Big doghouse ped for just a splice block and tap

cypherstream

My isp SECV has contractors installing conduits and larger pedistals to house both their coax network and the new upcoming FTTH network in my neighborhood, so I get to see inside some of this stuff from time to time this week.

Here’s a pic, wondering why Comcast sometimes puts extra large doghouses when all that’s inside is a splice block and a tap. They have a lot of these large ones and guess what… they are not all amps! Why not just put a regular ped here?

Comcast and SECV’s new ped circled.

Tshirt

cypherstream Why not just put a regular ped here?

preparing for future upgrades? with everything that close together everyone doing all the earth work at once makes sense

bigcoda

cypherstream
All the neighborhoods around my area built in the 80’s, have the taps in below ground boxes. I also assumed all the pedestals contained nodes and amps. But to my surprise recently, a neighbor pulled the cover off the pedestal, to build a form to pour cement. I noticed there was nothing inside, but a splice block.

cypherstream

bigcoda yup some of these are this way too.

Maybe future FDX or lower power 3 GHz amps? (more amps, lower power, less distortion).

MacLeech

cypherstream Here’s a pic, wondering why Comcast sometimes puts extra large doghouses when all that’s inside is a splice block and a tap.

It’s the difference between system prints on CAD done months or years ahead of time and as-builts when the components actually get installed and signal balanced.

cypherstream

MacLeech you know what else they don’t have here in UG areas… WiFi AP’s or that strand mount cellular radio. They have been installing strand mount, hardline fed cell radios in aerial applications. Wonder how well that signal would propagate closer to the ground in a doghouse?

WiFi AP’s I get it… the gateways spew Xfinitywifi anyway.

bigcoda

cypherstream
After Comcast did the initial Mid-Split upgrades in my area. They came back about a year later, and replaced some of the node pedestals with a much larger one. I assuming the newer larger pedestals house the FDX nodes? Still no DOCSIS 4 symmetrical speeds available in my area.

cypherstream

bigcoda we also have the dark green version of that with nodes inside.

cypherstream

bigcoda I dug up some pics from
October 2022 when Comcast was here doing their initial build out in our neighborhood.
There’s a harmonic node in this large heavily vented doghouse.

Then the next pic is that exact same spot where I showed above it was just a splice block and tap. The old metal SECV ped is behind it.

cypherstream

And here’s the finished product.

Dark green doghouse with custom “Comcast” label on the lid. Contains just a tap and a splice block. Plenty of room for an amp, LE, or even a cellular radio (if they even do that in UG areas). Light green about 3ft tall vented Charles Industries monster between it and the power transformer. Coax cable and tap inside it for SECV’s mid split system (up to 2000/200mbps), and conduits and space for their upcoming FTTH system (up to 8000/8000mbps initially).

The contractors prepping the conduits, pull boxes and pedistals for SECV work hard. They start at 8 AM and there at least 20 to 30 Spanish speaking individuals digging and chaining conduit to pickup trucks, pulling with it, reseeding grass, etc. they are just packing up now, so I’d say they are out of here by 6:30. Most of them are gone but maybe 5 or 6 stick it out 10 ½ hours. We had highs up to 100 degrees today.

hex0101

cypherstream 5 or 6 stay around pass 6:30?

Wonder if they have caused any Comcast outages during the PON overlay project so far. Always a possibility when utilities are working closely together near each other’s lines and equipment.

Will current SEVC Coax customers be forced over to the new PON system? Is there an eventual goal to shut down the HFC network in the neighborhood since fiber will now be over-layed?

I’m assuming this is a true XGS-PON system with no remote OLT’s? And not PON fed from an RPHY/DAA node?

cypherstream

hex0101 it’s true PON fed from a Nokia 25gpon chassis in the headend or hub. Depending on distance, there may be a remote powered olt cabinet, but in my area I’m only 8 minute drive from the headend. There’s 4 hubs and a 5th being built as well.

From what I’ve heard is the goal is to force everyone to the FTTH system so they will eventually shut down the HFC plant they upgraded to mid split 1 GHz in 2021. They stopped issuing QAM STBs and DTAs in 2023 (RNG/DCX/ Arris MG1) and since then only issue TiVo Stream IPTV (cloud recording) by Evolution digital. QAM still works but if one breaks or you want to add an outlet, you are forced TiVo.

I did see a Comcast maintenance truck driving around our development last week. Wouldn’t be surprised if he was responding to an outage.

Yes a few guys stayed late tonight. I don’t know if it was them or not but I heard compressed air blowing things off closer to 7 pm. Usually that’s how they clean up. There’s a lot of rain in the forecast for tomorrow afternoon, so maybe a few guys put in extra time today knowing they’ll have to cut out early tomorrow.

jweaver

bigcoda In my neighborhood, there’s one tap with no box.

cypherstream

jweaver we had that here too. Tap just sticking out of the ground and an orange cable from it down into a conduit to feed a house.

Took Reddit support to open a local ticket to get an actual pedestal installed. I was tired of looking at if for a year. Some asshole tech installed the house and never did anything about it . They give all other techs a bad name with their non caring attitude.

cypherstream

Workmanship is terrible with these contractors. I don’t know if this would be any different if “ground line” was written in Spanish since they don’t speak a lick of English… but many of these new pedestals are not flush with the ground line marking. This is mine but there are some that are even worse.

Here’s another style.

kmax

Heck, you have the cadillac of installs. You should see what is laying around (literally laying) in my neighborhood.

bigcoda

cypherstream
You would think they could of squared up the pedestal, it looks crooked. I’ve seen worse from there hack contractors. Lol at least they put the grass back after killing it, and they didn’t break your sprinkler or water pipes.

Sparkchaser

bigcoda You would think they could of squared up the pedestal,

HA! You sound like me.

Tshirt

bigcoda ou would think they could of squared up the pedestal,

that close to the driveway, it’s alignment is likely to be “adjusted” by some vehicle in the near future anyway

cypherstream

bigcoda I wasn’t home but we lost power for about 2 ½ hours today. It was just a little bubble of 166 customers over part of our development. It wouldn’t surprise me if they hit something up the street.

They knocked out Comcast Internet for most of the day Tuesday. Our SECV Internet was knocked out for about 3 hours Wednesday, and a few sporadic times in the last few weeks they’ve been doing this. Thankfully no gas or water hit!