Originally posted by electure:
Tom is 100% right, my thoughts were 100% wrong. AFC is about a mile from my house, so I stopped by and asked why they include the bushings in MC. The tech said that they are included as an "added measure of protection", and although not required at all, (the mylar is considered adequate), their use in encouraged. The AC cable, on the other hand, has the paper more or less as a filler to keep the ground in contact with the armor, and the paper is not deemed as a proper insulator at the termination of the armor.
This leads me to wonder about the original purpose of the anti-shorts. I assumed that they protected the insulation from being punctured by crudely cut armor, something the mylar doesnt seem capable of. However, if their purpose was to prevent ground faults to the armor due to someone damaging the insulation during cutting and removing the armor,(this was more common prior to the roto-split, when hacksaws, or dikes were used) the plastic(mylar) may be adequate.
