I've got BT coming Monday to connect my phone line but it's dangling
on the wall due to the previous tennants/owners either smashing it or
stealing it.
The wiring looks to be some older type, black outer with three yellow
wires, green, orange and I think black maybe.

Is it possible to get a master socket anywhere on a Sunday and where
do I find out how to wire it up with the old wires.
Failing that would they just look at the wire and condem it and rewire
it back to the pole considering I want ADSL installing and it looks
like it would fail the noise test anyway.

Mark S.

On Sun, 07 Sep 2003 02:34:41 +0100, Mark S.
wrote:

I've got BT coming Monday to connect my phone line but it's dangling
on the wall due to the previous tennants/owners either smashing it or
stealing it.
The wiring looks to be some older type, black outer with three yellow
wires, green, orange and I think black maybe.

Is it possible to get a master socket anywhere on a Sunday and where
do I find out how to wire it up with the old wires.
Failing that would they just look at the wire and condem it and rewire
it back to the pole considering I want ADSL installing and it looks
like it would fail the noise test anyway.

Mark S.


Are you paying the full whack to get an old line connected from the
previous owner which has been cut off? This is effectively a new
installation. When you pay for installation - what is it now -
getting on for £200? - you pay for installation. Even if there's no
cable from your pole to your house. That's what you're paying for. So
you get a new socket fitted in the room of your choice where you want
it. When I booked the reconnection I also told them I didn't want the
old number assigned to my house. No problem They offered me a
selection to choose from.

When I got the phone connected in my house after I bought it 14 years
ago, installation cost me around £168 I think. There was a crappy old
style socket hanging off the window ledge in the living room, with an
old dial type phone connected. The engineer started to check the
connection on this and get it working. I said hang on a minute, I've
just forked out £168 and I want better than this. I said I didn't want
their crappy old phone (and have to pay rental on it) because I'll get
my own, I want a new style socket, and I want it upstairs in the front
bedroom. He shrugged and said ok, and that's what I got.

If you're wondering why I wanted the master socket upstairs, it's for
safety. If there's a fire downstairs during the night or a break in, I
don't want to find the phone disconnected when I need it the most.
I've run an extension downstairs.

MJ

On Sun, 07 Sep 2003 02:34:41 +0100, Mark S.
wrote:

I've got BT coming Monday to connect my phone line but it's dangling
on the wall due to the previous tennants/owners either smashing it or
stealing it.
The wiring looks to be some older type, black outer with three yellow
wires, green, orange and I think black maybe.

Remembering the blue wallpaper anything's possible :-)



Is it possible to get a master socket anywhere on a Sunday and where
do I find out how to wire it up with the old wires.

B&Q have them, and also plastic punchdown tools which may last just
long enough to handle four wires if you are lucky. They do have a bit
of CAT5 stuff now, but I've never seen a proper metal tool in there.

To be honest, I wouldn't bother. There probably isn't any power on
the line anyway so you wouldn't have a way to test anyway.

I would just act a bit dim and say you've just moved in and have been
renovating the place. The master sockets cost them buttons so let
them sort it out.

Failing that would they just look at the wire and condem it and rewire
it back to the pole considering I want ADSL installing and it looks
like it would fail the noise test anyway.

Possibly. Often these overhead installations have a terminal box up
on the wall of the house which terminates the run of cable over to the
pole, and then there is a separate cable to the socket (or inside
terminals with older installations). My parents place has this
arrangement, and they wanted to have the master socket moved to an
upstairs bedroom that they use as a study. The technician wanted to
cable from the existing terminal unit in the house but the wiring from
there to the terminals on the end ov the overhead wire had become
flakey. With a bit of persuasion and some tea and biscuits, the guy
wired around the outside of the house which was what they wanted.

I am pretty sure that if the wire from the house to the pole requires
replacement that a different team works on it, much like for
underground wiring.

You might want to mention that you are planning to have extra phone
lines - although of course, DSL runs over an analogue line anyway.
That way, if any cable does need to be replaced, they will put in
something like 4 pair; although I suspect that may be standard anyway.

I'd forget about bothering with the master socket and buy some
biscuits instead. Also, I'd tell the guy that you are planning on
getting "broadband" rather than ADSL. That way, you can perpetuate
the myth of knowing less than the technician, which in this case may
well help. You really want them to treat this as a reconnection
and not a new connection, which costs a lot more normally. ;-)

My natural inclination would be to try and fix something like this as
well. However, there are times when it doesn't buy anything....

Mark S.

..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

Relax & leave as is; I'm sure BT have seen such installations before; after
all youre in clear as new occupier.

Mark S. wrote in message . ..
I've got BT coming Monday to connect my phone line but it's dangling
on the wall due to the previous tennants/owners either smashing it or
stealing it.
The wiring looks to be some older type, black outer with three yellow
wires, green, orange and I think black maybe.

Is it possible to get a master socket anywhere on a Sunday and where
do I find out how to wire it up with the old wires.
Failing that would they just look at the wire and condem it and rewire
it back to the pole considering I want ADSL installing and it looks
like it would fail the noise test anyway.

Mark S.

Andy Hall wrote:


With a bit of persuasion and some tea and biscuits, the guy
wired around the outside of the house which was what they wanted.

