Adam's wiring

[Rik]

I must admit it does seem to be less bloated when loading now, though with a 250 Kbps profile I cannot yet evaluate any speed benefits.

Have you removed the ring wire?

[Adam]

Have you removed the ring wire?

Now that you mention it.. my phones don't work when I remove the ring wire. I was baffled when I tried as there is no reason it shouldn't, that said I'm sure if I had of spent more time on it I would of found where the problem was.

[Rik]

The filters should generate any required current. How many phones do you have?

[Adam]

The filters should generate any required current. How many phones do you have?

Just the one DECT base with a few handsets.

[Rik]

That is odd, then. Have you tried swapping the filter it's plugged into?

[Adam]

That is odd, then. Have you tried swapping the filter it's plugged into?

I believe I tried two filters at the time, both were SpeedTouch. The ring wire is removed on a self fitted extension and if I plug a phone into that it works, if I remove the ring wire on any BT fitted socket it won't work.

[Rik]

That's weird. Have you looked at how the BT sockets are wired?

[Adam]

That's weird. Have you looked at how the BT sockets are wired?

I believe it's Orange - 5, Blue - 2, Green - 3, the Brown is disconnected on all but the linebox.

[Rik]

Unless that's the incoming line, it sounds like you have a split pair, which will be putting a lot of noise on the circuit. It shouldn't affect ringing though.

[Adam]

A picture is worth a thousand words; I'll go take a pic of the line box and one of the master socket.

[Rik]

Good idea.

[Adam]

OK, I've taken a few pictures. This is the inside of the linebox (which was updated after voice issues in the early 90s), the linebox goes to a junction box (which is so old it has GPO branding ), then this is a BT fitted socket from the junction box (the other is inactive). The setup actually means I have no master, as the two sockets from the junction box are equal.

My apologies about the image quality and the fact that they are sideways.

(Good idea to split the thread )

[Rik]

You've got a split pair, which is not going to be helping you one bit. Unfortunately, BT won't do anything about it as it doesn't affect voice. Ideally, you want 2 & 5 to be blue/white and white/blue (the standard pair used for the first line). If you've got an IDC tool, I'd suggest having a re-wire.

[Adam]

I have everything but the watertight crimps which are connecting the orange/orange and white/blue cables. Once those arrive should I just renew all cabling from the linebox? Or perhaps even replace the linebox?

[Rik]

That looked like external grade wiring, so the odd colours there are less of an issue. OTOH, if you feel like doing it, starting there and re-wiring completely would give you the greatest benefit, and you could think about fitting a filtered face plate for maximum benefit.

[Adam]

I think I will give it a go, it can't hurt to update it all and I already have most of the parts. I know BT states you shouldn't touch their hardware/cabling but would they really notice if the linebox was replace with an NTE5 socket?

[Rik]

They might notice, but as you don't have a master, the demarcation point is hard to define. Unless you do it wrong, they won't ever know.

[Adam]

They might notice, but as you don't have a master, the demarcation point is hard to define. Unless you do it wrong, they won't ever know.

Fair enough. The NTE5 I have has all the Openreach/BT branding, so I can always put the blame on incompetent BT engineers if there is anything done wrong.

[Rik]

Smart move.

[Adam]

If only IDNet did wireless broadband. I have excellent 3/T-Mobile HSDPA coverage and could probably get similar speeds to my ADSL but I don't trust the providers in the least. T-Mobile has a FUP and 3 isn't best known for their fantastic customer service. The data allowances are also slightly low; T-Mobile does upto "unlimited" (FUP) and 3 has a maximum of 7Gb with £0.10/Mb after that.

[Rik]

Ouch! You'd soon run up a bill with that pricing. Maybe we should start a thread in Improvements, suggesting wireless IDNet?

[Adam]

I was going to start one the other day but from a quick bit of research I don't see any wholesale outfits offering nationwide mobile broadband, so I can't see how IDNet would provide it.

[Rik]

That would be the big problem. I don't think they're big enough to invest in the infrastructure themselves. OTOH, if they can see a demand, I'm sure they'd take a look at whether there was a way for them to fulfil it.

[Adam]

I might drop them an email during the week sometime and suggest the idea as I haven't spoken with Simon or Tim for a while. Thanks for your help with the cabling, I'll let you know how it goes.

[Rik]

I ahev ym ifgnres rcosesd ofr yuo.