Page 49 of 130
Figure 41: Vaults
Vaults can be anywhere from the size of a small box to a large room.
Vaults have been designed for the housing and easy access to telephone and cable-TV splices.
Vaults can be very dangerous because of lack of oxygen and their tendency to accumulate carbon monoxide,
natural gas and other hazardous gases.
1.7.1 Attaching Drops
Aerial drop types
There are following kinds of drops:
The black 2 & 6 pair drop – Used mostly in Alberta
The grey 4 pair drop – Used mostly in BC
For special situations such as small business applications, there are an additional 2 styles that require more
lines than can be carried by a normal drop.
Legacy 18.5 AWG black single pair drop, often called old black or liquorish drop, will be encountered across
Alberta and BC in legacy neighborhoods. It is not to be used except under specific situations, for instance
when customers have only POTS service with no splices. It must be replaced with black 2 or 6 pair or grey 4
pair drops when installing xDSL or TELUS TV circuits. Legacy 18.5 AWG black single pair drop should not be
connected directly to SLIC terminals.
2 & 6 pair black drops
Figure 54: 2 & 6 Pair black drop
The black 2 & 6 pair drop is used primarily in Alberta. The color code is the same as the PIC outside plant
color code. It uses a wedge type hanger. The jacket can be stripped with the pull string, a stripping can
wrench or by “banana peeling”.
The wedge type drop hanger (or drop wire clamp) is installed with the cap of the hanger up. This is to
minimize moisture collection and subsequence failure due to freezing. A ram’s horn type house hook is
usually used with the wedge type drop hanger.
