[I get the feeling that I have asked these questions before, but a search says no, so excuse me if I have failed in this.]If you have FTTP installed, with an ONT a BBU and whatnot, I would be very worried about failure of the hardware either by mains surge or actions of the evil gods.
- I’m sure I’ve asked before whether or not it’s possible to get duplicate backup hardware to keep on-site?
- Is there any reason why I can’t just at least put a very serious mains anti-surge unit in to protect all the kit?
- Since the hardware and rats’ nest of cabling is hideously ugly and the short inter-cabling is at risk of attack from haggises and hoovers, would it be possible to bolt a stout board on to the wall and have the fibre enter the room through the wall then through the board? Then an attractive custom-designed small cabinet could be fitted on to the board, one which would have a very large cutout in its back. This cabinet would enclose the whole lot for attractiveness and protection from mechanical attack. BT OR has already done such a thing with the large plastic cover box shown in the article; this hides two boxes and their wiring inside one enclosure, but is still not a thing of very great beauty., although a massive improvement.
- I wonder if anyone can tell me what are the OR installation’s arrangements for preventing water ingress? Since in my case the point of entry to the building is straight into the teeth of a 132 mph hurricane with a firehose pointed straight at it (it’s a bit windy and wet, and it’s straight into the prevailing wind on that side) When I have done this kind of thing before myself, I’ve made sure that the route of entry through a wall is an uphill slope, low on the outside, high on the inside, with a cover over the outside and some kind of goop injected into the space surrounding the cable entry pathway to fill any gaps, seal things well and keep the water out. It might be that OR has a standard installers’ spec that specifies ingress angle fairly exactly and I would want to follow that.
The diagrams I have seen in various places - which I know I should not take to be accurate representations of a particular installation - do not inspire confidence, since they show the cable going through the wall at an angle of 90° which is not a good angle, should be very definitely uphill-inside-high-side. I’m just hoping installers know to do a better job as these days I’m not able to hover over them like a hawk to ensure that the angle is good.
5. Does anyone know if it is possible for the end user to
supply the hole, to OR’s specifications? Have it
pre-drilled ready for OR to go?
Given that, in my case, it could mean either going through (literally) six-feet thick stone or (not quite literally) nuclear blast-proof unobtainium concrete poured by my neighbour, which has destroyed many a drill bit in the past, then the poor OR installer might be avoiding a nightmare, and I might save some money. Anyway, that way there would be no whinging from me about the hole not being at the right angle to help keep the water out. Angle alone isn’t enough; the goop in the hole needs to be right too of course, and there should be a suitable cover over the outside of the entry point. I already have a problem with water coming into the house from some unknown point that is vaguely around this area; it could even be that the existing DSL entry points are guilty, so I urgently need to look at this.
I don’t know why I’m thinking about these details; I have better odds of winning the lottery than every seeing FTTP before I fall (any further) off my perch.
