D
Don Y
Guest
I was driving through the old part of town, yesterday.
All of their utilities (that can be) are overhead
(ours are below grade).
A couple of things that stood out:
- the larger \"telephone poles\" (e.g., for the main high-tension,
cross-town feeders) are metal (multisided tapered extrusions
instead of \"cylindrical tubes\" (the legacy poles are wooden)
- some (older) of these are set directly *in* the ground
- others are bolted, flush, to a footing of sorts that is set
in the ground. Likely to leverage the cost of the footing
(if the pole needs to be replaced)
- the newest are similarly bolted to a footing... but, the
(large) bolts act as little legs holding the base of the
pole ABOVE the top of the footing, by a few inches (e.g.,
one could slip their arm UNDER the bottom of the pole)
I assume this to be a revision of the \"bolted flush\" approach.
Using the bolts as legs allows them to be tweeked to ensure the
pole sits at a true vertical. And, provides a sacrificial
member that allows the footing to be preserved in the event of a
catastrophic collision with the pole (which would likely
compromise the pole... AND, the footing if it was \"bolted flush\")
- there\'s a lot of surplus wire flying with the main cables
- some are obviously service loops; particularly those that
double back on themselves in the vicinity of splices (telco?)
- others just look like someone decided to store the balance of
a roll of cable up where no one can get at it!
These don\'t look like planning for expansion as the areas where
I encountered these are already built up. (and, if PSTN, then
it\'s largely obsolescent, though some may be CATV -- but, usually,
a distribution amp is visible proximate)
They are too long to be considered convenient \"pigtails\" to
probe the cables they\'re spliced into \"from the ground\".
And, there are other cases where braided steel cables are
similarly \"stored\".
It\'s hard to get a good look at these things when driving...
Anyone have an explanation for these?
All of their utilities (that can be) are overhead
(ours are below grade).
A couple of things that stood out:
- the larger \"telephone poles\" (e.g., for the main high-tension,
cross-town feeders) are metal (multisided tapered extrusions
instead of \"cylindrical tubes\" (the legacy poles are wooden)
- some (older) of these are set directly *in* the ground
- others are bolted, flush, to a footing of sorts that is set
in the ground. Likely to leverage the cost of the footing
(if the pole needs to be replaced)
- the newest are similarly bolted to a footing... but, the
(large) bolts act as little legs holding the base of the
pole ABOVE the top of the footing, by a few inches (e.g.,
one could slip their arm UNDER the bottom of the pole)
I assume this to be a revision of the \"bolted flush\" approach.
Using the bolts as legs allows them to be tweeked to ensure the
pole sits at a true vertical. And, provides a sacrificial
member that allows the footing to be preserved in the event of a
catastrophic collision with the pole (which would likely
compromise the pole... AND, the footing if it was \"bolted flush\")
- there\'s a lot of surplus wire flying with the main cables
- some are obviously service loops; particularly those that
double back on themselves in the vicinity of splices (telco?)
- others just look like someone decided to store the balance of
a roll of cable up where no one can get at it!
These don\'t look like planning for expansion as the areas where
I encountered these are already built up. (and, if PSTN, then
it\'s largely obsolescent, though some may be CATV -- but, usually,
a distribution amp is visible proximate)
They are too long to be considered convenient \"pigtails\" to
probe the cables they\'re spliced into \"from the ground\".
And, there are other cases where braided steel cables are
similarly \"stored\".
It\'s hard to get a good look at these things when driving...
Anyone have an explanation for these?