Page 94 - Optical Communications Essentials

Optical Fiber Cables

84 Chapter Five

Figure 5.16. Microducts being fed into the mechanical drive
of a cable jetting machine. (Photo courtesy of Sherman &
Reilly, Inc.; www.sherman-reilly.com.)

5.6.4. Aerial installation
Cable crews can install an aerial cable either by lashing it onto an existing steel
messenger wire or by directly suspending it between poles, if it is a self-
supporting cable. Several different methods can be used to install the fiber optic
cables. The primary method for installing self-supporting cable is a stationary
reel technique. This method stations the payoff reel at one end of the cable route
and the take-up reel at the other end. A pull rope is attached to the cable and is
threaded through pulleys on each pole. The take-up reel gradually pulls the
cable from the payoff reel, the pulleys guide it into position along the route, and
it is then attached to the poles.
If a messenger wire is used, first this wire is installed between poles with an
appropriate tension and sag calculated to support the fiber optic cable. The

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