36
votes
Wiring Ethernet through Telephone Cable
Nope! Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) jacks were usually daisy chained as you describe. Ethernet requires a "home run" from each jack to a modem, router or switch. Also, it's probably cat-...
- 14.1k
25
votes
Accepted
What's the right way of removing an indoor telephone line?
If you are removing it, remove it.
It's only "short-sighted" if you have any conception that you might want a landline phone there.
You MIGHT be able (depending on how snug it is, and how ...
- 133k
23
votes
Accepted
Repurpose telephone line to ethernet
Gigabit Ethernet
If you need Gigabit Ethernet (1000Base-T), you're out of luck and will have to run new wires with CAT 5e or better cabling. It's likely not that difficult depending on your house. It ...
- 378
22
votes
Accepted
Mystery telephone wiring device in old house
Standard Bell System (Western Electric, usually) terminal block. Appears to be missing the protective devices, but those are not needed since it's no longer the NID.
Sure, take it out and modernize if ...
- 133k
20
votes
Wiring Ethernet through Telephone Cable
There is a separate issue of the type of cable. Telephone can run on CAT 3 (10 Meg. ethernet), CAT 5 (100 Meg. ethernet), CAT 5e (1 Gig. ethernet) but also on much older types of cables that are not ...
15
votes
What's the right way of removing an indoor telephone line?
Even if you never have a landline, you might want to use that wire again. I have repurposed old phone wiring for many things = thermostats, alarms, doorbells, etc.
If you really don't like looking at ...
- 24.3k
11
votes
Accepted
Is this odd device some kind of lightning arrestor or primitive fuse? Help identify
Based on this image and quote, I'm about 99.95% sure that it's an old telephone line suppressor:
Soon after telephone networks began to spring up across the countryside, the Bell Telephone Company ...
- 133k
9
votes
Accepted
Can anyone suggest how to connect a CAT6 cable to the incoming 5 pair telephone cable?
Each of the incoming pairs in the telco's 5-pair cable is for a separate analog telephone line (or, in today's world, a single DSL channel). The pairs are identified by color: there's a solid blue ...
- 19.6k
8
votes
Repurpose telephone line to ethernet
The cable type is almost certainly BT spec CW1308, 3 pairs would be normal for UK extension wiring.
It won't be to Cat5 or better spec, but over a short run and without external interference you ...
- 2,613
7
votes
How should I route my Romex and Network cables and can I safely drill another hole through this joist?
You have a very good answer from @Ecnerwal, this answer just adds a couple additional considerations. The first: conduit. While you have the walls open, install conduit to the attic. This will give ...
- 24.3k
7
votes
Accepted
How should I route my Romex and Network cables and can I safely drill another hole through this joist?
Well, your pictures have twigged an occasional issue I run into where I can't see them, (likely not your fault) but flying blind....
From a functional point of view you really don't have to worry ...
- 133k
7
votes
Accepted
Can I use existing telephone wire as a pull for new cables?
It depends. If it was installed originally, it should be stapled, in which case you can't use it. If it was fished through the wall after the fact then yes you should be able to pull using it.
I ...
- 27.1k
7
votes
Wiring Ethernet through Telephone Cable
If it's a reasonably modern twisted pair telephone cable, then it's equivalent to CAT3 Ethernet. For Ethernet, that's obsolete by today's standards. It's only good for 10Mbps, or maybe 100Mbps over ...
- 1,463
7
votes
Why do phone and cables companies leave their cables behind, and what to do about it?
Now you've changed the question significantly to describe a wire fed from underground. Except you still have a trunk running down the pole, so this is still a wire coming down off a pole.
Again, you ...
6
votes
Accepted
For phone jack, which terminals are used by modem?
You need to connect to the center two wires in RJ-11. Since RJ-11 is usually 6 pins, these are pins 3 and 4. If yours has only 4 pins, these should be pins 2 and 3. Leave the other pins unconnected.
...
- 1,153
6
votes
Accepted
splicing a 25 pair telephone riser
Firstly, I don't know what your specific situation is, but it sounds like what you're trying to do might be illegal. You're potentially messing with people's emergency services (911 access) and ...
- 380
6
votes
How to put telephone plate back to the wall
I would just drill two holes into the tile and use plastic anchors to face mount it to the tiles. Raise it up slightly so the wires are in the recessed portion.
I wouldn't think super glue would ...
- 1,186
6
votes
Accepted
Does anyone know if this is a Ethernet jack or a phone line?
I'd say it's a six-conductor eight-pin RJ-type connector, which means it is not Ethernet. It's likely a (multi-line?) phone connection.
- 6,168
6
votes
What's the right way of removing an indoor telephone line?
Cut it off at the floor level and push it down; out of sight, out of mind is applicable and safe in this situation.
If you are sincere in regards to your question title:
What's the right way of ...
- 10k
6
votes
What's the right way of removing an indoor telephone line?
If you can find the other end of the cable (where it connects to the line coming in from the road) and disconnect it before you cut through the cable, that might be a good idea.
That way if the cut ...
- 61
6
votes
Adapting RJ-45 to RJ-11?
They plug right in
If you wire the blue pair (4,5) for phone service (or the blue and green (3,6) pairs for fancy two-line phones.)
No adapter is needed.
I do it at work all the time (my employer's ...
- 133k
5
votes
To which terminals do you connect a phone jack?
L1, L2 cross-references to TIP and RING respectively per standard US phone nomenclature. TX/TS can be wired as the second line TIP2/TX, RING2/TS or a sort of daisy chain, but in a single line system, ...
- 11k
5
votes
Laying your own telephone cable (from demarcation point)
Step 1: Bring your router to the demarc point and verify that it works there. You did not mention if you had done this, but if not, you should, as the whole point of a demarc is to say: "If it does ...
- 133k
5
votes
What's the right way of removing an indoor telephone line?
Land-lines have been on their way out for years now. It may be prudent to keep at least one telephone jack working, but there's no requirement for a phone handset in every room of the house. I don't ...
- 2,452
5
votes
Wiring Ethernet through Telephone Cable
You can't do that. Modern ethernet requires point to point connections, not bus topology. And it is quite likely that since your telephone was wired bus topology that the wire quality is inadequate to ...
- 14.2k
5
votes
Wiring Ethernet through Telephone Cable
If I can weigh in here. I have only used cat5 and up in my professional life, but we did do some hacks in a pinch.
If you give more info (why you do it this way, photos of cables etc) I could be more ...
- 151
5
votes
Accepted
Why do phone and cables companies leave their cables behind, and what to do about it?
They do it because they can.
It costs money to remove cables. If the municipality doesn't require them to do so, why would they? Most people don't notice or complain, and there's the off chance they'...
- 104k
4
votes
Accepted
How to properly link 2 phone cables with different diameter?
Typically the line from your provider is, or should be, terminated in a "customer interface" or "network interface device" which also usually have surge-suppression for the telephone line built-in - ...
- 133k
4
votes
Accepted
Are there any disadvantages to switching from a punch-down distribution box to an RJ-45 one?
Yes, you can pull out your existing telco punchdown block and replace it with a suitable block for Ethernet networking.
What you're really looking for is a Cat 5e (or better), T-568A or T-568B ...
- 5,686
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible