Icky-pick

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Icky-pick or icky-pic is a gelatinous cable compound used in outdoor-rated communications cables, including both twisted-pair copper cabling and fiber-optic cabling. [1] [2] "PIC" is the abbreviation for "plastic insulated cable". The cable is filled with an "icky" substance. The filled cable itself, therefore, is called an "icky PIC".

Icky-pick has two primary functions:

The actual icky-pick compound is a very thick petroleum-based substance e.g. petroleum jelly, and is only rated for outdoor use, frequently direct-buried in the ground. An outdoor cable spliced onto an indoor terminal block is prone to leak the gelatin, hence in many situations the icky-pic cable is spliced outside the building to a short run of normal cable which runs through a protective conduit into the building. The thick gel stains clothing and hands and is very difficult to remove.

When fiber-optic cables are to be spliced, the gel must be removed with solvents and swabs to prevent fouling of the splice. Paint thinner or charcoal starter is a frequently used and commonly available remover and clean-up agent.

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In telecommunication, a filled cable is a cable that has a non-hygroscopic material, usually a gel called icky-pick, inside the jacket or sheath. The nonhygroscopic material fills the spaces between the interior parts of the cable, preventing moisture from entering minor leaks in the sheath and migrating inside the cable.

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References

  1. Froehlich, F.E.; Kent, A. (1993). The Froehlich/Kent Encyclopedia of Telecommunications: Volume 7 - Electrical Filters: Fundamentals and System Applications to Federal Communications Commission of the United States. Encyclopedia of Telecommunicat. Taylor & Francis. ISBN   978-0-8247-2905-9 . Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  2. Debiec, Thomas (Jan 1, 2001). "Picking the ick out of outside plant cable" . Retrieved 2022-06-12.