Weird Telco tool

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SciFi

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#254306 6-Aug-2019 09:22

Hi everyone. I purchased a box of tools from an online auction site and it had this crimping tool for the telecommunication industry in it.

I can see it on the web but don't know whether it is a relevant tool in todays modern environment.

It also appears that you can still buy the crimps (picabond).

Crimpers. model:AMP/Tyco 251101-1 made in Toronto Canada.

Any help with establishing it's worth to anyone would be much appreciated.

Stu

Hammered
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#2290737 6-Aug-2019 09:32

Welcome to Geekzone.

Wow, that brings back memories. I don't know if they're still used. And, unless they're still in use, I doubt there'd be any value in it. MOTAT might add it to their communications display though!

It's not much good with fibre ;-)

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

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SciFi

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2290740 6-Aug-2019 09:43

Thanks for that. Thought that might be the case. Mind you, fibre hasn't hit the back blocks of nowhere, which just so happens to be most of NZ. Maybe a Chorus employee in Taumaranui would fizz at the sight of these!!

chevrolux

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#2290756 6-Aug-2019 09:55

To answer the question of 'is it relevant', no*.

*Unless you are a cable jointer working on some rather old cables. For normal plastic cables these days, we simply use either 2-ports or 25-pair 3M biscuits.

The good thing about this tool was you could joint a new cable on without needing to cut the existing pair. So you could tee in a new cable without disrupting service - good for cabinet cutovers and things.

SciFi

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2290761 6-Aug-2019 10:04

Looks like I'll be sending them on a slow boat to Papua New Guinea....surely they'll want them!

coffeebaron

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#2290779 6-Aug-2019 10:24

chevrolux:

To answer the question of 'is it relevant', no*.

*Unless you are a cable jointer working on some rather old cables. For normal plastic cables these days, we simply use either 2-ports or 25-pair 3M biscuits.

The good thing about this tool was you could joint a new cable on without needing to cut the existing pair. So you could tee in a new cable without disrupting service - good for cabinet cutovers and things.

And there you have our enemy of DSL, a tee junction :(

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Ultimate Geek

#2290848 6-Aug-2019 11:54

Yes they are still used and used every day to repair paper insulated cables (what many people refer to as lead cables) / joining in sections of plastic insulated cable to paper insulated / rearranging cable joins etc ( to remove tee joints :-) ) / doing minor repairs to plastic cable ( where there is minor insulation damage on single wires etc) / and are especially useful for joining mismatching wire gauge cables

The big brother of these tools are still used to join large pair count cellular plastic insulated cables ( just imagine plastic foam) or should i say rejoin them.

The correctors are IDC (insulation displacement) but form a low profile and more secular connection than something like a two port.

So yes they are still used - most techs will refer to them as a picabond tool - the connectors come in various types and wire gauge sizes but unless you are going into the major cable world as a telco network tech you would be wasting your time haveing one of these or the box's of 1000+ connectors

There is an abundant supply of these tools (second hand) out there - sorry ( I have access to two on my truck and I would, nowdays as a I work mainly in the fibre world, need one once in 12 mths

SciFi

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2290860 6-Aug-2019 12:13

Thanks. Is it worth chucking on trademe or other relevant site. I guess I'm asking if they have any value or do I just butcher them into vice grips😄

Isn't it funny how you can get a gauge on peoples age depending on they're response.

I also love it when they talk dirty to me in telco lingo...uuu ahh