Hi Kay!

K I moved into a house that has an old phone in the kitchen. The phone
K is wired directly (not plugged) into the wall. I'm getting ready to
K paint & I want to do 2 things first: I want to move the wiring up
K about 8 inches and then convert it into a plug-in wall phone. But the
K only way I can think to move the wiring up is to cut an 8 inch seam in
K the wall and then patch it up after lifting the wiring to its new
K position. Is there another way? If not, what should I use to patch the
K wall?

Converting to a plug-in telephone jack is the easy part -- Radio Shack
sells them as do the hardware stores and departments.

You will need the type of adapter made for hanging a phone -- you
wtill want the phone hung on the wall, right? The receptacle you need
will have an RJ-11 (plug in) jack in the middle and two thumbtack-like
things at the top and bottom -- the phone hangs on these.

As for moving the phone up 8", you should be able to simply punch
another inch hole in the wall and feed the old wire up -- if it is an
interior wall the wall should be hollow; if an exterior you probably
will have insulation in the way. (Metal coat hangers or heavier-guage
wire bent appropriately will be helpful in grabbing the wire.

Inside the telephone cable should be four wires (there are several
other combinations). As your's is hard-wired the wires are probably
red, green, yellow and black. Generally the red/green pair is what
you want. Follow the instructions that came with your new wall jack
-- some use screws and some use prongs. Wire just the red and green;
wrap the other wires back along the cable. Test phone.

Voltage warnings and all that. Good news: telephones use low voltage
(except for the ring signal) and low current. I've never been shocked
by phone wiring -- well, except metally shocked when I was wiring in
my phone at the apartment, had one wire connected and the phone
started ringing. One wire?? Takes two for a circuit!! Answered the
phone, no connection (think it was still ringing -- was around 30
years ago). Got a test lead to complete the wiring temporarily and
then was able to talk.

Anyway, if you're concerned with being shocked simply take another
phone off the hook (remember to put it back on for the test!).

-
¯ barry.martinþATþthesafebbs.zeppole.com ®

* Counterfeiters: Workers who put together kitchen cabinets
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