According to this report from The Daily Mail, a row of houses in Castleton, West Yorkshire, UK exploded literally seconds after firefighters evacuated the residents. The causes of the string of blasts, firefighters told The Daily Mail, was the theft of copper electrical cable overhead. That theft "affected the earthing of the area's electrical network," the report says.
Astonishing footage of the explosions was captured by a camera mounted to one of the firefighting vehicles. The footage was posted to YouTube.
You can see it below. The video includes multiple explosions and is slightly more than one minute in duration.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
More tips for detecting counterfeit cables
Since the Fiber Optic Association published an item in its July 2011 newsletter about weighing copper cable to help determine if its conductors are copper or aluminum, the association has gotten a number of suggestions from professionals in the industry about that and other methods of counterfeit detection.
UPDATE (7/27): I have learned that most of the comments/tips provided to the FOA, and summarized here, came from James Mitchell, who operates a website called helpmecableguy.
Among the comments are the following.
1) Some cable brands include a plastic spool in the box, which adds 2 to 4 pounds to the box. And some generic cable brands can weigh as much as 25 to 30 pounds for bulk Cat 5e UTP. These differences may make it more difficult to detect a counterfeit, because even if lighter aluminum conductors are used the overall weight of the box could be close to that of a legit, copper-conductor cable.
2) Look for the holographic UL sticker (although it's also noted that holographic stickers are sometimes found on counterfeit CDs and DVDs).
3) From a street vendor in China (no kidding): Cut the wires into small sections and try picking them up with a magnet.
4) The newsletter update also expresses the importance of flammability ratings being genuine, in addition to the cable's performance characteristics.
You can read the updated FOA July 2011 newsletter here; it includes more detailed comments than those summarized in this post.
UPDATE (7/27): I have learned that most of the comments/tips provided to the FOA, and summarized here, came from James Mitchell, who operates a website called helpmecableguy.
Among the comments are the following.
1) Some cable brands include a plastic spool in the box, which adds 2 to 4 pounds to the box. And some generic cable brands can weigh as much as 25 to 30 pounds for bulk Cat 5e UTP. These differences may make it more difficult to detect a counterfeit, because even if lighter aluminum conductors are used the overall weight of the box could be close to that of a legit, copper-conductor cable.
2) Look for the holographic UL sticker (although it's also noted that holographic stickers are sometimes found on counterfeit CDs and DVDs).
3) From a street vendor in China (no kidding): Cut the wires into small sections and try picking them up with a magnet.
4) The newsletter update also expresses the importance of flammability ratings being genuine, in addition to the cable's performance characteristics.
You can read the updated FOA July 2011 newsletter here; it includes more detailed comments than those summarized in this post.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Cable-theft attempt kills 16-year-old boy
BBC has reported that a 16-year-old boy was killed in Stourton, UK on Sunday, July 3 while apparently attempting to steal copper cable and components from a power station.
The news agency identified the electrocution victim as Ryan Woolams.
The power station is owned and operated by CE Electric UK. That company told BBC it had dealt with 279 incidents of metal theft within the past year.
CE Electric UK's head of safety Geoff Earl made a plea for would-be thieves to consider the potentially tragic consequences of their actions.
You can read BBC's coverage here.
The news agency identified the electrocution victim as Ryan Woolams.
The power station is owned and operated by CE Electric UK. That company told BBC it had dealt with 279 incidents of metal theft within the past year.
CE Electric UK's head of safety Geoff Earl made a plea for would-be thieves to consider the potentially tragic consequences of their actions.
You can read BBC's coverage here.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Talk about an underground crime operation
I'm not sure if the attempted theft of copper cable is more prevalent in the United Kingdom than it is in the United States, or if the U.K. news media pays more attention to the crime than does the news media in this country. Either way, I never go too long without hearing about such a theft, or attempted theft, somewhere in the U.K.
Not long ago we told you about the young man who was nearly electrocuted while trying to steal copper cable from an electrical substation. The permanently scarred culprit spoke remorsefully at his sentencing.
Now I hear about the enterprising 33-year-old from Glasgow who made it look like he was supposed to be working in manholes while he was trying to make off with some of BT's copper cable.
According to reporting by The Courier (which takes you to the heart of Tayside and Fife), Dean Monaghan put on reflective clothing, erected a worker's tent, and put up signs and cones around manhole covers in his attempt to "hide in plain sight" last fall.
The attempt failed. I won't steal the entire story from The Courier. Enter the heart of Tayside and Fife yourself. Read all about it here.
Not long ago we told you about the young man who was nearly electrocuted while trying to steal copper cable from an electrical substation. The permanently scarred culprit spoke remorsefully at his sentencing.
Now I hear about the enterprising 33-year-old from Glasgow who made it look like he was supposed to be working in manholes while he was trying to make off with some of BT's copper cable.
According to reporting by The Courier (which takes you to the heart of Tayside and Fife), Dean Monaghan put on reflective clothing, erected a worker's tent, and put up signs and cones around manhole covers in his attempt to "hide in plain sight" last fall.
