Can you disconnect and reconnect the cable to the ONT?

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gished

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#214173 1-May-2017 10:29

I have my ONT in a network cabinet but the cable to the ETP needs to be tidied up and moved into an internal wall. Are customers allowed to disconnect/reconnect the fibre cable or do I need to book a technician in?

Being a fibre cable I'm guessing I'll have to keep it clean as I'm shuffling it around as I don't have a fibre cleaning kit.

If this is Chorus 'property' can someone tell me if this is a billable exercise for them?

Cheers

DarthKermit

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#1773271 1-May-2017 10:45

Even having it disconnected for a few seconds risks dust contamination.

phantomdb

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#1773333 1-May-2017 11:48

It can be disconnected just don't attempt to clean it with your fingers etc as it will get body fat on the optics and cause a high signal which may intern cause micro outages on the optics

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coffeebaron

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#1773337 1-May-2017 11:56

Answer is NO - do not touch. These can also break quite easily. You need to book an ONT relocate with your ISP.

However, I'm sure some people have done this themselves successfully, but you are not suppose to and of course at your own risk, callout fee if you break it.

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InstallerUFB

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#1773448 1-May-2017 13:34

gished:

I have my ONT in a network cabinet but the cable to the ETP needs to be tidied up and moved into an internal wall. Are customers allowed to disconnect/reconnect the fibre cable or do I need to book a technician in?

Being a fibre cable I'm guessing I'll have to keep it clean as I'm shuffling it around as I don't have a fibre cleaning kit.

If this is Chorus 'property' can someone tell me if this is a billable exercise for them?

Cheers

The cable from the FTB/ETP is Chorus property - if you attempt to move, shift or adjust it and something goes wrong then you will be charged for the damage and repairs (labour and materials for for finding and fixing - Chorus faults are charged out at around $130 pr hr) - there will be a splice joint (90% of the time) directly behind the ONT on the tray, the ONT is normally clipped into, just moving the ONT off the tray and back on again can effect your service. You can really move this splice around.

If we move the cable we break the splice and reroute the cable (or replace it) and splice it back up again

If you want the ONT/cable moved ask your provider to arrange for a chorus tech to do it - and yes it does cost but its cheaper than If I have to come around after you have broken it to fix it.

antoniosk

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#1773537 1-May-2017 14:37

Consider the reason why:

The fibre termination is a little cable no more than 1-2mm in diameter. Your fibre connection runs on light at a very tiny wavelength.

A speck of dust, a fingerprint or anything looks ENORMOUS under a microscope, and it very effective at stopping your service from working. It's like placing a 10m diameter boulder on the road in front of you.

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Antoniosk

InstallerUFB

840 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1773546 1-May-2017 15:06

The actual fibre is only 100microns thick with a small protective coating on it to bring it up to 250 or 900microns (just under a mm) depending on where in the network - Crush or over bend that and its all over. That little dot of fibre is presented on the end of the connector and as has already been said one speck of dust or a wipe with a finger then .....

JayADee

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#1773822 1-May-2017 20:21

Good grief then how do the tech guys manage it? I had no idea they were so fragile.

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DarthKermit

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#1773829 1-May-2017 20:32

I'm pretty sure the fibre welding machine they use does all the finicky work such as cleanly cutting the two pieces of fibre off nice and square, ensuring it's clean, welding them together and checking the optical quality of the joint.

chevrolux

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#1773835 1-May-2017 20:37

JayADee: Good grief then how do the tech guys manage it? I had no idea they were so fragile.

From all accounts above it would seem divine intervention is required to plug in a fibre patch lead...

BarTender

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#1773876 1-May-2017 21:56

chevrolux:

JayADee: Good grief then how do the tech guys manage it? I had no idea they were so fragile.

From all accounts above it would seem divine intervention is required to plug in a fibre patch lead...

My thoughts exactly, considering the skill of some fibre engineers I have met in the past it's a wonder this country works at all.

If you treat it carefully and with respect and don't let dust get in then you should be ok. But if it has to move any distance it's probably cheaper and easier to just get the tech in.

I'll dig up some photos I took ages ago when I visited the Chorus Lab in Wellington about how those lab guys treat ONTs. It wasn't pretty.

chevrolux

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#1773938 1-May-2017 22:48

BarTender:

chevrolux:

JayADee: Good grief then how do the tech guys manage it? I had no idea they were so fragile.

From all accounts above it would seem divine intervention is required to plug in a fibre patch lead...

My thoughts exactly, considering the skill of some fibre engineers I have met in the past it's a wonder this country works at all.

If you treat it carefully and with respect and don't let dust get in then you should be ok. But if it has to move any distance it's probably cheaper and easier to just get the tech in.

I'll dig up some photos I took ages ago when I visited the Chorus Lab in Wellington about how those lab guys treat ONTs. It wasn't pretty.

Hahaha yes that gave me a good chuckle. Don't get me wrong, there are some fantastically skilled techs out there... but there are also plenty of "engineers" installing UFB who hadn't touched a fibre until they were on a customers premises - and that is not hyperbole.

I will share my thoughts...

If you have to ask how to move an ONT, you probably shouldn't move it.

Behind the Chorus ONT is a splice tray which has the fibre all nicely wrapped up and tidy. If you unclip the ONT just treat everything with respect. There should be plenty of slack in that fibre but you should really limit how much you unwrap and I probably wouldn't move the splices themselves depending on what type of cable has been run - if its the standard Cat6+2fibre that is relatively tough stuff. Also watch very closely what the cable does as it tends to make loops and loops of fibre don't like getting pulled tight haha.

If all you want to do is put the actual feeder cable in the wall I would look at just unclipping the ONT and opening it enough to just unscrew that splice tray so you can do the wall work and simply screw it back in place - no need to unplug the fibre patch lead. Again, just keep a close eye on what the fibre cable does when it's loose as that is when you will snap it if you aren't careful.

I guess I probably always had a fairly large amount of confidence patching fibre because there was always plenty of isopropyl wipes on hand as well as the actual fibre cleaning reel too. But when you unplug a fibre the dust cap should just go straight back on the end of the connector if it is going to be exposed for any decent period of time.

gished

276 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1774773 3-May-2017 09:40

Thanks for the replies. I've previously done some FC storage cabling and thought I treated that 10x more carefully than the fibre broadband installers did when they set it all up tbh! I'll call Spark and find out what the move fee is. It's not hugely important I do this but I wouldn't mind tidying up the cable.

Wiggum

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#1774836 3-May-2017 11:24

I moved mine in our last house. The chorus guy had installed it right next to a cupboard. I thought inside the cupboard would be better.

Disconnect the plug from the power
Remove fibre optic cable, immediately cover with dust caps.
Remove the ONT and secure it in its new place.
Remove dust caps from cable, and insert it back into the ONT.
plug the power plug back in.

The chorus techies that do this are not really rocket engineers. They just average people like most of us, and from what I have seen don't even bother with dust caps.

If it goes pair shape, make sure you have one of these on hand. (still cheaper than a call out).

Sure you can do this if you know what you are doing. Keep in mind that there are some hazards around optic cables, even though they carry no electricity.

Good luck.