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I just happened to notice this along a road near where I live:

enter image description here

enter image description here

So these were in a pair, oppositely facing, "tip" to "tip" of the teardrop.

At first glance, this doesn't seem to be a bird diverter like here.

What is it for?

Note - I wrote "power lines" but I'm not actually sure what function this line has. Since its just one wire/cable, I didn't think it would be electrical transmission. Most other poles around here (rural) have a lot more on them than these do.

Minor addition - now that I'm looking for these, I'm seeing a lot of them in my area.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Maybe some spare cable bundled up in case it is needed for repairs or upgrades? \$\endgroup\$
    – Jack B
    Sep 11, 2020 at 23:31
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    \$\begingroup\$ seems like it's called a ("snowshoe")[reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/44c6cc/… \$\endgroup\$
    – Michael
    Sep 11, 2020 at 23:32
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    \$\begingroup\$ To me, the cable going off to the left in your closeup picture looks larger than the one going to the right. Perhaps looking farther to the left, you'll see two cables tied together, with one of them forming the loop, and heading back to the left - maybe a spare cable for some future use... I'd follow the cable back at least to the pole on that side for possible clues. \$\endgroup\$
    – Peter Bennett
    Sep 11, 2020 at 23:42
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    \$\begingroup\$ "...I wrote "power lines" but I'm not actually sure what function this line has." Yeah, a "power pole" often carries more than power. Typically there are 1 or 3 transmission lines (bare wires) on top (1=single phase, 3=3), then a neutral lower down, and phone/cable TV wire below that. The idea being to keep the most dangerous wire as far away from people as possible. If it's insulated and hanging from a pole, it's probably not a power wire. (Insulated wire costs a lot more, and the whole point of hanging it from a pole is that it doesn't have to be insulated since it doesn't touch anything.) \$\endgroup\$
    – Duncan C
    Sep 12, 2020 at 0:41
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    \$\begingroup\$ @transistor utility poles that carry both power and communication wires are very common in the US. I'd go so far as to say they are the norm, even. Having the power lines higher up on the poles than the communication lines enables communications techs to work on the low voltage/fiber lines without having to interact with the power wires. \$\endgroup\$
    – Duncan C
    Sep 14, 2020 at 14:56

3 Answers 3

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I always assumed it was a way to store slack in a cable like coax or fiber that can't be bent sharply without damaging it. I followed the "Snowshoe" link Michael posted, and it appears that I'm right.

SmackmYackm: Cable Guy here. It's intended purpose is to store spare fiber, and we actually do call them snow shoes. There are dozens of reasons you would want spare fiber in a given location. Usually there will be a splice enclosure nearby.

SmellyFinger: I actually work for the company that makes [snowshoes] ... they are used to manage slack storage in an aerial cable network (comm and not power, and specifically for fiber cables). They keep the cable from bending too tightly when stored on a span as seen in your picture. They are not made to slide, even if a tree falls on the line (they might slide, but they aren't designed to). They come in various sizes and can be painted aluminum or molded plastic like this one is. Sold as a pair.

brock_lee: It's a loop. To run a wire from pole 1 to pole 2, they run it from pole 1, around a loop, back to a second loop, and then to pole 2. This helps prevent a disruption of service should a pole fall down or something fall on the wires. The loops allow the wire to uncoil or "stretch" rather than break.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Duncan - I approved an edit addition by Uu... BUT if you prefer it not there you could ask him to make it a new answer. \$\endgroup\$
    – Russell McMahon ♦
    Sep 14, 2020 at 11:04
  • \$\begingroup\$ @UuDdLrLrSs - see above comment re new answer. \$\endgroup\$
    – Russell McMahon ♦
    Sep 14, 2020 at 11:05
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That line isn’t power. It’s telecommunications. More specifically, fiber optic cabling. They call those slackpointe for storage (I’ve heard multiple terms for them but those are the ones I use). Snow shoes are what we put them in to protect them generally. Their purpose is that, if anything happens to the cable, we can undo that slack and have enough to splice it back together quickly.

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They might be bird divertors, which help large birds see the power lines. This stops damage from accidental collisions, and power trips if the bird shorts between the powerline and the top of the insulator.

https://engineering.stackexchange.com/questions/8289/why-are-bird-flight-diverters-shaped-like-a-spiral

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    \$\begingroup\$ No, they are not bird diverters. See the discussion of "snowshoes", both in my answer and in the comments on the original question. \$\endgroup\$
    – Duncan C
    Sep 14, 2020 at 14:54
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    \$\begingroup\$ Those are a completely different shape and appear to be separate objects hung from the wires. \$\endgroup\$
    – StayOnTarget
    Sep 14, 2020 at 23:46

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