The attempt failed. I won't steal the entire story from The Courier. Enter the heart of Tayside and Fife yourself. Read all about it here.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
The perils of patch cords
In a blog post, CommScope's director of channel development and training James Donovan outlines the potential risks that users take on when they complete their cabling channels by adding "just any" patch cords to installed permanent links. According to Donovan, even checking a patch cord's jacket for a stamp of standard-compliance does not ensure a top-notch cabling channel. As he notes, "standards specify minimum requirements only, and do not cover all the coupling and reflection effects that may occur within or between components."
Add to that Fluke Networks' recent assertion that most patch cords are only tested for wiremap, regardless of what is inkjetted on the jacket, and the perilous patch cord becomes a system component that deserves closer attention than it gets, in the opinion of many.
Donovan describes some of the measures CommScope takes to ensure its patch cords perform at the highest possible levels, and also gives an earful of what users might be in for if they are laissez faire (or, dare I say it, cheap) when it comes to patch-cord selection. Among the possible outcomes is intermittent continuity, which Donovan describes as "a network manager's worst nightmare."
You can read Donovan's complete blog post here.
Add to that Fluke Networks' recent assertion that most patch cords are only tested for wiremap, regardless of what is inkjetted on the jacket, and the perilous patch cord becomes a system component that deserves closer attention than it gets, in the opinion of many.
Donovan describes some of the measures CommScope takes to ensure its patch cords perform at the highest possible levels, and also gives an earful of what users might be in for if they are laissez faire (or, dare I say it, cheap) when it comes to patch-cord selection. Among the possible outcomes is intermittent continuity, which Donovan describes as "a network manager's worst nightmare."
You can read Donovan's complete blog post here.
Friday, June 10, 2011
FOA president chronicles training trip through Africa
Jim Hayes, president of The Fiber Optic Association, posted on the FOA website a summary of his recent trip to three African countries during which he, other FOA personnel, and professionals based in Africa provided fiber-optic training.
The training sessions took place May 9 in Johannesburg, South Africa; May 17 in Nairobi, Kenya; and May 20 in Lusaka, Zambia. In his journal-style summary of the trip, Hayes noted, "As one of the fastest growing markets for telecommunications, Africa is planning the installation of more fiber-optic infrastructure and needs trained technicians to perform the design, installation and maintenance work necessary ... Our visits to South Africa, Kenya and Zambia gave us a view into the variations in developments in Africa, with SA being on a par with the U.S., Europe or the Asian rim countries, Kenya rapidly building infrastructure and Zambia in an earlier stage of development."
He noted that many submarine cables reach African shores, and the current need is to build infrastructure within the continent and distribute it for general use.
Rather than copy or paraphrase Hayes's writing, I'll encourage you to read it for yourself here on the FOA website. Doing so will also give you an opportunity to see all the photos from the FOA's trip to Africa as well as to find other items and resources on that site. The "report from Africa" is part of the FOA's June online newsletter, which also includes an article that asks if telecom is dead, information about the new FOA iPad app, news about Corning running out of fiber and more.
The training sessions took place May 9 in Johannesburg, South Africa; May 17 in Nairobi, Kenya; and May 20 in Lusaka, Zambia. In his journal-style summary of the trip, Hayes noted, "As one of the fastest growing markets for telecommunications, Africa is planning the installation of more fiber-optic infrastructure and needs trained technicians to perform the design, installation and maintenance work necessary ... Our visits to South Africa, Kenya and Zambia gave us a view into the variations in developments in Africa, with SA being on a par with the U.S., Europe or the Asian rim countries, Kenya rapidly building infrastructure and Zambia in an earlier stage of development."
He noted that many submarine cables reach African shores, and the current need is to build infrastructure within the continent and distribute it for general use.
Rather than copy or paraphrase Hayes's writing, I'll encourage you to read it for yourself here on the FOA website. Doing so will also give you an opportunity to see all the photos from the FOA's trip to Africa as well as to find other items and resources on that site. The "report from Africa" is part of the FOA's June online newsletter, which also includes an article that asks if telecom is dead, information about the new FOA iPad app, news about Corning running out of fiber and more.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Wall calendar takes comic look at data centers
I'm a bit late on the draw with this one but there's still plenty of time to enjoy and get use out of the March 2011-March 2012 wall calendar available from Communications Supply Corporation.
The calendar includes comic-strip-style artistry from CSC sales rep Diane Alber and focuses on data center environments. CSC put quotes around the word "educational" when describing the calendar's running comic strip called Kip and Gary. To me that means it's more fun than learning. On the slightly-more-serious side, the calendar also includes products that can be used in data centers.
The calendar is free to anyone who signs up to receive it. You can do that here.
Disclaimer: I ordered my calendar from CSC immediately before writing this, so I have not yet received it and can't tell you firsthand how humorous the comics are. But I'm eager to find out.
The calendar includes comic-strip-style artistry from CSC sales rep Diane Alber and focuses on data center environments. CSC put quotes around the word "educational" when describing the calendar's running comic strip called Kip and Gary. To me that means it's more fun than learning. On the slightly-more-serious side, the calendar also includes products that can be used in data centers.
The calendar is free to anyone who signs up to receive it. You can do that here.
Disclaimer: I ordered my calendar from CSC immediately before writing this, so I have not yet received it and can't tell you firsthand how humorous the comics are. But I'm eager to find out.
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