CHAPTER XVI 



MAINTENANCE 

 Section 90 General Principles 



Inspection of telephone lines must be made regularly during the fire season, and 

 special inspection made by the ranger or other officer in charge immediately after a 

 severe wind, snow, sleet, or electrical storm, and after fires. Rangers and guards 

 when 011 patrol duty must watch the telephone lines, cut any trees that may have 

 fallen across them, and make any other necessary repairs. Tests must be made at 

 a specified hour each morning during the fire season to see that no trouble exists. 

 Each forest supervisor should establish a regular organization on his reserve for the 

 proper inspection and maintenance of each Forestry Branch line. When instructed 

 to do so by the district inspector daily service reports on Forestry Form 318 will 

 be prepared and submitted for the lines covered by the instructions. 



Section 91 Line 



1 GENERAL REPAIRS 



The entire line must be gone over thoroughly at least once a year, preferably 

 before the beginning of the fire season. Each pole should be inspected; brackets, 

 insulators, and tie wires which are broken should be properly replaced; and all foliage 

 and interfering timber cleared away. Poles should be examined for butt-rot and for 

 twist. In the latter case it should- be determined whether the pole has twisted to an 

 extent to permit the line or tie to touch it. Loose guys or braces should be tightened 

 and all loose or badly corroded joints renewed. 



Line troubles will generally be traced to one or more of the causes given below. 

 (Telephone Circular, April, 1916, United States Forest Service, District No. 5.) 



(1) Broken line wire. 



(2) Line wire resting on the ground. 



(3) Leaks through slight grounds by the line wire making contacts with foliage, 

 trees, poles, or other similar objects*. 



(4) Cross-talk and cross-ringing by contacts with other lines. 



(5) Short circuits and cross-contacts with other lines at switching stations. 



(6) Poor grounds. 



(7) Bad splices, and loose or corroded contacts at fuse and protector. 



(8) Circuits too long for the size of wire employed. 



(9) Decay of poles through butt-rot. 



2 TEST-STATIONS 



On lines more than 15 miles long one or more test-stations should be established. 

 These should be so arranged that the line may be looped into the house or building 

 where the telephone is and through two switches placed near the latter. The instru- 

 ments should be connected to these switches in a way to make it possible to cut off 

 either end of the line, while the instrument remains 1 on the end desired, and yet 

 bridge to the line when both switches are closed. In this way the line may be cut 

 by the switches for testing in either direction and line trouble may be more readily 

 located between certain definite points. 



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