On long underground pulls, crews pull cable out at an intermediate handhole, lay it on the ground in a large figure 8, then flip the pile and feed the free end into the next duct section. Coiling in one direction puts a twist in the cable with every turn, while the figure 8 cancels it out. The loops must stay well above the minimum bend radius and off traffic lanes.
Pull it into the parking lot and figure-eight it there, then we'll flip it and feed the next section toward the street.
Use traffic cones or a figure-eight form at the crossover point, otherwise the cable gets stepped on exactly where the stack is tallest.
Also heard as
- figure-8
Related terms
Pull
A cable pulling operation, from setup at the feed end to the cable arriving at the far vault.
Bend radius
The tightest curve a fiber or cable can take without extra loss or damage, stated separately for pulling and at rest.
Service loop
Extra cable coiled and stored at a vault, pole or panel so the fiber can be re-spliced or moved later.
Snowshoe
An oval aerial bracket, shaped like a snowshoe, used to store slack loops of fiber cable on the strand.