linetech4u
@verizon.net
| reply to cypherstream
Re: homogeneous vs a hodgepodge of line gear
Cypher,
An amp is an amp. It should not really matter what brand of gear or mixture of gear the provider has if it is all balanced properly. It is more of a challenge for the maintenance tech who needs to know how to set up all of those different actives. But like everything else, there is no substitute for experience. A tech that has been around long enough knows the ins and outs and idiosyncrasies of the gear. But as you mentioned, parts do become obsolete and scarce so the only option is to wreck out the old and splice in the new, same brand or not. Not to mention, a lot of the systems Comcast has now were bought from small companies with little cash flow, so for cost savings they bought the "flavor of the week" which could have been SA one week, Maggie gear the next and so on, whatever they could afford. So that could also explain the hodgepodge amount of gear you have seen. But as these smaller systems get retro-fitted/upgraded the gear tends to stay all one brand these days, it just takes time and a boatload of cash. Oh and yes, it is a pain in the rear to stock and/or carry all that different gear on the truck. Hope this explains it a bit for you, I probably left some thing out, but I think you get the general idea.  |
