Can anybody share experiences laying fiber optic cable for data?

[KubotainNH]

Cost? Time? Effort?

The cost of the pre-term stiff is actually quite low. Time/effort- the physical work doesn't take much time especially seeing his trench will be in place, effort is minimal as long as you have the correct items. They are plug and play, no configuration to mess with. Use a site like listed earlier (lanshack) and they will walk you through what you need. Really all that is needed is preterm fiber and the 2 converters that the fiber ends plug into. It comes on a spool, hange it on a pipe and drag it into the trench. Takes 10 seconds to plug in each side then plug in the power, you'll have a working line. The outdoor stuff may not even need to be in a conduit but it's obviously safer. Once in the ground there's no interference from trees and such.

Loss of sanity, as you try and learn a whole (complex) industry for just one project.

Mind you, I live in this backwoods country (Canada) without the choices Americans enjoy, but I could not find an affordable pre-packaged, plug-n-play, say 500' fiber set up.

If that same site mentioned sells to CA then they can get you the items that work together.

That's my 2 cents, I know I've had 0 issues since installing mine a few years ago and no more blown up equipment.

BTW, the warranty on the $90 Unicom VELOCITY converter is lifetime.

 

[quicksandfarmer]

For 306 feet I wouldn't consider anything other than Cat 5e. You can buy a premade 100m cable for 40 bucks. Run it in plastic pipe and leave a pull string. If it's buried with a water pipe there isn't going to be any electrical interference, which is what really limits your distance. The biggest problem with cables is always at the ends, which is why I recommend premade. Leave a loop at each end to take the stress off the ends.

 

[newbury]

It's probably because us old timers (at least in the IT world) remember filing down fiber cables for hours to make them work correctly. And let me clarify my point, fiber is the best of the best, there's no question about it. But, in this case, I just don't see it as necessary and there are downsides (just like there are downsides to wireless setups). If I was in the OP's situation, I'd use wireless, but I'm comfortable with the technology and I'm not a fan of burying cable. Now, if I was more comfortable pulling cable, knew the land was nice and soft between me and the barn and had a good ripper with a cable layer or vibratory plow? Heck yeah, I'd be pulling the fiber. Just not my situation, pulling stuff through the land is hard for me, and, there's a lot of worked land between me and my pole barn giving me plenty of chances to try and cut the cable that I pull. Therefore, I use wireless.

I think I mentioned my Father worked at IBM (Burlington) when they were first introducing fiber back in I think the early 1970's. He was a top end machinist and helped develop a cutter/grinder so they could do the ends. As I remember it took them months to make progress. He'd come home complaining about trying to polish itty-bitty glass fibers.

And as I mentioned the ditch is going in whether I put fiber in it or not, so that's saves about $1,000 off a more normal project.

Cost? Time? Effort?

Cost differences between wireless, RG 6, fiber seem minimal, especially if I put it on a per Mbps basis. Matter of fact now I'm thinking of going with either 4 strand or 6 strand multimode fiber rated indoor/outdoor. They cost nearly the same, and some places don't even offer 2 strand. Prices for the same spec cable are all over the place. Some are charging like it's the 1990's, seems their attitude is "It's fiber for business and just a cost you can pass on to your customer".
And I'd hate to get down the line and start kicking myself for not putting in enough strands. I've been wanting to run some video cams off the back of the sheds for monitoring some deer "plots". I also used to be in mapping and would like to start doing that again, which requires transfer of LARGE files.

Loss of sanity, as you try and learn a whole (complex) industry for just one project.

Mind you, I live in this backwoods country (Canada) without the choices Americans enjoy, but I could not find an affordable pre-packaged, plug-n-play, say 500' fiber set up.

Actually maintaining sanity. It's cool out, snowing, long nights. Also relearning old skills and adding new knowledge. They do seem to have gotten it down to plug-n-play for fresh setups and the cost of the fiber is almost minimal for additional distance.

And as I was composing this my home wireless locked up again, reminding me why I prefer a hardline. 10base5 is too slow. 10baseT too short.

