Today I got connected to internet telephone service for my home -
the old land line still has dial tone but only gets the
"not connected" message when used.
The hub that the internet company provides has only one RJ-11 phone
port - but four 3 unused RJ-45 LAN ports.
What is my easiest route to connect my 3 or 4 home telephones
to the new system ?
1. go to the interface box on the outside wall of my house and
disconnect the incoming Bell line ; then run a new phone line from
here to the hub ? the hub needs to be located centrally in the
house - not near the Bell interface
2. other ideas ?
Thanks in advance. John T.

On 05/11/2016 06:43 PM, wrote:
Today I got connected to internet telephone service for my home -
the old land line still has dial tone but only gets the
"not connected" message when used.
The hub that the internet company provides has only one RJ-11 phone
port - but four 3 unused RJ-45 LAN ports.
What is my easiest route to connect my 3 or 4 home telephones
to the new system ?
1. go to the interface box on the outside wall of my house and
disconnect the incoming Bell line ; then run a new phone line from
here to the hub ? the hub needs to be located centrally in the
house - not near the Bell interface
2. other ideas ?
Thanks in advance. John T.



No , don't mess with the incoming lines, there should be a phone out put
jack on your gateway router...that's what you use.

On Wed, 11 May 2016 18:55:05 -0500, philo wrote:

On 05/11/2016 06:43 PM, wrote:
Today I got connected to internet telephone service for my home -
the old land line still has dial tone but only gets the
"not connected" message when used.
The hub that the internet company provides has only one RJ-11 phone
port - but four 3 unused RJ-45 LAN ports.
What is my easiest route to connect my 3 or 4 home telephones
to the new system ?
1. go to the interface box on the outside wall of my house and
disconnect the incoming Bell line ; then run a new phone line from
here to the hub ? the hub needs to be located centrally in the
house - not near the Bell interface
2. other ideas ?
Thanks in advance. John T.



No , don't mess with the incoming lines, there should be a phone out put
jack on your gateway router...that's what you use.


But I need to get all the home phones - somehow - into the single
port on the hub ... doing it "en masse" via the interface seemed
most efficient - but I'm no expert, to say the least - so I'm
looking for ideas ..
John T.

On 5/11/2016 5:03 PM, wrote:
But I need to get all the home phones - somehow - into the single
port on the hub ... doing it "en masse" via the interface seemed
most efficient - but I'm no expert, to say the least - so I'm
looking for ideas ..

You don't need to go *to* the interface. Every phone jack in your home already
goes there! All you need to do is sever the phone company's connection to
your house. I.e., "unplug the RJ11" that's in the TNI box.

Then, just find a nearby jack to pick up the EXISTING wiring to those
other phones.

(Note that if the closest jack is in use with a phone, you can buy one
of those little "Y connectors" that lets you connect two PHONES
(or a phone+answering machine) to a single jack. The Y adapter
won't care whether "you" are a phone, answering machine OR a VoIP
gateway!

"Wire is wire"

On Wed, 11 May 2016 18:55:05 -0500, philo wrote:

On 05/11/2016 06:43 PM, wrote:
Today I got connected to internet telephone service for my home -
the old land line still has dial tone but only gets the
"not connected" message when used.
The hub that the internet company provides has only one RJ-11 phone
port - but four 3 unused RJ-45 LAN ports.
What is my easiest route to connect my 3 or 4 home telephones
to the new system ?
1. go to the interface box on the outside wall of my house and
disconnect the incoming Bell line ; then run a new phone line from
here to the hub ? the hub needs to be located centrally in the
house - not near the Bell interface
2. other ideas ?
Thanks in advance. John T.



No , don't mess with the incoming lines, there should be a phone out put
jack on your gateway router...that's what you use.

I always wondered what would happen if I switched all my phones to VOIP,
on my dialup internet service, and then had my phone service
disconnected.....

On Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at 7:43:38 PM UTC-4, wrote:
Today I got connected to internet telephone service for my home -
the old land line still has dial tone but only gets the
"not connected" message when used.
The hub that the internet company provides has only one RJ-11 phone
port - but four 3 unused RJ-45 LAN ports.
What is my easiest route to connect my 3 or 4 home telephones
to the new system ?
1. go to the interface box on the outside wall of my house and
disconnect the incoming Bell line ; then run a new phone line from
here to the hub ? the hub needs to be located centrally in the
house - not near the Bell interface
2. other ideas ?
Thanks in advance. John T.

Yes, one way is to do what you said. Disconnect the house wiring
from the phone company at the box and run a wire from the new hub
to the house phone wiring. Or if there is a house phone jack near the
hub, disconnect the phone company at the box, then run a wire from
the house jack to the hub.

Another way would be to put the hub where you have a cordless phone
base station and just use cordless in the house. That's what I did.
You can get a new 4 phones plus answering machine for $50

On Wed, 11 May 2016 16:59:55 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at 7:43:38 PM UTC-4, wrote:
Today I got connected to internet telephone service for my home -
the old land line still has dial tone but only gets the
"not connected" message when used.
The hub that the internet company provides has only one RJ-11 phone
port - but four 3 unused RJ-45 LAN ports.
What is my easiest route to connect my 3 or 4 home telephones
to the new system ?
1. go to the interface box on the outside wall of my house and
disconnect the incoming Bell line ; then run a new phone line from
here to the hub ? the hub needs to be located centrally in the
house - not near the Bell interface
2. other ideas ?
Thanks in advance. John T.

Yes, one way is to do what you said. Disconnect the house wiring
from the phone company at the box and run a wire from the new hub
to the house phone wiring. Or if there is a house phone jack near the
hub, disconnect the phone company at the box, then run a wire from
the house jack to the hub.

