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Posted by Eric on April 25, 2007, 12:26 am
On Apr 21, 9:44 am, demie...@yahoo.com wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Apr 19, 5:20 pm, demie...@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> > > Me friend and I are interested in starting a custom cable ( TV )
> > > company, just simple in home custom installs.
> > > Does anyone know if this is possible? Are there laws or rules in place
> > > by the cable companies that will not allow this.
> > > Is there a way to do it with them but not work for them on their
> > > appts.
> > > Maybe give them a percent, or some legal papers so they don't think
> > > the customer is stealing form them, even though we all know it is out
> > > ther everywhere.
>
> > > Is anyone doing this already.....
>
> > > Thank you for any information..
>
> > > Dominic
>
> > You are not permitted to go beyond the ground block (also known as the
> > demarcation point). The cable company "owns" the drop going to the
> > house. Other than that, knock yourself out. Just keep in mind that you
> > become responsible for the inside wiring, and if it is not up to cable
> > company standards, they can and will disconnect it (or at least blame
> > you for any and all problems the customer may have).
>
> > If you want to become a contractor for the cable company, that's a
> > different story. You'll need lots of insurance, specific tools, and a
> > high tolerance for being treated like scum.
>
> Do you mean from the ground block up to pole or down to tap... I'm
> assuming..?
> you can work from the ground block inward right without any problems??
> Also, do you know if there is something differnt you need to know when
> working on Boats or Yachts' ? I did a small job on a Yacht, that was
> behind the owners house, ( just a relocate ) but I not up on what
> would be needed to work on custom jobs on Yachts....any Info?
>
> Thanks again for your input; and I was thinking of doing something
> with a lawyer, that would state and be signed by the customer that
> they must contact the local cable company to activate this custom
> line. This would hopefully free me from any problems with the Carries.
>
> Dominic
Wow. Opened up a can of worms with this one...
The cable company (and the phone company), is responsible for
connecting your house to the distribution system. There is a clearly
defined demarcation point where the company's responsibility ends and
the customer's responsibility begins (this is also true to a point in
electrical systems, although most power companies make the home
electrician run all the drop cable). In the case of cable tv, the
demarc is usually the ground block. However, most cable companies use
an interface box (sometimes called a SDU or NIU) as the demarc. Where
I used to work, there was a court case that decided the demarc was 1
ft outside the SDU or the ground block, if no SDU was installed.
However, this was for a very specific reason I don't really want to
get into right now, and was hardly precedent setting.
That being said, there is a constant struggle between the "customer
friendly" factions and the "stick to the rules" factions in most cable
companies. The technician is to do whatever is necessary to get the
customer up and running, unless the problem is wiring that "can't be
replaced" by the tech, at which time he is to inform the customer that
the problem is inside there house and they should contact an
electrician to replace the bad wire. However, this almost never
happens, since the electrician will want big bucks, or in the case of
a builder, will get into a pissing contest with the cable company
about his crappy cable being "just fine" and that technician is "full
of shit*" and handing the customer a "big bill" for "wasting their
time." This causes a trip to the office, equipment in hand, and a lot
of bad feelings. If a supervisor is available, they have a little chat
with the customer, roll another truck, and most likely the next tech
will run another line, or do a better job of documenting the problems
with the bad line. Trust me, it is almost always better to just run a
new cable if there's any way to make it happen. That way the customer
is at least able to get service, and they can deal with the builder
without having to get us involved.
So, if you haven't been discouraged by all the scary stuff in this
thread, go for it. I've thought of doing custom low voltage stuff for
years, but never had the stones to strike out on my own. Besides, I
like being able to play with all the big toys (and get free cable).
As far as the yacht, I would think as long as you followed NEC
guidelines for grounding shore power, it shouldn't be a big deal
(although cable only comes in 1000 ft rolls... sorry. I couldn't help
it).
Eric
Eric
*technical term
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