I'm in the process of changing the location where the telephone and cable service come into my house to a new location. I was wondering if there is a proper way to correctly attach the two lines (one coax for cable and one multi conductor for telephone) coming from the overhead pole in my back yard to my house. Previously they were just looped around a hook attached to the fascia board and then draped along the side of the house and then in small hole at the foundation. It looked very un organized and the overhead lines seemed to sag quite a bit. Is there a better way to do this without using a weather-head. In looking around at the neighbors installs they have some sort of tension loop that looks a little more secure. Also, should there be a rain tight box somewhere?

Thanks,
Royce M

Most installations have NID's (Network Interface Devices) located near where the electric service comes in, so it can share the same ground.

AFL: Copper Apparatus - Keptel® SNI-4600 Network Interface Device (http://www.afltele.com/products/copper_apparatus/nids_6lines/Keptel_SNI-4600_NID.html)

There is a six slot box and coax modules are available for it.

Six slots isn't very much: 1) DSL filter, 2) No electronics test port, 3) Coax module. Half ringer modules are usually placed in the NID if DSL isn't used.

Everything needs to have drip loops. It's basically a dip in the wiring. For example, for the NID, the wire goes behind the box, then does a little loop and into the box from the bottom. When wires enter the house, again there needs to be a little loop, so water doesn't travel along the wire into the house.

Thank you. That box looks really nice. Sounds like that is what I need on the outside for the coax and telephone lines to come into.

I guess I'm also trying to figure out what I need to attach the lines to the fascia boards or exterior of the structure in order to maintain the proper drip loop and tension from the utility pole so that the lines don't sag over time. Please let me know if you have any ideas here. I would hate to use the ugly looking brass hook and loop like it was originally done.

Thanks,
Royce M

Doesn't the phone company usually furnish their own box? Do you have one inside that the existing line connects to? If you have digital cable, I am not sure I would want to try doing my own terminations to use such a box.

I think they are called strain reliefs the sort of braided or multiple strands wire wrapped around a line and then to a hook to spread the load on the cable. Then a few cable clamps as the wire comes down the wall. Usually near ground level the phone goes into a box the phone company furnished. It should have a grounded lightening arresstor with the ground tied to the electrical ground. The cable should have its own lightening arresstor, and then usually just goes through the wall. I have mine caulked.

For a knowledgeable discussion of grounding, see https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/electrical-lighting/installing-ground-rods-140332.html

Graybar, Electrical, Telecommunications, and Networking Products and Service Solutions (http://www.graybar.com) has some in their catalog under power distribution. There are no pictures on Graybar's website. I see a nice picture under "distribution grips", but on other sites when I look for the DG-4541 I see just the wire grip portion and not what attaches to the fascia. I agree with Labman, that the utility might not like you messing with that side. If this is an overhead wire between the garage and the house, that maybe a different story.

It's probably not the correct product, but a ride to an electrical supply house would be in order.

When you don't have a NID, the telco company may do the installation for free. Our lines were 40 years old and they just replaced them and added the NID. I Just asked for a length of 8 conductor wire to reach inside from the NID. The tech hooked up the grounding, added the Do Not Remove Tag and hooked the line up to where it was.
The NID acts as the point of demaraction. Your responsible beyond this point. The Utility is responsible to this point.

Later, I ran that to a Leviton punch down module mounted on the studs, where I have access to all 8 pairs. One pair is now DSL (Filter in the NID) and one pair is Telco.

The utilities might prefer to have two NIDS, one for cable and one for Telco. I haven't come across a Coax NID yet. They just hang things on the wall. Verizon FIOS requires a NID outside.

I have to chime in here and echo Labman's concerns. I used to work for the phone company in NY when I was 19 or 20. We usually planned on knee capping any home owner that we found had climbed our pole for any reason, period!!

Most phone companies install a "Demarcation" box on the outside of the premises. The phone drop is brought to the house and locked behind one side of the box to keep unwanted fingers out. The left side is the customer's side. Customer's have access to the wiring on their side. Anything beyond that is strictly phone company property. Climb a pole and you may find yourself charged as as a terrorist for all I know now a days. Give the wacky world we now live in.

On the topic of Cable, that also is verboten. Cable companies are competitors in the Voice and data, so the phone company is not at all interested in allowing the cable boys to play on the telco's side of the demarcation box.

FIOS is a very interesting product soon to be offered here, in theory. It is fiber optic drops and connections which are very different with respect to the current connections for copper.

Thanks guys for all the info. I will be calling the local utilities to hook me back up.