Another way would be to put the hub where you have a cordless phone
base station and just use cordless in the house. That's what I did.
You can get a new 4 phones plus answering machine for $50

Why not just unplug "the house" from the Dmark box outside and plug
the output of your VOIP into any empty jack. They are all wired
together. They don't know where the signal comes from.

On Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at 11:29:52 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Wed, 11 May 2016 16:59:55 -0700 (PDT), trader_4
wrote:

On Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at 7:43:38 PM UTC-4, wrote:
Today I got connected to internet telephone service for my home -
the old land line still has dial tone but only gets the
"not connected" message when used.
The hub that the internet company provides has only one RJ-11 phone
port - but four 3 unused RJ-45 LAN ports.
What is my easiest route to connect my 3 or 4 home telephones
to the new system ?
1. go to the interface box on the outside wall of my house and
disconnect the incoming Bell line ; then run a new phone line from
here to the hub ? the hub needs to be located centrally in the
house - not near the Bell interface
2. other ideas ?
Thanks in advance. John T.

Yes, one way is to do what you said. Disconnect the house wiring
from the phone company at the box and run a wire from the new hub
to the house phone wiring. Or if there is a house phone jack near the
hub, disconnect the phone company at the box, then run a wire from
the house jack to the hub.

Another way would be to put the hub where you have a cordless phone
base station and just use cordless in the house. That's what I did.
You can get a new 4 phones plus answering machine for $50

Why not just unplug "the house" from the Dmark box outside and plug
the output of your VOIP into any empty jack. They are all wired
together. They don't know where the signal comes from.

That's what I posted. He doesn't need to run another wire. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Phone Monster

On 05/11/2016 06:59 PM, trader_4 wrote:

[snip]

Yes, one way is to do what you said. Disconnect the house wiring
from the phone company at the box and run a wire from the new hub
to the house phone wiring. Or if there is a house phone jack near the
hub, disconnect the phone company at the box, then run a wire from
the house jack to the hub.

Another way would be to put the hub where you have a cordless phone
base station and just use cordless in the house. That's what I did.
You can get a new 4 phones plus answering machine for $50


When I got cable phone, I had a multi-handset cordless phone, and put
the base there their adapter (called a MTA) was going. The company
(Suddenlink) insisted on sending an installer just to plug it in and
that's all I let him do. After the old phone line quit working (it took
almost a day), I disconnected the incoming phone line and used the
existing wiring to connect other phones.

Make sure you never have the new phone adapter connected to the old
phone line.

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Therefore we Christians, in turn, are obliged not to tolerate their
wanton and conscious blasphemy." [Martin Luther,"On the Jews and Their
Lies",1543]

On 5/11/2016 4:43 PM, wrote:
Today I got connected to internet telephone service for my home -
the old land line still has dial tone but only gets the
"not connected" message when used.

frown Your choice. (We keep our land line because it has mandated
availability/reliability guarantees)

The hub that the internet company provides has only one RJ-11 phone
port - but four 3 unused RJ-45 LAN ports.
What is my easiest route to connect my 3 or 4 home telephones
to the new system ?

Presumably, all that same "number"?

1. go to the interface box on the outside wall of my house and
disconnect the incoming Bell line ; then run a new phone line from
here to the hub ? the hub needs to be located centrally in the
house - not near the Bell interface

You need to see what the VoIP gateway is capable of driving before
you saddle it with 4 loads. At the very least, you will need to
verify how many "REN's" (Ringer Equivalence Numbers) it can drive.
Then, examine each of your "3 or 4 home telephones" to see what sort
of REN's each represents. If your loads exceed the capabilities of
the VoIP gateway, you'll have to take other steps to make them work.

2. other ideas ?
Thanks in advance. John T.

The obvious other option is just to disconnect TPC from your interface
box (so YOU aren't trying to push signal OUT onto the incoming line).
Then, run a RJ11 cable from the VoIP gateway to the nearest "telephone
jack" inside your home. It will be wired to all of the other, similar,
jacks throughout your home.

If they made provisions for TWO lines to come into your home
(often on an unused pair of a 2-6 pair cable), then you can also try
to chase down the uncommitted end of that cable and use it as a vector
onto the "used" pair).

Again, disconnecting the phone company from your home AT the network
interface for the reason outlined above.

On 5/11/2016 7:04 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 5/11/2016 4:43 PM, wrote:
Today I got connected to internet telephone service for my home -
the old land line still has dial tone but only gets the "not
connected" message when used.


[snip]

The obvious other option is just to disconnect TPC from your
interface box (so YOU aren't trying to push signal OUT onto the
incoming line). Then, run a RJ11 cable from the VoIP gateway to the
nearest "telephone jack" inside your home. It will be wired to all
of the other, similar, jacks throughout your home.

If they made provisions for TWO lines to come into your home (often
on an unused pair of a 2-6 pair cable), then you can also try to
chase down the uncommitted end of that cable and use it as a vector
onto the "used" pair).

Again, disconnecting the phone company from your home AT the network
interface for the reason outlined above.

Taking into account the REN situation that Don mentions, his second
option is exactly what I did when we gave up our landline in favor of
our cellular phones. We bought a Siemens Gigaset which connects via
Bluetooth to our cell phones whenever we are in range (our model will
accept up to three cell phones and port them to the hardwired home phone
system. All we do is plug in a single RJ11 cable from the Gigaset to
the nearest telephone jack and we were done. The Gigaset gives us
incoming and outgoing call capabilities on all three lines through a
Panasonic cordless phone with FOUR extensions and an POTS or two
scattered throughout the house. We do not miss the landline at all.

