| During the late 1980's in Hinsdale, Illinois there was a disastrous fire in a central office telecommunications building. Fire officials believe it was initiated by the strike of a tremendous bolt of lightning. This fire affected hundreds of exchanges. Tens of thousands of people were subsequently without telephone service. This installation also housed the majority of cellular service and landline communications relating to the Air Traffic Control in the greater Chicago area. The fire caused enormous amounts of corrosive smoke (halogen gas) to spew from the insulation compounds of the cables then used in the central office - and there was a toxicity issue. The firemen were forced to work in ten minute shifts and had to be disinfected to prevent the spread of contamination. That was the "human" side. On the "equipment" side of the story, no one perceived the damage to be so severe. Not only was the equipment in the building useless, but the corrosive smoke caused major damage to the embedded circuitry in electronic equipment great distances away from the installation. Up until the Hinsdale fire, many different types of cable were installed in central offices and other delicate locations. PVC's, rubber, hypalon etc, were all used. All contain halogen, and all are full of toxicity if ignited! Now the race was on to formulate new compounds that would meet the LOI (Limited Oxygen Index) of 28% or better - cables that would be halogen free and low in toxicity! The research and development was taking too long! It was decided that a cotton braid material that was halogen free, and covered with a paint that was suppose to be flame retardant, would be put over a hypalon insulated cable. That cable would come to be known as KS or CK 20921, or 5482. This became the industry standard. There were, perhaps, four or five manufacturers that had the equipment to apply the braid (which incidentally, was pre- World War 1 technology). Yes, the cotton braid was halogen free and the insulation allowed the cable great flexibility! Was the problem solved?? CERTAINLY NOT!!! There came to be a problem called "Cold Flow." After the cables were tied in (sewed) to the cable trays, the cables then formed a waterfall effect causing tension that pulled down severely making the cables deform at the ends of the cable tray. This caused failures, and most times fires with contaminating smoke and gases! The cotton braid easily burned, setting fire to the hypalon insulation. Back to "Square One!" Never-the-less these 20921's and 5482's were now an industry standard and were used in all the telecom jobs by installers. Research and development was still going on. New insulations were now in the testing stages. Finally in the late 1990's we, Cobra Wire & Cable, Inc., working with select partners, developed a new product and had Bellcore (now Telcordia) test it. The results were conclusive: The cable (COP-FLEX 2000) met or exceeded industry standards. It was halogen free AND low in toxicity! These cables were also easy to install - no fish paper was required, and the cold flow problem would be eliminated! Cop-Flex 2000 was braidless and it was quickly approved by many of the major telecoms. AT&T, Verizon, Bell South, MCI are a few, and there were many more. Still the industry called out braided or cloth covered material, as this was what they were use to seeing for the past 20 years or so. Business failures have caused a few factory closures and only one manufacturer has the capability to apply a cotton braid (which is really not needed and expensive to apply). Only one manufacturer - think of that!@! All the telecoms become dependent on ONE manufacturer for their cable. It could be chaos! The cotton braid is not needed with Cop-Flex 2000. Cobra has copies of the test reports conducted by Bellcore (Telcordia) showing that all testing done was WITHOUT the use of fish paper, and the results were better than the braided material. Cobra would be happy to share a copy of this report with you, or it can be obtained from Telcordia direct. Before your company finds itself in a bind for delivery of cables, remember the cotton braid is NOT necessary if using Cop Flex 2000! We have a complete stock of all sizes and colors. We cut to length at no extra charge. Should you need additional information please consult our website or call ADRIANA LOZADA WHITING at 215 674 8773. Cobra now has three stocking locations to accommodate fast delivery service and save you money on freight: COBRA WIRE & CABLE, INC. 2930 TURNPIKE DRIVE HATBORO, PA 19040 COBRA WIRE & CABLE, INC. PLANO, TX 75074 COBRA WIRE & CABLE, INC. SPARKS, NV |
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