I sure appreciate all the help people.

Oh, and if I go with 1.25 poly and a 6 strand indoor/outdoor cable for the run any idea of the difficulty to pull another similar sized cable 5 years later?

 

[JimRB]

I always had the main thought that extra fibers were a safety net for one going or being bad, not so much for more connections. You can run animal cams over ethernet, I would think.

The problem with adding anything to an existing filled conduit is the friction of the new pull twisting and wrapping around the existing. My limited experience is that pulling three cables at once is a whole lot easier than pulling one then adding another.

 

[newbury]

For 306 feet I wouldn't consider anything other than Cat 5e. You can buy a premade 100m cable for 40 bucks. Run it in plastic pipe and leave a pull string. If it's buried with a water pipe there isn't going to be any electrical interference, which is what really limits your distance. The biggest problem with cables is always at the ends, which is why I recommend premade. Leave a loop at each end to take the stress off the ends.

Like I thought I wrote, that 306 feet is google earth distance from the corner of my house to the corner of my sheds along the planned trench. But I want to run it to the back of the far building where I've an apartment and plan on an office, that's about another 100 feet. I know I could put a switch in at the 306 foot place but at the present I'm planning on the back corner of the big building.

And as far as making cable ends for Cat Cable, unless things have changed a lot in the last 6 years since I retired that was always a piece of cake if I had a magnifying lamp, quality connectors with a load bar and a good crimper. But fiber - NO WAY.

My biggest problem with cable was when we strung it between shelters and someone would trip over it.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

This thread has evolved into a lot of technical issues with fiber and the equipment that is outside my expertise. I do know about a lot about preparing the infrastructure to install the fiber into from point X to point Y. Designed, specified, and performed QA for such installs. Remember fiber is glass so is easily damaged in handling, never kink or make short bends while handling. For underground: 1. Always install in some type raceway; you will cuss a bunch if you get it covered and it doesn't work. If non metallic, install a tracer wire and warning tape in the ditch. 2. Any pull over 100' needs to have a pull box at least every 100' to reduce pulling strain and just plain easier all around. 3. Pulls up to 100' use a minimum of 1" raceway (interior work; not less than 1") and long sweeps for direction change or use a pull box that location if close to the 100', follow the directions packed with the cable to the T.. 4. Use plenty of "veener slickum" as friction is your worst enemy and fiber bundles are not slick in themselves. 5. Runs longer than 100', up the raceway size to 2"; you will praise this before you are done. The pipe is cheap compared to the fiber, actually DWV PVC is suitable except for under roads and etc. If you can afford the fiber and the translating equipment you can well afford the raceway. Concrete encase under roads if shallower than 2'.

Have a good project with perfect results,

Ron

 

[dragoneggs]

This thread has evolved into a lot of technical issues with fiber and the equipment that is outside my expertise. I do know about a lot about preparing the infrastructure to install the fiber into from point X to point Y. Designed, specified, and performed QA for such installs. Remember fiber is glass so is easily damaged in handling, never kink or make short bends while handling. For underground: 1. Always install in some type raceway; you will cuss a bunch if you get it covered and it doesn't work. If non metallic, install a tracer wire and warning tape in the ditch. 2. Any pull over 100' needs to have a pull box at least every 100' to reduce pulling strain and just plain easier all around. 3. Pulls up to 100' use a minimum of 1" raceway (interior work; not less than 1") and long sweeps for direction change or use a pull box that location if close to the 100', follow the directions packed with the cable to the T.. 4. Use plenty of "veener slickum" as friction is your worst enemy and fiber bundles are not slick in themselves. 5. Runs longer than 100', up the raceway size to 2"; you will praise this before you are done. The pipe is cheap compared to the fiber, actually DWV PVC is suitable except for under roads and etc. If you can afford the fiber and the translating equipment you can well afford the raceway. Concrete encase under roads if shallower than 2'.

Have a good project with perfect results,

Ron

Good to hear from you, Ron! Happy New Year!

 

[dmccarty]

Tractor Seabee touched on what I was thinking.