On Wed, 11 May 2016 19:14:10 -0500, Unquestionably Confused
wrote:

On 5/11/2016 7:04 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 5/11/2016 4:43 PM, wrote:
Today I got connected to internet telephone service for my home -
the old land line still has dial tone but only gets the "not
connected" message when used.


[snip]

The obvious other option is just to disconnect TPC from your
interface box (so YOU aren't trying to push signal OUT onto the
incoming line). Then, run a RJ11 cable from the VoIP gateway to the
nearest "telephone jack" inside your home. It will be wired to all
of the other, similar, jacks throughout your home.

If they made provisions for TWO lines to come into your home (often
on an unused pair of a 2-6 pair cable), then you can also try to
chase down the uncommitted end of that cable and use it as a vector
onto the "used" pair).

Again, disconnecting the phone company from your home AT the network
interface for the reason outlined above.

Taking into account the REN situation that Don mentions, his second
option is exactly what I did when we gave up our landline in favor of
our cellular phones. We bought a Siemens Gigaset which connects via
Bluetooth to our cell phones whenever we are in range (our model will
accept up to three cell phones and port them to the hardwired home phone
system. All we do is plug in a single RJ11 cable from the Gigaset to
the nearest telephone jack and we were done. The Gigaset gives us
incoming and outgoing call capabilities on all three lines through a
Panasonic cordless phone with FOUR extensions and an POTS or two
scattered throughout the house. We do not miss the landline at all.




Thanks for the ideas - much appreciated.
I'm leaning toward the cordless phone option ..
We have a 2-phone cordless now - buy another & a Y-adapter
or replace with a 4 phone set ...
I just hate the idea of scrapping these gadgets every 5 years !
.... my 3 home phones are all 20 years old & working fine.
John T.

On 5/11/2016 7:39 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 11 May 2016 19:14:10 -0500, Unquestionably Confused
wrote:

On 5/11/2016 7:04 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 5/11/2016 4:43 PM, wrote:
Today I got connected to internet telephone service for my home -
the old land line still has dial tone but only gets the "not
connected" message when used.


[snip]

The obvious other option is just to disconnect TPC from your
interface box (so YOU aren't trying to push signal OUT onto the
incoming line). Then, run a RJ11 cable from the VoIP gateway to the
nearest "telephone jack" inside your home. It will be wired to all
of the other, similar, jacks throughout your home.

If they made provisions for TWO lines to come into your home (often
on an unused pair of a 2-6 pair cable), then you can also try to
chase down the uncommitted end of that cable and use it as a vector
onto the "used" pair).

Again, disconnecting the phone company from your home AT the network
interface for the reason outlined above.

Taking into account the REN situation that Don mentions, his second
option is exactly what I did when we gave up our landline in favor of
our cellular phones. We bought a Siemens Gigaset which connects via
Bluetooth to our cell phones whenever we are in range (our model will
accept up to three cell phones and port them to the hardwired home phone
system. All we do is plug in a single RJ11 cable from the Gigaset to
the nearest telephone jack and we were done. The Gigaset gives us
incoming and outgoing call capabilities on all three lines through a
Panasonic cordless phone with FOUR extensions and an POTS or two
scattered throughout the house. We do not miss the landline at all.




Thanks for the ideas - much appreciated.
I'm leaning toward the cordless phone option ..
We have a 2-phone cordless now - buy another & a Y-adapter
or replace with a 4 phone set ...
I just hate the idea of scrapping these gadgets every 5 years !
... my 3 home phones are all 20 years old & working fine.
John T.

John, if you follow through in the manner that Don, I and others suggest
you can pretend that you're still bent over and taking it from Ma
Bell/AT&T and buy what you want to use in the house, when you want to
buy it. That said, the quality of the newer 5ghz cordless phones is
really quite good. As I said, we miss landlines not at all.

On 5/11/2016 5:39 PM, wrote:

I'm leaning toward the cordless phone option ..
We have a 2-phone cordless now - buy another & a Y-adapter
or replace with a 4 phone set ...
I just hate the idea of scrapping these gadgets every 5 years !
.... my 3 home phones are all 20 years old & working fine.

SWMBO *prefers* the cordless phones as they have a speakerphone
option. She'd much rather hold the phone in her lap and talk normally
than have to hold it up to her ear.

I keep a (genuine) "trimline" phone hanging in the closet
as a fallback. And, the "long range" cordless base there
as well.

[I've been migrating everything over to VoIP *inside* the house...
but still tethered to a land-line service! The magic of PSTN
gateways! : ]

John,

I'm leaning toward the cordless phone option.

When I first switched to VOIP, I simply disconnected the incoming cable
from the phone company and fed back through the existing phone wiring in
the house. It worked fine.

However, somewhere down the line I had a problem with the phone wiring in
the house. I have numerous cables running indoors and a few to outbuildings
as well. Rather than fuss with tracking down the wiring problem, I just
abandoned the wires and bought a cordless phone system. The base unit
connects directly to my VOIP adapter, and all the other handsets are
wireless. I can move them anywhere in the house, even if there are no phone
jacks.

We have a 2-phone cordless now - buy another & a Y-adapter or replace
with a 4 phone set. I just hate the idea of scrapping these gadgets
every 5 years!

You might check to see if additional handsets are still available for your
existing phone system. I bought an extra handset for my Panasonic so I
could have a phone out in the garage. I got the part number right off one
of the existing handsets.

Otherwise, a new phone system is relatively inexpensive and will bring
everything up to modern standards.

