telephone wiring

[george07]

i am re-routing my main line into the house at high level concealing in the walls etc into the service cupboard..from there i need to put a line into my alarm speech dialler as well as a line into the living room for the sky,telephone & internet wireless modem..finally i need a line into my small bedroom/office for phone printer etc.. from the service cupboard do i daisy chain the cable from 1 point to another or do i use a terminal junction box and take 1 to each from there ? + do i just hard wire a cable straight into the speech dialler for the alarm system from the junction box...and finally how many pair cable do i need ? scewfix etc ? cheers again guys

 

[Richard C]

First you should be aware that it’s illegal to replace or move any of BT’s property, this includes but is not limited to;
• The Drop cable – The cable that come’s from outside to the inside.
• A junction box – If it is before the BT master socket.
• Cable before the BT master socket.

The Master socket is the "demarcation" line between your telephone equipment, wiring and BT's Exchange Line. Everything on your side of the master socket is your problem; everything on BT's side, including the Master socket itself, is BT's problem. If you move it & mess it up, BT will have to come sort it out & they will charge you. If you successfully move it to improve/add to the user-side wiring & it becomes clear and obvious at some point that you moved it yourself then BT could issue a fine and/or terminate your line.

Any internal extensions should be wired from the master in socket daisy chain, see here;
http://www.telephonesuk.co.uk/wiring_info.htm

I assume you’re not still running a modem/dial up internet connection so by internet wireless modem I assume you mean a wireless broadband hub? I’m not familiar with Sky so am unsure if the hub is within the box or a stand alone hub the Sky box connects to. Your broadband hub must always be connected to the master socket, be left switched on & permanently connected. If you connect it to an internal extension line, have incorrectly wired extension lines or keep resetting your broadband hub (by switching it off) BT’s automatic network monitoring kit (BRAS) will think there is a problem with your line & adjust the settings too a point where they will very seriously affect the broadband speed you get which in turn may affect Sky but I don’t know.


It all looks simple enough & it’s generally only 2 wires but you can quiet easily mess things up, certainly your Broadband speed.

 

[george07]

ok richard i see what you mean..should i contact bt to re-route the cable to where the master skt will be then & could there be a hefty charge..as at the moment it comes in through the kitchen window frame! then i have the problem of the master skt needs to be in the living room near the tv for the sky+box & broadband hub/modem (for wireless internet around the house, and also the intruder alarm speech dialler needs to be wired directly to the master skt which is positioned in the service cupboard in the kitchen ..? if i re-route the cable myself it will only be long enough to go to the service cupboard where speech dialler is..but if it needs to be re-routed to the living room should i joint the cable out in a extension box & extend the cable to the living room to make that the master skt ? then take an extension cable back to the service cupboard for the dialler ? lol cheers again as advice needed at this 1st fix stage

 

[Alarm]

Just remember there should be a B/Band filter on the line for the dialer. Also for max security the dialler should intercept the line and thus be stopped from getting out.
So master to filter to input of dialler then output of dialler to next in the daisy chain.

Also remember the REN allowed on the line. Too many devices and it will never ring or work correctly.

 

[Richard C]

Although the cable up to the master socket is BT responsibility, they will charge you on call out if there is no fault found so I would think that just moving/replacing a perfectly good cable will almost certainly result in a charge. As for junction boxes, you should ideally aim for a continuous cable between the external box & master socket, the more terminations you have the more the line quality is likely to degrade.

I’ve recently been having problems with drop outs drastically affecting my BB speed & so far have had 2 Openreach engineering visits (so far free of charge), a new master socket & replacement of a very ancient terminal box up in the loft. I’m still having problems & am currently trying to convince BT they need to replace a 40 odd year old section of cable between my external box & the master socket as I believe this may be causing my problems. BT is now split into several independent companies who are locked into an inter-charging regime & at times don’t appear overly cooperative with each other. In my case the BT community forum & technical helpdesk are being very helpful & cooperative but they’ve warned me that my line has tested OK twice before & if no fault is found I will have to pay the Openreach call out; they say its £150! I’m still negotiating but did threaten to replace the cable myself which met with a stony silence!