Found a cable in my backyard of a new house after raking the leaves. It is above ground for about 3 feet over some tree roots. It appears to be coaxial, but there are no markings on the jacket.
The cables for my tv/internet service do not look like this, they are flat coming into the house.
Any idea what this might be from? It looks like it runs to my neighbors backyard that is behind my house.
Cable in backyard
cablingcoaxcoaxial-cable
Related Solutions
Hopefully those holes are actually sloped upward the entire way, but I would not count on it.
Silicon would be OK, especially deep in. But there's a product called Mor-Flexx which is specifically made to look and work like mortar. A tube of this would work better than any mastic, as you can really squirt it far in. Plus you can touch up any other cracked masonry you might have around the house.
I might also solve this exact problem using rapidset mortar in a pastry bag (to get the mortar deep into the brick). But this can crack brick over the decades if the mortar is harder than the brick and thus expands differently (a problem in historic renovation, as older bricks are often softer than modern mortar).
That said, the Mor-Flexx is easy and will solve the problem completely. You can then install a weatherproof cable entry point and all future installers will take the lazy way out and use it (who wants to drill brick if you don't have to?).
Shopping
They sell modular wall plates in 1 to 6 port flavors.
Pick up as many as you need from the local home improvement store. Grab some F type modules, and some low voltage brackets while you're there.
Installation
- Cut a hole in the wall large enough for the low voltage bracket to fit.
- Install the low voltage bracket.
- Shorten the lengths of cable, and add new connectors to the ends (you'll also have to buy these from the home improvement store, so go back and get them).
- Connect the cables to the modular jacks.
- Install the modular jacks in the modular wall plate.
- Install the modular wall plate in the low voltage bracket.
Holey VS. Pointy
The pointy connectors are "male" connectors, whereas the holey connectors are "female". When a male connector loves a female connector very much... You get the picture (I hope).
Why so many?
There is no way to say for sure why there are so many cables here. It's possible that some come from somewhere, while others go somewhere else. You'll have to trace the cables to determine where they come from, or where they go to.
For this a cable tracer such as the Gardner Bender Wire-Tracker, can come in handy.
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Best Answer
We won't be able to tell what it is from here. Call 811 (or your local/state one-call service if 811 isn't available to you) and see if they mark it. Better yet, see if you can meet/talk with the utility locating crew when they arrive; they may be able to provide you with more details than just a locate.
If it's abandoned according to them -- you should be able to just rip it out. If it's still active according to them, fetch your deed from the assessor's office and check it for rights of way. If it's active and not in a right of way, you have a case of trespass and perhaps other things as well. If there is a right of way, call whoever's on that right-of-way document and tell them to fix their cable so it's actually buried properly and not subject to mechanical damage.