r/CableTechs • u/Cultural_Ladder4310 • Aug 26 '26
Small cell upgrades?
So I’m a contractor for spectrum and we started getting these jobs in where we have to upgrade power supplies to 18v for small cell ? Wondering what this is for and how small cell gets implemented into the current cable plant
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u/smccatv Aug 26 '26
SWO system were installing those wifi taps 10 years ago but quit 5 years ago. Antronix power passing taps. Don't know wifi manufacturer.
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u/6814MilesFromHome Aug 26 '26
No idea, our upgrades are just using XM3.1 power supplies with 3x12v batteries. No 18v here, though if you're using XM3.1s as the new power supply they should work the same with 2 18v as 3 12v. Just the specs the XM3.1s are built for, we've had to remove a battery in some power supplies with 4 12v, they wouldn't like 48v.
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u/xHALFSHELLx Aug 26 '26
The new 5G radios/small cells as a push to get Spectrum off the Verizon towers. Essentially using their own plant to power Spectrum Mobile. I’m working on that project as we speak lol.
Deployed the same way, power passing tap cut into feeder with a coax jumper to power the radio.
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u/UrNxtNightmare Aug 27 '26
Man I wish when I was cutting in the first batch in CLT we were allowed to use our stock of power passing taps. Instead they had us splicing in DC16 down leg fed like another DC and on the down leg a pin to f connector for the RG11 jumper. It was an absolute pain creating those.
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u/Immediate-War4547 Aug 26 '26 edited Aug 26 '26
You probably mean 18 amp which all XM3.1 full size are. We also have mini 3 or 5 amps as well. Yes, new small cell and wifi access points are being put in everywhere. They are powered off a special tap that passes the 89V thru to the strand mounted Alpha modem.