On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 08:54:08 -0400, Jim Elbrecht wrote:
Am I just using the wrong terminology or am I looking for something that
doesn't exist anymore?
My phone line comes into the house then splits off in 6 directions.
Originally all the red/green wires were on a single pair of posts in a
terminal block.
Then I tried wrapping, soldering, and b-connectors. Last go around
was with one of these
http://www.fruitridgetools.com/store...cessfeed.aspx?
sfid=136763&i=153447276&mpid=8171&dfid=1
"Leviton C0219-I ivory telephone wire junction block"
The problem with the last was disconnecting one line to troubleshoot.
Looking around I see some that are "punch down" blocks- but it appears
that I would need a special tool to attach the wires- and It doesn't
look like they make detaching a single line easy.
Something like a phone jack but with 16-20 posts seems to me to be what
I want.
Isn't there a terminal block that makes troubleshooting problems easy?
[I seem to have more than my share of telephone- partly because of the
maze of wires throughout the house- and partly because I haven't stopped
construction here for 20 yrs.]
a variety of problems appears to be caused by the old lug post telephone
connections. Including noise, and intermittent connections. Long story
short, the days of the lug posts will be less and less as time goes on.
The rule was once that no more than 2 or 3 wires were to be attached to
any post. But that 'rule' lasted only until the rule was printed. Then
the rule was each wire was to be separated by a brass washer, yeah,
right, that rule was followed yes-sir!
I have heard of people taking a hint from the electricians: run a short
wire to the post, and on the other end joining several wires with a small
speed nut. The problem there was stranded wire, as speed nuts works best
with solid copper.
Radio Shack at one time sold a small box where your line into you home
from the DeMark was attached by screw lug, and all the lines in your home
was connected by an RJ11 connectors on the side of this box.
Do a search at Lowe's web site for a "phone outlet extension strip"
However, you had to purchase a crimp tool and attach a RJ11 connector to
each of your runs for phone line. This DYI crimping was at best a phone
line problem waiting to happen; the crimping was usually not properly
done on *all* the wires. The crimping could be done by a DIY-er, but the
proper crimp tool was way more expensive than the cheap in-effective one
sold at the BORG.
The punch-down block technology is over 40 years old and has been very
successful.
BTW: it takes less than 5 minutes to demonstrate how to make connections
with the punch-down tool. Another 10 minutes of workshop practice using
the punch down tool. Plus maybe another 5 minutes to learn how to create
several (or many) connections to a single line in. (aside: to be good at
this however, takes time, training, and skill, which few homeowner have
the leisure time to invest.)