DENTDALE COMMUNITY BROADBAND PROJECT.
INFORMATION FOR HOUSEHOLDERS. INSTALLING THE FIBRE OPTIC SERVICE DUCT.
Introduction:
Please read all of these instructions before you start. If you need advice about anything contained in these notes, ask one of our volunteers. Contact information is given at the end of this document.
These notes explain how to get the duct from the point where the project volunteers leave it up to the fibre termination plate inside your property. People with some DIY skills will be able to do this, or you can employ a handyman to do it for you.
The fibre optic cable is only about 2 mm in diameter. This cable runs inside a tough 7 mm diameter plastic duct. Where the duct is buried, we use red or orange duct. Where it is fixed to the wall of a building we use black duct which resists the ultra-violet light. These notes only tell you about installing the duct and related fittings.
The fibre optic cable is pushed into the duct by B4RN technicians using compressed air after the householder has installed the duct and the termination plate inside the house.
Part 1: Getting the duct up to your house:
Whether householders employ someone, or they do this job themselves, there are a few simple guidelines:
· Where duct has to be taken under a boundary wall it is good practice to slide the duct through a short length of metal or stout plastic tube where the duct passes under the wall.
· Between the boundary and the house, the duct can follow any route providing curves are of a large radius. As a guide, curves should be of no tighter radius than that of a dinner plate. If the duct is accidentally kinked the installer should not try to straighten it. They must tell the volunteers who will replace it with new duct and a connector. We try to avoid joins in the duct as they can cause the fibre to stick when it is blown into the duct.
· The route that the householder chooses will be influenced by the place they wish the broadband Wi-Fi router to be fitted inside their house. Householders should consider Part 2 of these notes before they finally decide on the point at which the duct reaches the wall of their house.
· Where the duct crosses a garden it needs to be buried to a depth that will avoid the duct being damaged by digging or other groundwork. A trench depth of 10" (250 mm) will be sufficient but only if the 7 mm duct is protected by pushing it through a length of 16 mm duct which the project can supply. Additional protection may be necessary where the duct passes under a track used by vehicles. A length of metal tube is useful in these circumstances.
Installers should remove any rocks from the trench bottom to ensure the duct lays on a reasonably level surface and, when backfilling, they should make sure the duct is covered with a finer material before returning larger stones into the trench.
· It is particularly important to keep dirt and water from getting into the 7 mm duct. The volunteers will leave the duct with its end taped.
· When the 7 mm duct is installed up to the wall of the house the installer should allow it to emerge from the ground with as large a radius curve as possible and tape the end to keep out dirt and water.
The join between the orange and the black duct is made below ground level and should be beyond the curve. Do not make the join on the bend.
· If paving has to be lifted or broken out where the duct emerges from the ground, do not reinstate the paving until the fibre cable has been ‘blown in’ so that the join is accessible should the fibre get snagged at the join.
· Because of this snagging risk, try to avoid a join in the duct crossing your garden. If a join has to be made, observe the following techniques: Before making the join, make sure the duct ends to be joined are cut clean and square, ideally using plastic pipe shears. Make the join using the push-fit connector supplied. It’s a bit fiddly but it should shut. Mark the ground to show the location of the join. The marker can be removed once the fibre has been blown in.
· Generally keep the duct ends free of debris and water by covering with insulation tape. Dirt or water in the duct is a major obstacle to the process of installing fibre.·
The connector with the security sleeve open.
Part 2: Getting the duct into your house:
The location of the point at which the duct enters your house needs careful thought as it will determine the location of the Wi-Fi router.
This is an ideal installation where the duct passing through the wall enters directly into the back of the fibre termination plate.
The B4RN Wi-Fi router fits directly onto the fibre termination plate and also provides four Ethernet cable ports.
By connecting devices (computers, internet TV etc.) with an Ethernet cable, you will get a much higher broadband speed than by using a wireless connection. The B4RN router also transmits a Wi-Fi signal but, like other routers, the signal strength will be reduced by thick walls so, if you intend to rely heavily on a Wi-Fi connection to the B4RN router, the router and therefore the termination plate need to be located close to the area where you need a strong signal. It might be easier to dig the orange duct a longer distance under your garden in order to get the entry point (and thus the router) in the right place. Alternatively Wi-Fi extenders or a wireless access point can be installed by the householder from wherever they find it easiest to fit the termination plate and thus the router.
Householders need to know that a fibre optic installation is rather more permanent than a trailing copper cable.
o It has to be fixed into position so it cannot be easily moved.
o It cannot be bent to a tight radius.
o It cannot be cut and easily joined to enable building alterations.
Hence, once the intake cable and termination plate are in position, they cannot be easily moved. Consequently, householders need to give careful thought to where they want the cable and termination unit located so they get it right first time. Should the installation ever have to be moved and the cable cut, it will be necessary to blow in a new fibre from the jointing chamber which feeds the property .... and that is an expensive operation for which the householder would have to pay. Like any other broadband routers, the B4RN router needs a power supply. This too may affect your choice of entry point and termination unit location. Also, if your house has a number of telephone socket outlets served from a master box and you want to use these for an internet telephone service then it is also useful to locate the fibre termination plate (and hence the router) somewhere near one of the telephone socket outlets.
When locating the entry point for the duct (and thus the termination plate location too) make allowance for space all around the termination plate as follows:
o At least 125 mm on the left and 150 mm on the right to enable access to the router release clips.
o At least 50 mm above.
o At least 125 mm below to enable the router to be fitted and for cable entry to the power socket and outlet ports.
Generally, the router Wi-Fi function will work better if the router, and thus the termination plate, is fitted well above floor level.
