Icky-pick

Icky-pick or icky-pic is a name for a gelatinous substance contained within outdoor-rated communications cables, including both twisted pair copper cabling and fiber optic cabling. Icky-pick has two primary functions:

• Prevent water from entering the cable, causing corrosion and damage from freeze expansion
• Deter animals from biting and damaging the cable due to the taste of the gel

Icky-pick is a very thick petroleum-based substance with very high flammability, and consequently 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 which is a fire hazard. The thick gelatin stains clothing and hands and is very difficult to remove. When fiber-optic cables are to be spliced, the gelatin must be removed with solvents and swabs to prevent fouling of the splice.

See also

• cable compound
• fiber-optic cable
• filled cable
• twisted-pair

External References

• Picking on Icky-Pick, http://www.nexans.us/US/2007/D2_ReelTime_1206.pdf