In U.S. Pat. No. 4,232,184 which was issued to me on Nov. 04, 1980, I show a cable adapter, commonly referred to in the trade as a boot, for use with a cable closure at each of its ends in aerial telephone plant. The cable closure protects a cable splice. Likewise, some aerial cable terminals may use a boot at each end. The terminal provides a location for terminating a loop.
The boot which I have described in the aforesaid patent has a plurality of tapered nozzles for adapting to the size of the cable. Initially, the boot was made of soft material. But rodents could eat through the soft material, exposing the cable to elements and resulting in potential maintenance problems. An improved boot was made from a hard substance. This, however, made it difficult for a craftperson to work with the apparatus.