replying to Bill, Terroreign wrote:
Bill wrote:

I couldn't locate the thread, but last fall, I described a 3' by 2' by
2' metal box, with "ALPHA" marked on it, on my utility pole, and even
posted a picture in an effort to try to figure out what it was. I also
mentioned it had a circuit breaker in a box underneath it (and I wanted
to know what the darn thing was for). I now understand these boxes
exist across the nation and I now have the answer in case you may have
one in your locality:
The boxes are 120v to 90v transformers owned my Comcast. Each one can
support approximately 10 customers (that each have an approximately
12"x5"x2" silver metal box attached to the Comcast line). A Comcast
technician explained to me that purpose is that the Comcast technicians
do not need to be licensed to work with 90v as they would if they worked
with 120v equipment. The circuit breaker is for the transformer box, of
course, and the extra meter is so that Comcast can be billed for the
electricity that their transformer uses.
And that's the rest of that story...good day!
Bill
BTW, Comcast's strategy (of going to 90v) appears to me to be an
interesting example of what I call "angle shooting". I don't know
enough to say whether it is in the spirit of the law or not. Isn't 90v
equipment just about as potentially harmful to life and property as 120v
equipment?
BTW2, I asked a Comcast technician (I had 3 out last week) why they just
threw my cable-splitter on the ground under my house when they installed
my service. He said that's just the way they install them. I said, "What
about *craftsmanship*, I said if I installed it I would have mounted it
somwhere...". That word is very powerful. Before I contract people to
work on my home I may talk to them about craftsmanship--that way I may
be able to get things finished to my level of expectation rather than,
in some cases, the minimum level that gets the contractor out the door.
I only mention this to help empower anyone else who may prefer more
control over the way his or her work is performed by a contractor. It
seems that if the contractor agrees to perform at a certain level of
craftsmanship then the customer is empowered compared to if the
contractor merely agrees to get the job "done". I haven't actually
tried this technique yet, but it occurred to me after my conversation
with the technician about the cable-splitter.
Bill


Bill, thanks for your follow up in finding out what this was. I work for a
utility company and recently had stray AC current issues on our system.
One of the first things I noticed was this "Alpha Box" on a utility pole
near our system. Now that I have an idea what it is and the voltages
associated with it, I will be able to troubleshoot my problem more
efficiently.
Also thanks for the heads up on the craftsmanship.


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