Anthony Watson
www.watsondiy.com
www.mountainsoftware.com

On Wed, 11 May 2016 20:39:15 -0400, wrote:

On Wed, 11 May 2016 19:14:10 -0500, Unquestionably Confused
wrote:

On 5/11/2016 7:04 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 5/11/2016 4:43 PM, wrote:
Today I got connected to internet telephone service for my home -
the old land line still has dial tone but only gets the "not
connected" message when used.


[snip]

The obvious other option is just to disconnect TPC from your
interface box (so YOU aren't trying to push signal OUT onto the
incoming line). Then, run a RJ11 cable from the VoIP gateway to the
nearest "telephone jack" inside your home. It will be wired to all
of the other, similar, jacks throughout your home.

If they made provisions for TWO lines to come into your home (often
on an unused pair of a 2-6 pair cable), then you can also try to
chase down the uncommitted end of that cable and use it as a vector
onto the "used" pair).

Again, disconnecting the phone company from your home AT the network
interface for the reason outlined above.

Taking into account the REN situation that Don mentions, his second
option is exactly what I did when we gave up our landline in favor of
our cellular phones. We bought a Siemens Gigaset which connects via
Bluetooth to our cell phones whenever we are in range (our model will
accept up to three cell phones and port them to the hardwired home phone
system. All we do is plug in a single RJ11 cable from the Gigaset to
the nearest telephone jack and we were done. The Gigaset gives us
incoming and outgoing call capabilities on all three lines through a
Panasonic cordless phone with FOUR extensions and an POTS or two
scattered throughout the house. We do not miss the landline at all.




Thanks for the ideas - much appreciated.
I'm leaning toward the cordless phone option ..
We have a 2-phone cordless now - buy another & a Y-adapter
or replace with a 4 phone set ...

Sometimes you can buy more extensions for the current phone. In my
case it was cheaper to buy a whole second phone with a base station
and a cordless phone, or maybe I bought that one first, but at least 3
extensions work with either base station (which has either a corded or
non-cordedd phone.)

One of the buttons to answer the phone is taking a little extra
pressure and I should buy a spare before they're all gone from ebay.

I just hate the idea of scrapping these gadgets every 5 years !

Absolutelyh

... my 3 home phones are all 20 years old & working fine.
John T.

I haved one phone that is 50 years old and working fine, though it's
hard to get to and rarely used, and another phone that's 60 or 70
years old and works fine. I'd put it in the living room but there's
no jack and hard to ilnstall. ...Wait, that must be why I bought the
wireless jack. But the phones I use are about 10 y.o.

On 05/13/2016 01:51 AM, Micky wrote:

[snip]

Sometimes you can buy more extensions for the current phone. In my
case it was cheaper to buy a whole second phone with a base station
and a cordless phone, or maybe I bought that one first, but at least 3
extensions work with either base station (which has either a corded or
non-cordedd phone.)

I have a 3-handset cordless phone that allows up to 10 handsets. I
looked on the internet for extra handsets and they cost so much I was
better off buying another system (and that comes with an extra base, too).


[snip]

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God,
for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because
they are spiritually discerned." Paul, 1 Corinthians 2:14

On Wed, 11 May 2016 19:14:10 -0500, Unquestionably Confused
wrote:

On 5/11/2016 7:04 PM, Don Y wrote:
On 5/11/2016 4:43 PM, wrote:
Today I got connected to internet telephone service for my home -
the old land line still has dial tone but only gets the "not
connected" message when used.


[snip]

The obvious other option is just to disconnect TPC from your
interface box (so YOU aren't trying to push signal OUT onto the
incoming line). Then, run a RJ11 cable from the VoIP gateway to the
nearest "telephone jack" inside your home. It will be wired to all
of the other, similar, jacks throughout your home.

If they made provisions for TWO lines to come into your home (often
on an unused pair of a 2-6 pair cable), then you can also try to
chase down the uncommitted end of that cable and use it as a vector
onto the "used" pair).

Again, disconnecting the phone company from your home AT the network
interface for the reason outlined above.

Taking into account the REN situation that Don mentions, his second
option is exactly what I did when we gave up our landline in favor of
our cellular phones. We bought a Siemens Gigaset which connects via
Bluetooth to our cell phones whenever we are in range (our model will
accept up to three cell phones and port them to the hardwired home phone
system. All we do is plug in a single RJ11 cable from the Gigaset to
the nearest telephone jack and we were done. The Gigaset gives us
incoming and outgoing call capabilities on all three lines through a
Panasonic cordless phone with FOUR extensions and an POTS or two
scattered throughout the house. We do not miss the landline at all.

So iiuc, you end up using your cell phone to tallk on your voip line,
for no extra charge.

Or do you end up using your voip phones to talk on your cell phone
line, paying whatever the cell phone charges, for international calls
for example?

Or both?

On 5/13/2016 1:45 AM, Micky wrote:
On Wed, 11 May 2016 19:14:10 -0500, Unquestionably Confused
wrote:



[snip]
Taking into account the REN situation that Don mentions, his second
option is exactly what I did when we gave up our landline in favor of
our cellular phones. We bought a Siemens Gigaset which connects via
Bluetooth to our cell phones whenever we are in range (our model will
accept up to three cell phones and port them to the hardwired home phone
system. All we do is plug in a single RJ11 cable from the Gigaset to
the nearest telephone jack and we were done. The Gigaset gives us
incoming and outgoing call capabilities on all three lines through a
Panasonic cordless phone with FOUR extensions and an POTS or two
scattered throughout the house. We do not miss the landline at all.

So iiuc, you end up using your cell phone to tallk on your voip line,
for no extra charge.

Or do you end up using your voip phones to talk on your cell phone
line, paying whatever the cell phone charges, for international calls
for example?

