Phone Wiring

[Tacitus]

I'm reasonably well versed in wiring a phone system but wondered if someone with more experience could help.

Following a series of dropouts due to line noise, I'm looking at rewiring Sis phone/broadband setup.  At present she has 3 extensions (3 phones connected) with a fourth plugged directly into the NTE5.  All are fed via dangly filters.  The router is fed from the first extension.

I want to replace this by using either external 6 core 1308 or Cat5, with a spare pair being used from an NTE5 faceplate filter to the first extension point which will be a modular box with a separate socket for the broadband.  The other extensions will then be wired from the adjacent phone module; all the extension wiring being routed round the outside of the bungalow.

Now with the possibility of having four phones connected at any one time - NTE5 plus 3 extensions - I doubt a faceplate will have sufficient power for the lot.  The Pressac filter I've got won't cope with three phones let alone four  .  I would like to do  away with the bell wire altogether and use master sockets (with capacitors) at each extension point - possibly excluding the first which the faceplate should cope with.

Can anyone see any problems with this?  I know modular 'master' phone sockets are available since Clarity list them, and I imagine standalone complete units are also available. 

[Gary]

Wouldn't it be easier just to get a base station and four handsets? Is there a reason they have to be hard wired?

[kinmel]

I use a master adsl faceplate ( http://www.solwise.co.uk/adsl_splitters-faceplates.htm )  and the house extension "star" circuits support 6 wired handsets and 3 sky boxes, there is no connected bell circuit (terminal 3 ).  There is also an additional unfiltered ADSL socket elsewhere in the house should we want to move the modem.

Modern phones do not need the power to sound a bell and so the REN =4 limit is no longer important.

[Tacitus]

Wouldn't it be easier just to get a base station and four handsets? Is there a reason they have to be hard wired?

Sorry for the delay in getting back but we've had thunderstorms here for some time, so I disconnected everything.

Probably would be easier, but it's not my decision.......      In any event the existing phones are not that old.

[Tacitus]

I use a master adsl faceplate ( http://www.solwise.co.uk/adsl_splitters-faceplates.htm )  and the house extension "star" circuits support 6 wired handsets and 3 sky boxes, there is no connected bell circuit (terminal 3 ). 

If I could do the wiring internally I would probably go for a 'star' arrangement.  However in this case it is easier to just route the cabling round the outside in the usual daisy-chain arrangement.

Modern phones do not need the power to sound a bell and so the REN =4 limit is no longer important.

That's what I thought but I couldn't get my own setup to ring 3 phones......  Whilst my phones appear 'modern' maybe they are old designs. 

[Steve]

It could well be cheaper to go base station and handsets- which is always a good argument to use against the fairer sex. £50-60 gets your 3-4 phones and an answer machine.

[Tacitus]

It could well be cheaper to go base station and handsets- which is always a good argument to use against the fairer sex. £50-60 gets your 3-4 phones and an answer machine.

Doubt there would be much in it cost wise, but I agree.  I know she prefers hard wired, but the modern cordless ones are a vast improvement on the old ones.  That said there is an awful lot of garbage around even from some of the supposedly top names.  I once tried a Panasonic home office phone - traditional wired base/answer plus a digital cordless - and it was absolute rubbish.  Sent it back and got a refund as it was that noisy.

[talos]

Doubt there would be much in it cost wise, but I agree.  I know she prefers hard wired, but the modern cordless ones are a vast improvement on the old ones.  That said there is an awful lot of garbage around even from some of the supposedly top names.  I once tried a Panasonic home office phone - traditional wired base/answer plus a digital cordless - and it was absolute rubbish.  Sent it back and got a refund as it was that noisy.

Thats strange, I had about 2-3 sets of Panasonic cordless phones and always found them to be the best, good quality sound and loud ringers.  As a bonus the new and old are compatible and all work together so I have now got a phone in every room (exc smallest ) and that inc the garage & workshop

[Tacitus]

Thats strange, I had about 2-3 sets of Panasonic cordless phones and always found them to be the best, good quality sound and loud ringers. 

Must admit I was suprised but maybe they were a bad batch - it does happen even to the best.  Never been a big fan of cordless phones, but maybe with the improvements over the years they're worth another try 

[Simon]

I would also vouch for Panasonic.  Having compared them to BT and Siemens, they are by far the clearest in voice quality, in my experience.

[Polchraine]

I'm reasonably well versed in wiring a phone system but wondered if someone with more experience could help.

Following a series of dropouts due to line noise, I'm looking at rewiring Sis phone/broadband setup.  At present she has 3 extensions (3 phones connected) with a fourth plugged directly into the NTE5.  All are fed via dangly filters.  The router is fed from the first extension.

I want to replace this by using either external 6 core 1308 or Cat5, with a spare pair being used from an NTE5 faceplate filter to the first extension point which will be a modular box with a separate socket for the broadband.  The other extensions will then be wired from the adjacent phone module; all the extension wiring being routed round the outside of the bungalow.

Now with the possibility of having four phones connected at any one time - NTE5 plus 3 extensions - I doubt a faceplate will have sufficient power for the lot.  The Pressac filter I've got won't cope with three phones let alone four  .  I would like to do  away with the bell wire altogether and use master sockets (with capacitors) at each extension point - possibly excluding the first which the faceplate should cope with.

Can anyone see any problems with this?  I know modular 'master' phone sockets are available since Clarity list them, and I imagine standalone complete units are also available. 

If you put masters at each location you can cause problems with the ring generators at the exchange and significant attenuation to the voice signal by having 4 RC networks in parallel.

And don't be tempted to put more than two wires into a single IDC termination.

[Tacitus]

If you put masters at each location you can cause problems with the ring generators at the exchange and significant attenuation to the voice signal by having 4 RC networks in parallel.

That's what I was looking for as I was afraid something like that might be the case.

And don't be tempted to put more than two wires into a single IDC termination.

Never have done   

Thanks for the help - next thing is to convince BT that there is a serious line problem with crackling on the line.  Once that's sorted - and talking to Bangalore is a serious exercise in futility - I think best bet would be to convince Sis that she really, really, needs to get some cordless phones......   Despite my experience, Panasonic seem to be the front runners from comments on here. 

[Steve]

My Siemens cordless seem fine.

[nowster]

You might want one wired phone in the house for emergency use -- cordless phones don't work during power cuts.

[Lance]

But mobiles do

[Simon]

If you can find it in the dark. 

[Glenn]

But mobiles do

Only if they are charged

[Tacitus]

Only if they are charged

And you can get a strong enough signal.......

[Gary]

You might want one wired phone in the house for emergency use -- cordless phones don't work during power cuts.

Do if they are plugged into a UPS 

[nowster]

But mobiles do

Depends on whether the base station is on the same electricity supply. Mobile BTSes don't usually have much runtime in the event of power failure.

[nowster]

Do if they are plugged into a UPS 

That gets you about an hour or so. The batteries in BT telephone exchanges usually last for a lot longer.

[Tacitus]

The job's now done - BB down spare pair from a new faceplate and showing a big improvement.  I've used a Clarity/Pressac faceplate but notice they are now selling the new iPlate style VDSL ones.

Not worth starting a new thread for a couple of points:

Anyone have any experience of these new ones - are they likely to offer a significant improvement over any of the others? I doubt it but there may be other advantages, the obvious one being you can disconnect phone and BB separately.

Does it contain a ring capacitor capable of serving (say) REN4. My guess is it probably doesn't as it most likely assumes all phones are modern and will generate their own ring using just two wires.