Forum Discussion

n0v8or's avatar
n0v8or
New Contributor
3 years ago

Where to obtain connectors for Cox buried distribution cable

Through absolutely no fault of Cox, the buried Cox neighborhood distribution cable was severed by a utility crew working nearby because it "was in their way".  This cable runs on the other side of the street from my property and parallel to the sidewalk.  I phoned Cox and I have 3 options:

 1.  Fix it myself (which I think means hire my own contractor).

 2.  Pay $75 for a Cox truck to assess the damage and provide a quote for repair.

 3.  Sign up for the $10/month complete care premieres wiring protection subscription and they will waive the $75 assessment charge, but still not fix it.

Since the break is not even on my property, I doubt if it meets the definition of "premises wiring".  It is located on the opposite side of the street.

After 2 days without internet service, I decided to interpret Option 1 literally.  I exposed both ends of the cable, and spliced in an 8 foot piece of RG-6.  Incidentally, the data meter indicates I continued to rack up 5GB-10GB of data each day even with no service! 

To my amazement, this repair, which would be generous to describe as a "hack job" not only works, but a speed test indicates normal download and upload data rates.

However, I need to follow up with a permanent weatherproof repair and re-bury the cable, but I do not know where to purchase connectors for this cable.  The existing "fix" will never survive a New England Winter frost.  I think the cable is called "one-half inch P3 hardline direct burial cable.  It consists of a ~14 gauge solid copper inner conductor, polyethylene insulator, thick aluminum foil shield, self-sealing "goo" and an outer plastic jacket.  Overall diameter is approximately 0.5 inches.

I see connectors on the internet that look line giant F connectors with threaded barrel housings.  They are available in several sizes and I am not sure which are the correct ones.  Perhaps I could purchase some from Cox (along with ~8 feet of the cable)?  Would a Moderator know?

  

  • Bruce's avatar
    Bruce
    Honored Contributor III
    3 years ago

    First, you're not allowed to repair this cable because it's part of the Cox network.  Cox needs to fix this break and will contact the utility crew to bear the costs.  Why should you be fixing and paying for this?

    Second, the cable is commercial-grade RG11 requiring commercial-grade components and commercial-grade goo.

    Send an email to cox.help@cox.com with your Full Name, Complete Address and if you don't want to re-explain this issue, the URL of This Post.

    • n0v8or's avatar
      n0v8or
      New Contributor
      3 years ago

      Bruce; thanks for your suggestions.  There is a classic "catch-22" at play, one cannot e-mail Cox without a working internet.  However, I did email them this morning after patching the cable and received a reply within 2 hours with a number to call.  I was connected to a pleasant lady located in Florida, who insisted there is no such entity as Cox cables buried in the street, and that my internet is transported by satellite.  Ergo, the problem has to be within my house.

      She must have received her training at Starlink :).  In any case, that episode was, unfortunately, an exercise in futility.

      The only customer service organizations less responsive than Cox are those associated with the Government, where resolution of a complaint in less than a year is considered  the standard of excellence.  Once Winter arrives, I will not be able to perform an adequate repair and will have to switch to FIOS.

      I did check for both AC and DC voltage on the cable before preparing the end terminations, and did not measure any.   I also took care not to short the inner conductor to the shield so as not to disrupt the service to "upstream" customers.  I am the last house on the street, so there are no other downstream customers on this distribution line.  After crossing the street, it terminates in the pedestal next to my driveway.

      • n0v8or's avatar
        n0v8or
        New Contributor
        3 years ago

        Forgot to mention . . . this cable was installed in the late 1980s when the neighborhood was developed.  I have no idea who actually dug the trench and laid the cable, or if they even use this type of cable any longer.  I moved here in 1995, and was already a Cox subscriber, so just transferred the account to this address,