Neither, actually. We had the traditional POTS - no VOIP, Cable, etc.

We found that we RARELY got any calls on the land line. They all went
to the cellular phones. We simply told AT&T to take a hike and went
total cellular but added the Siemens Gigaset for convenience of not
having to carry the cells around with us at home.

The transition was more or less seamless. We have our cells, we have
our cordless and wired phones. Only difference is we now have TWO
separate lines at home and no long distance or local charges.

On Fri, 13 May 2016 05:52:48 -0500, Unquestionably Confused
wrote:

On 5/13/2016 1:45 AM, Micky wrote:
On Wed, 11 May 2016 19:14:10 -0500, Unquestionably Confused
wrote:



[snip]
Taking into account the REN situation that Don mentions, his second
option is exactly what I did when we gave up our landline in favor of
our cellular phones. We bought a Siemens Gigaset which connects via
Bluetooth to our cell phones whenever we are in range (our model will
accept up to three cell phones and port them to the hardwired home phone
system. All we do is plug in a single RJ11 cable from the Gigaset to
the nearest telephone jack and we were done. The Gigaset gives us
incoming and outgoing call capabilities on all three lines through a
Panasonic cordless phone with FOUR extensions and an POTS or two
scattered throughout the house. We do not miss the landline at all.

So iiuc, you end up using your cell phone to tallk on your voip line,
for no extra charge.

Or do you end up using your voip phones to talk on your cell phone
line, paying whatever the cell phone charges, for international calls
for example?

Neither, actually. We had the traditional POTS - no VOIP, Cable, etc.

We found that we RARELY got any calls on the land line. They all went
to the cellular phones. We simply told AT&T to take a hike and went
total cellular but added the Siemens Gigaset for convenience of not
having to carry the cells around with us at home.

The transition was more or less seamless. We have our cells, we have
our cordless and wired phones. Only difference is we now have TWO
separate lines at home and no long distance or local charges.


Very interesting. Copy to MissA, who might have some use for this
information.

On Wed, 11 May 2016 17:04:07 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 5/11/2016 4:43 PM, wrote:
Today I got connected to internet telephone service for my home -
the old land line still has dial tone but only gets the
"not connected" message when used.

frown Your choice. (We keep our land line because it has mandated
availability/reliability guarantees)

The hub that the internet company provides has only one RJ-11 phone
port - but four 3 unused RJ-45 LAN ports.
What is my easiest route to connect my 3 or 4 home telephones
to the new system ?

Presumably, all that same "number"?

1. go to the interface box on the outside wall of my house and
disconnect the incoming Bell line ; then run a new phone line from
here to the hub ? the hub needs to be located centrally in the
house - not near the Bell interface

You need to see what the VoIP gateway is capable of driving before
you saddle it with 4 loads. At the very least, you will need to
verify how many "REN's" (Ringer Equivalence Numbers) it can drive.
Then, examine each of your "3 or 4 home telephones" to see what sort
of REN's each represents. If your loads exceed the capabilities of
the VoIP gateway, you'll have to take other steps to make them work.

2. other ideas ?
Thanks in advance. John T.

The obvious other option is just to disconnect TPC from your interface
box (so YOU aren't trying to push signal OUT onto the incoming line).
Then, run a RJ11 cable from the VoIP gateway to the nearest "telephone
jack" inside your home. It will be wired to all of the other, similar,
jacks throughout your home.

If they made provisions for TWO lines to come into your home
(often on an unused pair of a 2-6 pair cable), then you can also try
to chase down the uncommitted end of that cable and use it as a vector
onto the "used" pair).

Again, disconnecting the phone company from your home AT the network
interface for the reason outlined above.


Thanks Don - appreciate the input.
I never considered the "loads" of my old telephones ..
maybe someone here has actual experience ?
I did keep my phone number. I will lose phone service for power
outages and for internet system outages, and also the 911 will be
less effective. But the Bell bill has been climbing steadily for 20
years - ~ $ 75. per month compared to $ 20. for the internet
phone. I also switched sat TV from Bell Expressvu - to Shaw -
free receiver; install; no contract ; slightly better programming -
for slightly less money .. ~ $ 65. per month.
The "stay with us " phone calls from Bell were quite lame -
they are not interested in keeping the minimal users -
they are looking for the bigger fish.
I suggested that they sell a " 911 only " plan - for people who
cringe at losing this great feature - it would generate a little
income from otherwise lost customers and provide a continued contact
to customers for future business .. and be a feel good thing -
something lacking - I'd pay a few bucks for it.
John T.

On Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at 7:29:06 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Wed, 11 May 2016 17:04:07 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 5/11/2016 4:43 PM, wrote:
Today I got connected to internet telephone service for my home -
the old land line still has dial tone but only gets the
"not connected" message when used.

frown Your choice. (We keep our land line because it has mandated
availability/reliability guarantees)

The hub that the internet company provides has only one RJ-11 phone
port - but four 3 unused RJ-45 LAN ports.
What is my easiest route to connect my 3 or 4 home telephones
to the new system ?

Presumably, all that same "number"?

1. go to the interface box on the outside wall of my house and
disconnect the incoming Bell line ; then run a new phone line from
here to the hub ? the hub needs to be located centrally in the
house - not near the Bell interface

You need to see what the VoIP gateway is capable of driving before
you saddle it with 4 loads. At the very least, you will need to
verify how many "REN's" (Ringer Equivalence Numbers) it can drive.
Then, examine each of your "3 or 4 home telephones" to see what sort
of REN's each represents. If your loads exceed the capabilities of
the VoIP gateway, you'll have to take other steps to make them work.

2. other ideas ?
Thanks in advance. John T.

