[TowerTalk] Lightning protection

[Jim Lux]

On 7/10/13 5:34 AM, Art Greenberg wrote:
> Those are unterminated cables.
>
> Bulk unterminated FO cable is easy to obtain, no argument. Its the
> terminations that seem to be problematic.
>
> I know one can purchase preterminated FO cable for indoor use. I have
> not found a source for preterminated outside plant cable. And even if
> such a thing is available at reasonable cost, I expect that it would be
> difficult to pull through the conduit due to the bulk of the connectors.
>


they clearly make preterminated outdoor suitable cables, because that's 
what the Verizon FIoS guys use when doing installs.

Yes, if you installed 1/2" conduit, it's not going to be easy to find a 
terminated cable that will fit.

That said, the connectors on the end of fiber are sort of about the size 
of an SMA connector. If you can pull coax with a PL259 on it through the 
conduit, then the fiber should be possible.


L-com has a 50 meter duplex 62.5/125 cable with ST connectors for $77. 
The ST connector is pretty small. That's for a OFNR (riser) type cable.


Most of the outdoor cables I've seen have been more strands, though (6 
or 12 seems common).  I think that's because in most situations, the 
glass cost is small compared to the labor cost to pull the cable, so you 
might as well pull 12 and use 2, leaving 10 dark.

It also depends on what your standard of performance is. Maybe indoor 
cables will work just fine in your conduit, even with the water. Or 
maybe you'd have to pull new cables every 10 years or something.