atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Outside Plant OSP Construction Abandoned/Obsolete Armored Copper Drop.

Looks like removing obsolete copper drops isn't high up on Verizon's "To Do" list...even if the drop hangs low enough that I can jump up and pull down hard on it.

Pics

There is very little copper in drop wire. It's mostly iron, for strength, with a little copper, for transmission. There is a newer version that has two 22G pairs, but it was invented recently, say in the last 25 years, and there is very little of it out there. The real money, if you were to salvage anything, is the billions of cable feet of lead cable with copper conductors, that is buried all over the country. It would probably take as much in labor, equipment, and insurance, to salvage it as there is value in the product. (Until copper goes for $10 a pound...then it would be worth it.) Believe me, I've thought about it a lot, and I know where a lot of it is buried.

This particular cable is high pair count with an armor. Across the street, there are two long pieces dangling from above. One piece is the outside jacket while the other is the metal armor...which had separated from the jacket.

If anything, I'd love to cut the intact piece in front of the first anchor point and use it to whack people upside the head when they need it.

I have a couple of pieces of the Rural Drop Wire/Cable mentioned.

If you don't own one you can rent a Sawzall and grab a ladder from your church.

They did remove it, the part that went across the street. Now it's up to the building owner to remove "his" part.

-Hal

I snapped a few more pictures. I'll upload them later this evening.

The metal is called termplate, spelled that way for some reason. There is actually armored cable that is much thicker and usually just for trying to slow down rodents.

For the third time, ternplate. Thank you samsung

A few more pictures.

Can't tell from the pictures the pair count but there is probably a 200 pair terminal in the utility room of that building.

-Hal