The obvious other option is just to disconnect TPC from your interface
box (so YOU aren't trying to push signal OUT onto the incoming line).
Then, run a RJ11 cable from the VoIP gateway to the nearest "telephone
jack" inside your home. It will be wired to all of the other, similar,
jacks throughout your home.

If they made provisions for TWO lines to come into your home
(often on an unused pair of a 2-6 pair cable), then you can also try
to chase down the uncommitted end of that cable and use it as a vector
onto the "used" pair).

Again, disconnecting the phone company from your home AT the network
interface for the reason outlined above.


Thanks Don - appreciate the input.
I never considered the "loads" of my old telephones ..
maybe someone here has actual experience ?
I did keep my phone number. I will lose phone service for power
outages and for internet system outages, and also the 911 will be
less effective. But the Bell bill has been climbing steadily for 20
years - ~ $ 75. per month compared to $ 20. for the internet
phone. I also switched sat TV from Bell Expressvu - to Shaw -
free receiver; install; no contract ; slightly better programming -
for slightly less money .. ~ $ 65. per month.
The "stay with us " phone calls from Bell were quite lame -
they are not interested in keeping the minimal users -
they are looking for the bigger fish.
I suggested that they sell a " 911 only " plan - for people who
cringe at losing this great feature - it would generate a little
income from otherwise lost customers and provide a continued contact
to customers for future business .. and be a feel good thing -
something lacking - I'd pay a few bucks for it.
John T.

My brother just got cable Internet only service and the modem has VoIP capability if he wants to purchase it from the cable company. He has his own VoIP adapters already. The modem has a compartment for a backup battery so it will continue to operate during a power outage. He already has APC battery backup units and has plugged the modem into one of those. Check your modem to see if it has a battery or plug it into a backup unit. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Backup Monster

On 5/11/2016 7:29 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 11 May 2016 17:04:07 -0700, Don Y
wrote:



[snip]


Thanks Don - appreciate the input.
I never considered the "loads" of my old telephones ..
maybe someone here has actual experience ?
I did keep my phone number. I will lose phone service for power
outages and for internet system outages, and also the 911 will be
less effective. But the Bell bill has been climbing steadily for 20
years - ~ $ 75. per month compared to $ 20. for the internet
phone. I also switched sat TV from Bell Expressvu - to Shaw -
free receiver; install; no contract ; slightly better programming -
for slightly less money .. ~ $ 65. per month.
The "stay with us " phone calls from Bell were quite lame -
they are not interested in keeping the minimal users -
they are looking for the bigger fish.
I suggested that they sell a " 911 only " plan - for people who
cringe at losing this great feature - it would generate a little
income from otherwise lost customers and provide a continued contact
to customers for future business .. and be a feel good thing -
something lacking - I'd pay a few bucks for it.

A good uninterruptible power supply will keep you in business through
MOST power outages. We don't use one with the Gigaset but only because
if we go to fire up the standby generator in a prolonged outage, the
wall warts for the Gigaset and the Panasonic cordless phone is on one of
the "emergency" circuits.

On 5/11/2016 5:53 PM, Unquestionably Confused wrote:
A good uninterruptible power supply will keep you in business through MOST
power outages.

We have probably a dozen 1500VA UPS's scattered around the house.
They come in handy in an outage as you can plug a CFL or LED lamp
into one and have LOTS of light (instead of living with flashlights
or candles). Figure 10-15W for a CFL gives you many HOURS on one
of these beasts (battery capacity is ~170WHr; assume 70% efficiency
gives you 120WHr -- so, almost 10 hours for a "60W equivalent" CFL)

[Neighbors always wonder why our house is so brightly lit
when they are in the dark! : ]

We can access our internet provider as this computer and
"modem" are similarly powered.

I keep a handheld UPS on the bookshelf that I can carry to
wherever (very small capacity.

We don't use one with the Gigaset but only because if we go to
fire up the standby generator in a prolonged outage, the wall warts for the
Gigaset and the Panasonic cordless phone is on one of the "emergency" circuits.

The "base station" for our cordless phone uses the battery in the
*phone* (if it is sitting in the cradle) to power the base station
in an outage. So, the answering machine continues to work -- as
do the *other* cordless handsets (you just can't remove the handset
that happens to be *in* the base station!)

This is one of those "Why the hell didn't folks think of this 20 years ago??"

We have probably a dozen 1500VA UPS's scattered around the house.
They come in handy in an outage as you can plug a CFL or LED lamp
into one and have LOTS of light (instead of living with flashlights
or candles). Figure 10-15W for a CFL gives you many HOURS on one
of these beasts (battery capacity is ~170WHr; assume 70% efficiency
gives you 120WHr -- so, almost 10 hours for a "60W equivalent" CFL)

Novel idea, but that's one expensive flashlight.

We kind of enjoy the rare power outage. It's an excuse to take a break from
technology, build a fire, light some candles, and spend some quality time
together.

That said, my VOIP adapter and phone base unit are connected to my
computer's UPS system.

If the outage lasts more than an hour or two (rare), we can always fall
back to our cell phones. Or, people can just call back later.

Anthony Watson
www.watsondiy.com
www.mountainsoftware.com

On 5/11/2016 5:29 PM, wrote:
Thanks Don - appreciate the input.
I never considered the "loads" of my old telephones ..
maybe someone here has actual experience ?

"Old" phones (i.e., from Western Electric -- the sorts with real
BELLS in them) tend to be 1 REN -- the telco actually had to
deliver the power to move the clapper to strike the bell.

Newer phones tend to have much lower REN's -- they "sense"
the "ring voltage" (90 volts) and tell the little computer
(damn near everything has a computer of some type!) "Hey,
there's an incoming call!".

