Abstract: In-service PIC telephone cable that has become water-logged in places is reclaimed dielectrically by pumping in an aromatic solvent oil containing cross-linking agents that will gel the oil in a predetermined period preferably of the order 24 hours. A nongelling prepurgent miscible with both water and aromatic solvent oil may be pumped in before the gelling compound is introduced, to more completely purge the water.

Abstract: A telephone service cable which runs from a distribution cable to a subscriber's premises or to a pay station is another link in a buried communications system having a water-resisting capability. A spirally quaded core comprised of individually insulated conductors is advanced through a bath of a flame-retardant, water-resistant composition prior to enclosing the core with a jacket. The interstices in the core and between the core and an inner jacket are caused to be filled with the composition which comprises a liquid system and a solid system. The liquid system includes a chlorinated paraffin while the solid system includes a polyvinyl chloride resin and a chlorinated polyethylene. An epoxy stabilizer and a phosphite stabilizer may be added to prevent thermal degradation of the filling composition.

Abstract: communications grade glass optical fibers are protected from static fatigue failure by an initial coating that reacts with surface silanol groups, thereby to occupy or tie up water vapor reaction sites. The OH surface radicals may be bonded to by condensation reactions including: esterification, carboxylation, etherification, chlorination and ammination. For speed and simplicity of reaction, silanation with silanes is attractive as, for example, hexamethyldisilizane (HMDS). The reaction is sufficiently fast to use in a continuous fiber drawing and in-line coating process. The barrier coating may be selected to bond relatively strongly to an outer abrasion protection polymeric coating. Bonding is also enhanced by creating an initial minimum, evenly distributed concentration, of surface silanol groups, for example, about 5 groups/100 Angstrom units in any direction. The reaction molecule is also large enough to act as a water vapor barrier.