Part 3: Considerations if you wish to use a telephone over the internet
If your house has a number of telephone socket outlets served from a master box and you want to use these for an internet telephone service then it is also useful to locate the fibre termination plate (and hence the router) somewhere near one of the telephone socket outlets.
An internet telephone master box supplied by your Internet telephone supplier also needs a power supply. If you use only cordless telephones with Wi-Fi extensions, you will not need to use an existing wall socket network. The picture shows a B4RN router connected to an internet master telephone box. This in turn connects to the existing house telephone wall socket network. This can be any of the outlets on your current telephone installation, not necessarily the current incoming box, giving greater flexibility in positioning the B4RN router.
Further you cannot have two phone systems connected. Any other telephone provision must be disconnected from the installation before the Internet telephone.is connected.
A – This is the B4RN Broadband router itself.
B – One power socket is needed for the broadband router. If you opt for internet telephone a second socket will be needed. Our volunteers will also discuss battery backups – ‘Uninterruptable Power Supplies’ in any visits.
C – If you take an Internet telephone as an option there will be a connection box requiring a power supply.
D – The photograph shows the wired Ethernet connection between the broadband router and the Internet telephone box.
E – There are 4 wired Ethernet ports available.
F – Telephone sockets in an existing wired system.
G – The Internet telephone can be connected to your wired telephone system.
H – A wireless telephone can be used.
I – A wired telephone can be connected to the system.
Part 4: Making a simple installation.
A hole will need to be drilled through the wall of the house. This will be directly above the point where the 7 mm orange duct emerges from the ground. The hole must enable a 5 mm diameter plastic tube to pass through it although it will usually be easier to drill a hole sufficient to take a piece of rigid outer tube through which the 5 mm tube can easily be pushed. It is recommended that the hole be drilled from the inside of the building to the outside. A slope downwards will reduce the chances of water ingress.
Do not take the duct into the house by drilling through door or window frames.
Having drilled the hole and fitted the sleeve, the next step is to fit the grey gas block case on the outside of the wall. There are fitting instructions with the gas block case but these assume a preloaded fibre duct so please follow the instruction below.
Take the base of the case and fit one of the black cable ties to the lower cable seating as shown at step 3 of the supplied instructions. Form a loop with the cable tie but only engage the first few serrations.
Using the plugs and the longer screws provided, fit the base of the grey gas block case so that the exit tube on the back fits into the sleeved hole in the wall. The gas block itself is not supplied and will be fitted by the fibre optic technicians when they install the fibre. The gas block prevents radon gas, which may be naturally emitted from the ground, from entering your house.
The next step is to cut a length of 7 mm black duct sufficient to reach from the point where the orange duct emerges from the ground up to the gas block case leaving about 300 mm spare. Pipe shears are best used to cut the duct. Keep the duct ends free of debris.
Now cut the orange duct where it meets your house wall at a point before it curves upward taking care to keep debris from entering the pipe.
Join the black duct to the orange duct with the push-fit connector provided. Make sure the duct ends are pushed fully into the connector and the fit the hinged securing sleeve making sure the protruding fins locate into the groove behind the green connector ends.
Secure the black duct to the external wall of the house so that it leads to the gas block case. If the black duct has to follow a curved route, avoid forming tight bends and make sure the duct is not distorted by any cable fixings. Feed the top end of the black duct to the base of the gas block case and through the looped cable tie. BUT DO NOT TIGHTEN THE TIE. Tape the free end of the black duct to keep it clean but do not cut of any surplus just yet. Ignore step 8 of the included instructions.
Next fit the second black cable tie to the top curved duct guide as shown at step 9 of the instruction and leave the ends loose. Then push the 5 mm white duct through the hole in the top of the gas block base so that it passes through the hole in the wall and emerges about 300 mm on the inside with another 300 mm emerging on the outside. Bend the white duct down over the curved duct guide on the gas block base and loosely secure it with the cable tie so that the white duct points downward. Do not cut of any surplus just yet. Do not pull the cable tie tight as it will be necessary to adjust the position of the white duct end when the gas block is fitted by the fibre technicians. Do not cut surplus from the cable ties. Set aside the top of the gas block case and the two short screws for the time being.
Inside the house the hole in the wall will be covered by the fibre termination plate so minor damage to wall finishings will be masked. As with the gas block case, the instructions in the termination plate pack don’t apply to a B4RN installation.
Locate the termination plate over the hole in the wall so that the protruding end of the white duct passes through the entry hole immediately to the left of the top fixing hole. This will lead the end of the white duct over the curved duct guide. Make sure the termination plate is held square on the wall and mark the position of the three fixing holes.
Drill fixing holes in the wall and use the plugs and screws provided in the termination plate pack to fix the plate to the wall with the white duct coming through the back entry hole. Bend the white duct over the curved duct guide channel and cut it so that the end just fits under the protruding retaining nib as shown. Do not fit the cable ties.
DO NOT FIT THE LID OF THE TERMINATION UNIT. Once fitted, it’s difficult to get off. Put the lid back in the plastic bag together with the cable ties and yellow fittings and leave it available. Your signed contract needs to be filled in and left by the unit. The B4RN technicians will fuse the fibre to the termination plate, complete the connection and fit the lid. They will take the signed contract to the B4RN office.
At the gas block fitting on the outside of the building cut both the black and the white duct leaving as much spare as possible whilst enabling the lid to be fitted as shown. Tape the duct ends and loosely fit the lid with the two remaining short screws. The B4RN fibre optic technicians will fit the gas block unit when the fibre is blown in and fused to the fibre termination unit.
Notification: Once the duct is installed all the way from your boundary to the inside of your house and the termination plate is fitted notify XXX that your house is Ready for Fibre. For advice about anything in these instructions, contact XXX