When we were building the house, we had a trench from the house to the well house. The trench had the water supply pipe, power to the well pump, and wire for future power extension to the barn.

Our soil is rocky so I had some sand delivered and I buried the power lines and water pipe with that sand. Then I back filled with the native soil. The sand is to protect the pipe and cables AND warn that one is getting close to said pipe and cables. Our soil is all clay and rock so to see sand should be a clue. :laughing::laughing::laughing: At some depth, I buried bright flagging as another indicator that one was getting to something important if one was digging.

If the conduit is cheap enough, it might be a good idea to put down a spare conduit for future use.

Later,
Dan

 

[newbury]

That's why I started this thread - good info.

This thread has evolved into a lot of technical issues with fiber and the equipment that is outside my expertise. I do know about a lot about preparing the infrastructure to install the fiber into from point X to point Y. Designed, specified, and performed QA for such installs. Remember fiber is glass so is easily damaged in handling, never kink or make short bends while handling.

So let me parse your statement and add comments

For underground: 1. Always install in some type raceway; you will cuss a bunch if you get it covered and it doesn't work. If non metallic, install a tracer wire and warning tape in the ditch.

Hadn't thought about warning tape

2. Any pull over 100' needs to have a pull box at least every 100' to reduce pulling strain and just plain easier all around.

I was tentatively thinking of two primary sections: 1 section from the house to about the slope up to the driveway, about 150 feet. Then 1 section under the driveway for about 75 feet going into a 90 degree turn of an appropriate radius and then about another 75 feet up to the corner of the first shop, so I was thinking the second section would be about 150'.

As I wrote previously I'll probably be doing this by myself or with relative help. I planned to lay out the pipe cut into subsections small enough to easily pull through, with them either on the ground or in the ditch, then put the subsections together get them in the ditch and carefully cover.
Will I still need a pull box every 100 feet? Could I get by with one at about the half way point, beside the driveway?
How long a section do you think I could pull ? The cable weighs 64 lbs/km. I'm planning on pulling about a tenth of that, so say 10 lbs max.

3. Pulls up to 100' use a minimum of 1" raceway (interior work; not less than 1") and long sweeps for direction change or use a pull box that location if close to the 100', follow the directions packed with the cable to the T..

I planning on using a 1.25" ID poly pipe, and planned on a gradual sweep.

4. Use plenty of "veener slickum" as friction is your worst enemy and fiber bundles are not slick in themselves.

any recommendations for slickum?

5. Runs longer than 100', up the raceway size to 2"; you will praise this before you are done. The pipe is cheap compared to the fiber, actually DWV PVC is suitable except for under roads and etc. If you can afford the fiber and the translating equipment you can well afford the raceway. Concrete encase under roads if shallower than 2'.

I wouldn't call the pipe "cheap" compared to fiber. One place DLW has 450' of

Preterminated fiber optic cable - 6 fiber indoor/outdoor MM 62.5/125 cable terminated with LC connectors

for $247.50 (plus $170 for termination). The translators look like about $100@. The pipe at HD - 1-1/4 in. x 300 ft. IPS 100 PSI UTY Poly Pipe is $174 for the 300 feet. For 2" 80 PSI, 300 ft it would be $404. The labor is free (me) and the ditch is for another project.

Have a good project with perfect results,

Ron

Thanks for the pointers!

 

[kcflhrc]

Interesting. Do you have a link to the exact product?
I found Corning - 434401EB1H20400FP - 400' OptiTapｮ Single-Fiber SST-Drop Single-Tube for $135 and an OptiTap to SC APC connector for $52 (I would need 2).
How easy is it to pull? I was anticipating buying a roll of 1.25 black poly and cutting it into "manageable" lengths, adding a connector, pulling the fiber through the length, add another length, etc. I'd plan on running about 130' above ground through or on the outside of buildings.

So many options

Yes, I use Corning in various lengths. From 75' to 300' All of ours comes coiled in a box and the longest we use is 300 foot. Our pedestals are positioned to where no drop is more than 300'. I just pull it out of the bos and uncoil it across the ground.