The little computer than figures out how to "ring A bell"
(cricket chirp, etc.) to alert the user. Often, using
"power" available from a battery pack or wall wart power
adapter (i.e., the phone company is not supplying the "ring
power"!)

By contrast, our "cordless phone set" has a REN of 0.1 and
has to deal with four phones plus the answering machine
(all wrapped in that 0.1 REN).

The takeaway, here, is to consider the *types* of phones that
you have. Anything recent will have a "REN number" printed
on the device, somewhere.

I did keep my phone number. I will lose phone service for power
outages and for internet system outages, and also the 911 will be
less effective. But the Bell bill has been climbing steadily for 20
years - ~ $ 75. per month compared to $ 20. for the internet
phone.

Our land line is about $30 -- most of that being taxes and fees.
We have no fancy features. No long distance service (we use
calling cards or SWMBO's cell phone for that and sidestep those
additional fees). Her cell phone runs a bit less than $10/month.
And, our ISP is $20. No CATV. So, our "communications costs"
are ~$60/month.

I also switched sat TV from Bell Expressvu - to Shaw -
free receiver; install; no contract ; slightly better programming -
for slightly less money .. ~ $ 65. per month.
The "stay with us " phone calls from Bell were quite lame -
they are not interested in keeping the minimal users -
they are looking for the bigger fish.

TPC is making a huge mistake, IMO. They've got all that copper
and CO equipment. They should be "GIVING AWAY" services to keep
eeking value out of it. E.g., instead of trying to ding people $60
for DSL, give it to them for $20 -- let them buy faster speeds
if they are shy on capacity (capacity that is not SOLD is WASTED!)

I suggested that they sell a " 911 only " plan - for people who
cringe at losing this great feature - it would generate a little
income from otherwise lost customers and provide a continued contact
to customers for future business .. and be a feel good thing -
something lacking - I'd pay a few bucks for it.

Here, they have been trying to replace wired land lines with
WIRELESS land lines. It gives them a way around the regulations
that apply to *wired* delivery.

(Why buy a wireless land line that you can't CARRY WITH YOU???)

Thanks Don - appreciate the input.
I never considered the "loads" of my old telephones ..
maybe someone here has actual experience ?


"Old" phones (i.e., from Western Electric -- the sorts with real
BELLS in them) tend to be 1 REN -- the telco actually had to
deliver the power to move the clapper to strike the bell.
Newer phones tend to have much lower REN's -- they "sense"
the "ring voltage" (90 volts) and tell the little computer
(damn near everything has a computer of some type!) "Hey,
there's an incoming call!".



I got it done this morning - thanks all.
1. disconnected Bell cable at the outside interface box
2. re-routed the internet cable to a better location
modem, hub, router in a central location near a phone jack
3. RJ-11 splitter into the phone jack
4. hub + 1 old phone into splitter
5. 1 other old timey phone in basement
6. 1 cordless pair for main floor and master bedroom
1 old timey phone relegated to spare-dom
Everything seems to work OK - fingers crossed.
.... just need to read-up on the cordless set - it wants to
call out the incoming calls !
... we never knew they could talk !
never had call display before ..
John T.

On 5/12/2016 10:51 AM, wrote:
I got it done this morning - thanks all.

Great! Now, the windows in the car desperately need a washing...

1. disconnected Bell cable at the outside interface box
2. re-routed the internet cable to a better location
modem, hub, router in a central location near a phone jack
3. RJ-11 splitter into the phone jack
4. hub + 1 old phone into splitter
5. 1 other old timey phone in basement
6. 1 cordless pair for main floor and master bedroom
1 old timey phone relegated to spare-dom
Everything seems to work OK - fingers crossed.
.... just need to read-up on the cordless set - it wants to
call out the incoming calls !
... we never knew they could talk !
never had call display before ..

Did you manage to find a "maximum REN" rating listed anywhere?

On Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at 8:29:06 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Wed, 11 May 2016 17:04:07 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 5/11/2016 4:43 PM, wrote:
Today I got connected to internet telephone service for my home -
the old land line still has dial tone but only gets the
"not connected" message when used.

frown Your choice. (We keep our land line because it has mandated
availability/reliability guarantees)

The hub that the internet company provides has only one RJ-11 phone
port - but four 3 unused RJ-45 LAN ports.
What is my easiest route to connect my 3 or 4 home telephones
to the new system ?

Presumably, all that same "number"?

1. go to the interface box on the outside wall of my house and
disconnect the incoming Bell line ; then run a new phone line from
here to the hub ? the hub needs to be located centrally in the
house - not near the Bell interface

You need to see what the VoIP gateway is capable of driving before
you saddle it with 4 loads. At the very least, you will need to
verify how many "REN's" (Ringer Equivalence Numbers) it can drive.
Then, examine each of your "3 or 4 home telephones" to see what sort
of REN's each represents. If your loads exceed the capabilities of
the VoIP gateway, you'll have to take other steps to make them work.

2. other ideas ?
Thanks in advance. John T.

The obvious other option is just to disconnect TPC from your interface
box (so YOU aren't trying to push signal OUT onto the incoming line).
Then, run a RJ11 cable from the VoIP gateway to the nearest "telephone
jack" inside your home. It will be wired to all of the other, similar,
jacks throughout your home.

If they made provisions for TWO lines to come into your home
(often on an unused pair of a 2-6 pair cable), then you can also try
to chase down the uncommitted end of that cable and use it as a vector
onto the "used" pair).

Again, disconnecting the phone company from your home AT the network
interface for the reason outlined above.


