04-06-2021, 06:01 PM
Shacks and cabins are not automatically unsightly or unpermittable. It's the collection of wrecked cars with dogs chained to them that "litters" the landscape. Despite having these really deep lots, most people put everything right up on the road, either because it's less bulldozer work or because they want grid power. Going off-grid makes the long driveway less of a problem. Long driveway means nobody can see your shack from the road. Privacy and aesthetics. Win-win.
That said: Telcom's hard requirement is that you provide an attachment point at least 14' above ground level and within 100' of their line. This doesn't have to be a building, it can be a pole. A single 20' piece of galvanized 4" pipe will suffice; hire a bore operator to drill a hole for it. Everything beyond that is your problem, more poles or conduit or whatever. Use at least 1.25-inch conduit with enough access pulls for a 300' fish tape. (Pulls are ideally a C-body, which isn't available on-island. I found them on eBay.) The conduit does not need to be buried, just make sure you won't step/drive on it. You can "cheat" a little by crossing your footpaths with schedule-80 conduit in a shallow trench.
They used to require two ground rods, but these aren't needed for fiber, it doesn't conduct lightning strikes, so there's no protector that needs a ground.
Dry indoor location with power for the ONT. These draw something like 4W. Most off-grid inverters pull ~100W when idle, so the overnight load to leave the ONT powered up has negligible impact on battery capacity. Your side of the ONT is standard copper ethernet, possibly with a port of analog dialtone if it's a "residential" fiber drop. Don't unplug the fiber and look in the end, the non-visible wavelengths mean you won't be able to see the light burning your retina.
NOTE that "fiber on the road" isn't the same as "a fiber terminal within 1000 feet of your location". Terminals are black, rectangular, with an orange/black location tag that begins with FO. The cylindrical "ribbed can" is an infrastructure connection point, not for subscribers. HELCO poles are typically every other lot corner, so if you know the lot width you can guesstimate the distance to the terminal.
There is a code provision that exempts all Telcom installers from permitting requirements; you don't even need to ask.
That said: Telcom's hard requirement is that you provide an attachment point at least 14' above ground level and within 100' of their line. This doesn't have to be a building, it can be a pole. A single 20' piece of galvanized 4" pipe will suffice; hire a bore operator to drill a hole for it. Everything beyond that is your problem, more poles or conduit or whatever. Use at least 1.25-inch conduit with enough access pulls for a 300' fish tape. (Pulls are ideally a C-body, which isn't available on-island. I found them on eBay.) The conduit does not need to be buried, just make sure you won't step/drive on it. You can "cheat" a little by crossing your footpaths with schedule-80 conduit in a shallow trench.
They used to require two ground rods, but these aren't needed for fiber, it doesn't conduct lightning strikes, so there's no protector that needs a ground.
Dry indoor location with power for the ONT. These draw something like 4W. Most off-grid inverters pull ~100W when idle, so the overnight load to leave the ONT powered up has negligible impact on battery capacity. Your side of the ONT is standard copper ethernet, possibly with a port of analog dialtone if it's a "residential" fiber drop. Don't unplug the fiber and look in the end, the non-visible wavelengths mean you won't be able to see the light burning your retina.
NOTE that "fiber on the road" isn't the same as "a fiber terminal within 1000 feet of your location". Terminals are black, rectangular, with an orange/black location tag that begins with FO. The cylindrical "ribbed can" is an infrastructure connection point, not for subscribers. HELCO poles are typically every other lot corner, so if you know the lot width you can guesstimate the distance to the terminal.
There is a code provision that exempts all Telcom installers from permitting requirements; you don't even need to ask.