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My Home Fibre Network Disintegrated

alienchow.dev

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Re: My Home Fibre Network Disintegrated

#211

Post by amluto »

amluto wrote: post #43
ggm wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many people believe running fibre between buildings, even in ducts, is safer than running copper because you get opto-isolation from lightning. The second thing is that domestic buildings usually do not come with a consistent ground plane. I worked in a 1960s build purpose made for mainframes and we had ~48v floating between racks at either end of the building and had to do a shitload of work to reground the building…

> The second thing is that domestic buildings usually do not come with a consistent ground plane. Ordinary unshielded copper Ethernet doesn’t care: it’s transformer-isolated at both ends. Shielded cable may object to carrying any substantial amount of current through the shield. Anyway, there are a handful of good reasons to use fiber: - Length. Copper is specced for 100m. Panduit will sell fancy copper cable that th…

Late edit: one exception is A/V. Sometimes you want fiber for applications other than networking. There are A/V applications for fiber, for example. If you need this, use what the thing you’re using the fiber for requires, and consider putting it in conduit. If your application calls for MMF, consider using the highest grade you can get at a reasonable price, which is probably OM4.

Also, preterminated fiber is a thing. While it’s not that hard to terminate MMF, it’s still easier and more reliable to buy preterminated fiber. SMF terminations are apparently much more sensitive to being done perfectly, and buying preterminated fiber is wise. (I’ve never personally terminated any fiber, but I have installed and connected fiber, and it’s delightful to just plug it in.)

Re: My Home Fibre Network Disintegrated

#212

Post by userbinator »

wolfi1 wrote: post #184
DannyBee wrote: post #155

I have fs.com armored cable installed for 10 years now. Different times and spools. It is all in perfect shape. They test all their cable. Something is almost certainly disintegrating your cable. If you have any spare old pvc pipe or something in the basement, hit it with a hammer and see if it is brittle (the hammer should bounce). If it is brittle, I would not hang out in the basement until you figure out what is g…

if the PVC is brittle it almost certainly lost its plasticizer, could be that the alkaline eroded it

Unplasticised PVC, commonly used for rigid pipe, is normally brittle and will shatter, which is why it's not allowed for pneumatic systems. It doesn't crumble easily, however.

Re: My Home Fibre Network Disintegrated

#213

Post by Forgeties79 »

russdill wrote: post #210
Forgeties79 wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t disagree but it’s not hard to understand why people think “military grade” means it’s better. “Military grade” communicates tough/durable/stress tested to a lot of people. Veteran/patriot isn’t an indicator of build quality, even if it is also pandering to a certain sensibility.

For many products it just means it's a small run from a group that may not have a lot of domain experience using materials and methods that will make the end product appear superior to buyers.

Totally understand that, I’m just talking about the difference between “patriot/veteran” and “military grade” to the average person. The latter heavily implies “quality build” while also appealing to people (mostly dudes) who want that sort of label for whatever reason, while the former is purely about values and has no implications as far as quality is concerned.

Re: My Home Fibre Network Disintegrated

#214

Post by wsh »

Animats wrote: post #71

Would that be this item? [1] The product description and SKU match. It's not clear who "FS" is. A reseller? A manufacturer? They seem to be in Singapore. There's no excuse for the external plastic sheath disintegrating. They must have formulated the plastic wrong. The terms specify a 30 day warranty. Here's a catalog of real mil-spec fiber optic cables.[2] This is overkill for home applications; you put these in a fi…

FS.COM Limited (深圳市飞速创新技术股份有限公司, https://cn.fs.com/) was founded in Shenzhen in 2009. They’ve applied to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange; here’s the draft prospectus from a month ago:

https://www1.hkexnews.hk/app/sehk/2025/107950/documents/sehk...

Re: My Home Fibre Network Disintegrated

#216

Post by wlonkly »

brianwawok wrote: post #172
jaeckel wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> [...] a string [...] Does someone have a recommendation for a specific material the string should be made of?

The sell pulling string in the electrical section of the hardware store.

But make sure you don't buy pushing string by mistake!

Re: My Home Fibre Network Disintegrated

#217

Post by m463 »

sunlight?

Plastics degrade like this in sunlight due to UV.

If you put plastic storage bins outside, in a short time picking them up will usually cause them to shatter in your hands.

As a sort of cautionary tale - PEX (plastic) plumbing is quite interesting. It is almost like the fiber-optica cable of plumbing. It is really easy to install without welding and can be snaked through walls easily. However, it comes in lightproof packaging and is not to be left exposed to sunlight - otherwise it must be discarded. Holding back 100psi of water requires strong bonds.

Note that this UV exposure might have happened before you installed it. It could have been sitting in the sunlight at a distributor or depot or as a second-hand cable. It could also have been in the sunlight in your house before you pulled it.

Re: My Home Fibre Network Disintegrated

#218

Post by pseudohadamard »

snowmobile wrote: post #47
anonym29 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Military grade: mass produced by the lowest bidder

I only use handmade artisanal networking equipment.

Hand-beaten from Tibetan silver by buddhist monks who live in a cave in the Himalayas. You just have to make sure the chakras are aligned correctly when you've installed it.

Re: My Home Fibre Network Disintegrated

#219

Post by pseudohadamard »

userbinator wrote: post #60
Infernal wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your car wouldn’t happen to be a Volvo would it?

1990s Mercedes would be my guess.

This is why you need a 600 Mercedes, made from lead and asbestos and concrete and VOCs and other stuff, that won't fail under any circumstances.

Re: My Home Fibre Network Disintegrated

#220

Post by defrost »

pseudohadamard wrote: post #219
userbinator wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1990s Mercedes would be my guess.

This is why you need a 600 Mercedes, made from lead and asbestos and concrete and VOCs and other stuff, that won't fail under any circumstances.

Just get a https://www.okaaustralia.com/

Ugly AF but artisanal and robust.

( Just avoid the original third gen versions from late 1980s (?) that offshored the assembly )

2012 Bus configuration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fchq6F-gKkQ

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