Gee, a whole week went by since I repaired and tested the line from TOM to Sheepscot. Maybe it's time to add phone line repair to your career. Here goes:
Phone line repair steps
1. Using a very sharp knife, cut away the outer sheath in the damaged area, being very careful not to cut into the conductor insulation (black, white). There are two flat sides of the outer sheath; by cutting into the center of those flat sides, you will probably miss the insulated conductors and hit only the paper-wrapped bare ground conductor (no worries). The cable often has a slight twist to it, so don’t try to make too long a cut at once lest your cut migrate away from the flattest part and hit the insulated conductors. Try to cut only about three inches at a time.
2. Repeat the above process until you have exposed the black/white pair for about four inches on either side of the damaged area. Cut away and discard the sheath pieces.
3. Cut the conductors at the damaged point and strip the insulation for about 1.5 inches on either side. This should be enough to make a good twisted joint that will be soldered at a future step.
4. Cut two pieces of shrink tubing about three inches long and slide one onto the black wire and one onto the white wire. This will be long enough to cover the twisted joint, but short enough to fit between the joint and the jacket during the soldering process. Don’t allow the shrink tubing to slide too close to the soldering process or it will shrink prematurely and not get over the joint.
5. Now that the shrink tubing pieces are in place, make a firm twist spice. A two-hooks splice will be OK if you squeeze it small enough without breaking the wires.
6. Using one hand to hold the work, one hand to hold a small torch, and one hand to hold the solder, make a good solid solder joint. Allow it to cool completely before moving it. Once the joint is cooled, slide the shrink tubing into place and heat It slightly.
7. Starting two or three inches out from where you cut the outer sheath, spiral wrap stretchy rubber tape around the splice, ending about three inches beyond it.
8. Repeat the taping process using vinyl tape starting about an in inch past the end of the rubber tape and ending about an inch past the point where the rubber tape began.
9. Bring out your brush cutter operator voodoo doll and treat it appropriately.
On a more serious note, I think I will get some grade stakes and mark vulnerable spots. In the TOM case, the break was where the cable rises from the trackside ditch to the phone box.
John M
