Long outdoors netwok cable run

[Madflamethrower]

Just saw this thread for the 1st time and it was very much informative. Thank you OP!! I was on the verge of forgetting to go with fiber for my 600' driveway, even though wittaj highly suggested it. 2 reasons...having to farm out the terminations and the fiber install guys from Frontier internet want to charge me a 1st born to run the extra fiber that I would supply.

But now I see I have options, including premade. But if I'm understanding what's been said here, I don't need the mega $$$ tooling to terminate fiber?? I would prefer to do the fiber install myself and it now appears I can. I am ready to start planning and getting a materials list together. One other concern I had going with fiber...that expense alone would limit my camera purchases. I want 4 cameras minimum, with one LPR and a PTZ. So 4 may not even be enough.

 

[Virga]

Glad to see this thread is helpful @Madflamethrower. This discussion thread, and the input and support from many, has helped de-mystify FO for me. I used to think it was high-end precision work only utility company guys do. I still wouldn’t attempt to join/splice FO strands. But terminating FO strands should not be out of the reach of regular people. Full disclosure: I still haven’t actually done any terminations! I have had many distractions from the FO part of my overall project. And one by one those pieces are coming into place.

The links that @jnissen provided above helped me get the right tools and I added a two-tool-combo pak of Jonard’s FO stripper and Kevlar cutting shears. The spool of FO cable I got is plenum cable, but it was a good price and I needed to start somewhere else this would have been a drawing-board project for ever. As a point of reference, it was $96.25 all-in including sales tax and shipping for an 800-foot spool of 12-strand plenum grade OM3 FO, from ebay. I know at some point I’ll have to replace it with burial rated cable, because water in the buried conduit will probably get through the cable sheathing. At that point, pulling a new cable in place of the current one would hopefully be straightforward. I intend to leave a pull tape in the conduit along with the FO.

Besides the FO itself, I needed to get a hands-on feel for related devices, and one by one everything is falling in place. Time after time I find that once I figure things out (with the help of friends here), they don't seem as complicated and impossible as they had at first. Once I get everything working, I will consider it proof-of-concept for me, and replace anything that is not up to par as-needed. The only thing that is likely to need replacement eventually will be the FO cable.

Good luck with your project. Take the plunge! Much support in this forum. If you are trenching and burying cable, suggest you find a way to bury 1.5 inch conduit the whole way. Some day you'll be glad you did, of this I'm certain.

Edit: Likely you'll need power at the far end, for whatever device you use to convert from FO to copper, which will connect to individual devices like cameras. The 1.5 inch conduit could likely contain both FO and power, though others could better speak to that.

 

[jnissen]

The Plenum cable above is holding up well for me. No signs of degradation. 10G backbone between switch and control has been consistently stable.

I have a second FO run for my gate. That line was a buried rated FO line that was run while I was installing a water line onto my property. That cable as well is consistently showing good performance.

The issue I have had is my choice of power out at the gate. A 12G buried cable supplies power for the switch, gate opener, and lights. The power has gone out unexpectedly twice.
I have the line pop up into a NEMA outdoor rated box. I initially powered the line with a GFCI breaker but constantly got false tripping. The length of line the breaker was protecting exceeded the recommended wire length. I ended up using a standard breaker and use a local GFCI out at the destination. Second issue was when I had a driving rainstorm. My enclosure for the data gear is vented. I used hooded vents but in one exceptional downpour I got some moisture inside the box. It tripped the GFCI breaker. I had to wait and dry out the box and added open cell foam to act like a filter in my vent hoods. Since doing that the box has remained dry and running well.

I may open a completely new thread on the Unify Gate controller. Short summary is thumbs up.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Virga]

@jnissen I am looking forward to your thread on the UniFi Gate controller. It is the final piece of my project that I have yet to get operational, pending pulling and terminating the FO.

Am hoping to post a new thread on the end-state of my long network run when I get there, and in the meantime here are some photos of the controls near the gate, which grew to be a bit of a production.
The low voltage controls box is not vented, and the devices in there are just an initial dry-fit to get a feel for how it all comes together.
There will be a second network switch identical to the one in there, and there is room for inevitable additional gear in the future.
Have to figure out how to hang power supplies and such-like that don't have DIN rail clips, from the DIN rails.

I hear more and more from guys who do hands-on work that the newer ground fault and arc fault breakers work so well that they are unforgiving and constantly trip.
When I built my house my electrician ended up removing the Siemens AFCI breakers for circuits in the house, and put regular breakers - has been no problem since.
I have a small circuit breaker panel with regular breakers - so far one for the gate, one for the low voltage controls box, and one for the convenience outlet on the controls panel.