replace the dielectric line with a sheathed fiber." I never asked for that. I had to be the one to offer the solution: just pull a drop through the pipe so I have something to tone. These utility companies did not have a contractor pull through a drop overnight, but it usually happened within 30 days.

I, for one, am a locator who does give a damn about my line of work. I always let my sup know what was happening every step of the way. By me coordinating the problem & solution immediately when these dielectrics were first noticed, I doubt I would have been charged with an at-fault had these fibers gotten whacked B4 they could be traced. I must be blessed because I never had to put this scenario to the test.

[Goldenboy]

If it's a short run that I'll be going back to multiple times I will try to push a b-wire through and just leave it in the empty conduit. This makes any re-visits to the same site quick and painless.

[sprayandpray]

One of my buddies who works for another company was telling me that he just pushed about 300 ft of Mule tape with the small metallic strand through a conduit with some type of fiberglass "rod" that comes in a roll. (I had never heard of the fiberglass thing.) He said it took 2 people to push it thru the last 50 ft or so, but now he has a permanent way to locate that particular F/o line. That's one thing about this business, even though I have been in it over 8 years, I learn something new occasionally. Now - if I can just remember it!