Thanks Don - appreciate the input.
I never considered the "loads" of my old telephones ..
maybe someone here has actual experience ?
I did keep my phone number. I will lose phone service for power
outages and for internet system outages, and also the 911 will be
less effective. But the Bell bill has been climbing steadily for 20
years - ~ $ 75. per month compared to $ 20. for the internet
phone.

Even $20 sounds high to me. I switched to Ooma a year ago. Cost
me $60 for a used unit on Ebay and $4 a month for unlimited US
calling for $4 a month. I only have to pay the taxes each month,
that's the $4. Very happy with it, reliability has been excellent,
voice quality is good too.

On Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at 6:43:38 PM UTC-5, wrote:
Today I got connected to internet telephone service for my home -
the old land line still has dial tone but only gets the
"not connected" message when used.
The hub that the internet company provides has only one RJ-11 phone
port - but four 3 unused RJ-45 LAN ports.
What is my easiest route to connect my 3 or 4 home telephones
to the new system ?
1. go to the interface box on the outside wall of my house and
disconnect the incoming Bell line ; then run a new phone line from
here to the hub ? the hub needs to be located centrally in the
house - not near the Bell interface
2. other ideas ?
Thanks in advance. John T.

Disconnect the the phone company line at the interface box outside. Then plug a phone cable from your VoIP box to the phone jack on the wall and it will backfeed all the other phones from the outside phone box. You don't need a new wire. You may need a doubler for the jack where you plug in your VoIP box if you are going to use a phone there. K.I.S.S. ^_^

[8~{} Uncle Simple Monster

On Wed, 11 May 2016 19:43:45 -0400, wrote:

2. other ideas ?

+1 (What everyone else said.) The only advice I want to add is not to
overload the 'ring' generator. If you have too many phones, often the
output stage on the hub does not have the capacity to drive them all
simultaneously, especially if they are old phones with real
solenoid-operated ringers.

Other advice is to REALLY MAKE SURE that the cordless units are the same,
i.e. I took great pains to ensure that my 2nd set of cordless Panasonic
phones corresponded to the same electronic 'standard', but the new ones
don't fit into the old charging bases, not even as required to 'mate' the
handset to the radio ID of the base, let alone charge the batteries. So I
have to remember which handsets go into which charging bases. (Actually, I
don't. I just try whatever handset needs charging into a succession of
bases until I find one that fits...)

--
http://mduffy.x10host.com/index.htm

On 5/11/2016 6:19 PM, Mike Duffy wrote:
Other advice is to REALLY MAKE SURE that the cordless units are the same,
i.e. I took great pains to ensure that my 2nd set of cordless Panasonic
phones corresponded to the same electronic 'standard', but the new ones
don't fit into the old charging bases, not even as required to 'mate' the
handset to the radio ID of the base, let alone charge the batteries. So I
have to remember which handsets go into which charging bases. (Actually, I
don't. I just try whatever handset needs charging into a succession of
bases until I find one that fits...)

Even this can go wrong!

My folks picked up two sets of "dual handset" units. In short
order, NONE of them were working! Seems they really wanted to be
recharged in the same place that they were initially "paired".
You couldn't just stick them into any place that *seemed*
appropriate.

I ended up having to put colored dots on each handset and base/charger
so they would know where each one "belonged".

Our current cordless set allows you to type in a name for the
phone (e.g., Kitchen, Living Room, etc.). While not essential, one
of the "speakerphones" has failed (and I am too lazy to take the
flimsy plastic thing apart to figure out why!). So, we are
careful about where we leave that handset "charging".

On Wed, 11 May 2016 19:43:45 -0400, wrote:

Today I got connected to internet telephone service for my home -
the old land line still has dial tone but only gets the
"not connected" message when used.
The hub that the internet company provides has only one RJ-11 phone
port - but four 3 unused RJ-45 LAN ports.
What is my easiest route to connect my 3 or 4 home telephones
to the new system ?
1. go to the interface box on the outside wall of my house and
disconnect the incoming Bell line ; then run a new phone line from
here to the hub ? the hub needs to be located centrally in the
house - not near the Bell interface
2. other ideas ?
Thanks in advance. John T.

My OOMA has one RJ-11. It's centrally located by my computer.
When I got it the OOMA, I ran a wire from it to where the old Comcast
phone modem wires were attached to the house wiring, and swapped them.
I used two IDEAL 85-950 UY-I, 2-Wire Butt Splice IDC, which fits
common phone wire.
My phone service was changed from Ma Bell to ATandT to Comcast
over the years, so the entrance is sort of a mess of wires. I took
the easy path and just disconnected the Comcast splices, since all my
phones worked with that splicing. And all 4 work with the OOMA.
But this is all in my unfinished basement.
Maybe your best bet is to wire to the nearest jack backside.
Depends on where you feel comfortable running the wire.
You should disconnect the Ma Bell wires and tape them off.

wrote in message ...
Today I got connected to internet telephone service for my home -
the old land line still has dial tone but only gets the
"not connected" message when used.
The hub that the internet company provides has only one RJ-11 phone
port - but four 3 unused RJ-45 LAN ports.
What is my easiest route to connect my 3 or 4 home telephones
to the new system ?
1. go to the interface box on the outside wall of my house and
disconnect the incoming Bell line ; then run a new phone line from
here to the hub ? the hub needs to be located centrally in the
house - not near the Bell interface
2. other ideas ?
Thanks in advance. John T.

You can use the existing house telephone wiring.

Last year I disconnected Verizon and went with Time Warner Cable for land line and internet. The TWC modem has a connection for a telephone which I connected to one of the existing wall outlets. That allowed me to use any of the other receptacles in the house.