fiber optic wire?

[billconner]

I hear and read about the air traffic control issues and complaints at Newark and they're blaming copper wire and saying it need to be fiber optic wire? Just sounds like people dont know what they're talking about. Am I to much a dinosaur in think they should be saying fiber optic cable at least? Most definitions of wire include "metal". Could be my work in writing building codes and standards and micro parsing wording to avoid incorrect interpretations.

 

[nh_yota]

Yes you are correct, it's fiber optic cable but sometimes the press dumbs things down or they get lost in translation. The old radar link between Newark and Philly was probably a leased line through a telecom provider and it may have been a T carrier since they mention copper wire. The replacement connection will likely be fiber.

 

[Norcal]

Yes you are correct, it's fiber optic cable but sometimes the press dumbs things down or they get lost in translation. The old radar link between Newark and Philly was probably a leased line through a telecom provider and it may have been a T carrier since they mention copper wire. The replacement connection will likely be fiber.

A lot of the problems there are political so out of bounds here.

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

A lot of the problems there are political so out of bounds here.

REALLY?………. I didn't know OP's question was meant to be "political"

 

[gimpyrobb]

Rule of thumb, the general population is retarded. Most people don't care about correct terms, just a broad generalization of information.

I worked structured cable for 20+ years and have seen plenty of wire nuts on cut fiber lines...

 

[Snapped-off]

Rule of thumb, the general population is retarded. Most people don't care about correct terms, just a broad generalization of information.

I worked structured cable for 20+ years and have seen plenty of wire nuts on cut fiber lines...

Do they have special mirrors inside?

/s

 

[larry4406]

I worked structured cable for 20+ years and have seen plenty of wire nuts on cut fiber lines...

 

[OccupantRJ]

The one that makes me groan is when someone is referencing the surface they are standing on in a building as the ground,
or better yet when they open the draw of a toolbox.

 

[rlitman]

I hear and read about the air traffic control issues and complaints at Newark and they're blaming copper wire and saying it need to be fiber optic wire? ...

I see multiple issues with semantics. Not only is there the question of fiber "wire", but even when it comes to copper, "wire" is misleading. Nothing in any of the articles or headlines I could find indicated that a copper COMMUNICATION cable, wire, or whatever was the cause of the issue. For all we know, a copper power wire failed. Even fiber networks are reliant on copper for electrical power at the transceivers.

I found quotes about a "burnt" or a "burned" copper wire, and quotes about floppy disks, but all I'm really seeing is a lack of transparency, poor reporting, and just as poor editing.

 

[Black300zx]

Meh....the semantics don't matter for effectively communicating the problem to 99% of the listening/reading audience and the ones who do pick up on the incorrect semantics are knowledgeable enough to still figure out what's being said.

I have the same reaction when I hear "a gorilla has 1000 psi of bite force", "pounds of pressure" or anything similar.

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

I worked structured cable for 20+ years and have seen plenty of wire nuts on cut fiber lines...

I wonder if the "issue" at Newark Airport was loose "wire nuts"……….. Maybe they can update the fiber splices to WAGO's instead of wire nuts.

 

[Stuart in MN]

For all we know, a copper power wire failed. Even fiber networks are reliant on copper for electrical power at the transceivers.

That was my first thought. Of course, most public officials don't really know anything about communications or power, so it's not surprising when they make statements that don't make sense.

 

[rlitman]

I wonder if the "issue" at Newark Airport was loose "wire nuts"……….. Maybe they can update the fiber splices to WAGO's instead of wire nuts.

Well, a loose screw terminal in this killed 6 people who'd probably still be around if a spring terminal was in use.

 

[pembol]

It is easy to complain when someone gets the terminology wrong in a field that you are familiar with, but I bet most people here screw up things like medical, or chemical or botanical terminology all the time and don't even realize it. I know I do. Did calling a fiber optic cable a fiber optic wire actually impact the meaning an intent of the article or are we just being pedantic?

 

[N_Jay]

It is techie short hand for generations of technology easily misunderstood by managers, media, and others.

 

[billconner]

If the speaker knew it was fibre optics cable and called it wire because they thought it would communicate better, I'm fine with that. I am more concerned the speaker didn't know. That's concerning.

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

If the speaker knew it was fibre optics cable and called it wire because they thought it would communicate better, I'm fine with that. I am more concerned the speaker didn't know. That's concerning.

Intelligence is not in the job description.

 

[Chuckster in NJ]

Looks like the Newark radar went out again for 90 seconds this morning……….. Blame it on copper wires and floppy discs.

Regardless who or what is to blame, this issue is not good especially on a rainy cloudy morning like today.

 

[Firebrick43]

Well, a loose screw terminal in this killed 6 people who'd probably still be around if a spring terminal was in use.

Don’t kid yourself. I have seen plenty of wago and Phoenix DIN spring terminal blocks fail in industrial machine electric cabinets.

Failures of either type were much more common if the wires didn’t have a ferrule installed or properly crimped.

 

[Chukster]

Rule of thumb, the general population is retarded. Most people don't care about correct terms, just a broad generalization of information.

I worked structured cable for 20+ years and have seen plenty of wire nuts on cut fiber lines...

How about Wagos?

 

[Chukster]

Yes you are correct, it's fiber optic cable but sometimes the press dumbs things down or they get lost in translation. The old radar link between Newark and Philly was probably a leased line through a telecom provider and it may have been a T carrier since they mention copper wire. The replacement connection will likely be fiber.

My favorite news goof was an on air report of a house fire. Weekend newscast in Buffalo in the 70s, so maybe not even the 'B' crew. Anchor read off that fire was due to a "hot sold-er-ing iron." I just knew she gone to the engineering dept before hand and asked how that word should be pronounced.

 

[RalphInCA]

The press and general population’s collective ears probably perked up at the word copper, because everybody knows (or thinks they know) that copper wire is antiquated.

As in, “Oh my God — they’re STILL using copper wire that can’t possibly be good!“

It’s an easy way for the press to sell the idea in just a few words that ATC systems need work.

 

[Metal-Marc]

If the speaker knew it was fibre optics cable and called it wire because they thought it would communicate better, I'm fine with that. I am more concerned the speaker didn't know. That's concerning.

Don't use fiber optic cable for the speaker. You need copper wire.

 

[75gmck25]

This happened a long time ago, but I think I have the facts close to correct.
IIRC, there was an issue with NYC airports many years ago when they had a fire in a big telecommunications junction box near the Newark airport.

For the airport regions of Boston, NYC and Washington there was a system that communicated all the radar information between the three regions so they could maintain a more accurate picture of plane locations. There was a constant three-way check between regions to see that no airplanes are ignored.
However, when Newark lost its land-line connection the system could no longer make the three-way comparison, and the result was that they grounded almost all the traffic in all three regions. They basically shut down about half of the East Coast traffic. System worked as designed - but they had never planned for an outage that big.

 

[nh_yota]

Too bad Bruce Willis is in no shape to land planes these days.