Never underestimate the power of the Tea and Biscuits :-)

Chocolate Hob Nobs seem to be a popular choice...

Lee

On Sun, 07 Sep 2003 05:30:03 +0100, wrote:

If you're wondering why I wanted the master socket upstairs, it's for
safety. If there's a fire downstairs during the night or a break in, I
don't want to find the phone disconnected when I need it the most.
I've run an extension downstairs.

A number of years ago I laughed at a colleague who wanted the master
upstairs for just such a reason. I found myself apologising to him
when I read, within a week of our conversation, of a burglary where
the telephone lines had been cut in just such a manner at ground level
where it entered the house.

In article , Mark S.
writes
I've got BT coming Monday to connect my phone line but it's dangling
on the wall due to the previous tennants/owners either smashing it or
stealing it.
The wiring looks to be some older type, black outer with three yellow
wires, green, orange and I think black maybe.

The BT wallah will almost certainly replace the old connection box with
a modern, master socket. If I recall correctly, the old sockets did not
contain a line termination capacitor -- that was carried in the
telephone "instrument" itself...

--
Paul

On Sun, 7 Sep 2003 12:16:17 +0100, "Paul C. Dickie"
wrote:

In article , Mark S.
writes
I've got BT coming Monday to connect my phone line but it's dangling
on the wall due to the previous tennants/owners either smashing it or
stealing it.
The wiring looks to be some older type, black outer with three yellow
wires, green, orange and I think black maybe.

The BT wallah will almost certainly replace the old connection box with
a modern, master socket. If I recall correctly, the old sockets did not
contain a line termination capacitor -- that was carried in the
telephone "instrument" itself...

Thanks for all the advice.

I'll go buy some chocolate biscuits and practise looking non plused,
shouldn't be too hard... ;-)

Mark S.

"Mark S." wrote
| I've got BT coming Monday to connect my phone line but it's dangling
| on the wall due to the previous tennants/owners either smashing it or
| stealing it.
| The wiring looks to be some older type, black outer with three yellow
| wires, green, orange and I think black maybe.
| Is it possible to get a master socket anywhere on a Sunday and where
| do I find out how to wire it up with the old wires.
| Failing that would they just look at the wire and condem it and rewire
| it back to the pole considering I want ADSL installing and it looks
| like it would fail the noise test anyway.

If you ask the engineer really nicely (and he's got one on the van) he might
give you an ADSL Linebox which has a built-in splitter for the broadband and
phone signals. Even if he doesn't, a Linebox is better than a master socket
because (a) it's easier to wire your extensions to, and unplug them for
testing, and (b) you can unplug the front of it and replace it with an ADSL
one with a built-in splitter like the first two items at

http://www.clarity.it/acatalog/ADSL_Installation.html

It is BT's responsibility to fix the linebox so let them do it. If they
later found you had an unauthorised (non-BT) master socket and there is a
fault they can charge you a 'regularisation' fee.

Owain

On Sun, 07 Sep 2003 15:01:31 +0100, PoP
wrote:

On Sun, 07 Sep 2003 10:25:50 +0100, No-one
wrote:

A number of years ago I laughed at a colleague who wanted the master
upstairs for just such a reason. I found myself apologising to him
when I read, within a week of our conversation, of a burglary where
the telephone lines had been cut in just such a manner at ground level
where it entered the house.

Surely if the telephone cable has been cut then there's no path to the
exchange at all?

Or am I misunderstanding the circuit which was cut?

PoP

If the phone line enters the house at ground level it is easily
accessible. If it enters through the bedroom wall/window frame you
would need a ladder to get to it. That's assuming your house is fed
via an overhead cable from a telegraph pole, as mine is.

MJ

On Sun, 07 Sep 2003 19:37:45 +0100, wrote:

If the phone line enters the house at ground level it is easily
accessible. If it enters through the bedroom wall/window frame you
would need a ladder to get to it. That's assuming your house is fed
via an overhead cable from a telegraph pole, as mine is.

Understood - thanks!

PoP

No-one wrote:
A number of years ago I laughed at a colleague who wanted the master
upstairs for just such a reason. I found myself apologising to him
when I read, within a week of our conversation, of a burglary where
the telephone lines had been cut in just such a manner at ground level
where it entered the house.

The phone line enters my house from underground within the house
boundary (the linebox is on an internal wall). Is that relatively rare?

Dave

"Dave Holland" wrote
| No-one wrote:
| A number of years ago I laughed at a colleague who wanted the
| master upstairs for just such a reason. I found myself apologising
| to him when I read, within a week of our conversation, of a burglary
| where the telephone lines had been cut in just such a manner at
| ground level where it entered the house.
| The phone line enters my house from underground within the house
| boundary (the linebox is on an internal wall). Is that relatively rare?

It's normal on new build estates where poles and overhead wiring are
disliked.

Owain

On Sun, 7 Sep 2003 15:33:17 +0100, "Owain"
wrote:

"Mark S." wrote
| I've got BT coming Monday to connect my phone line but it's dangling
| on the wall due to the previous tennants/owners either smashing it or
| stealing it.
| The wiring looks to be some older type, black outer with three yellow
| wires, green, orange and I think black maybe.
| Is it possible to get a master socket anywhere on a Sunday and where
| do I find out how to wire it up with the old wires.
| Failing that would they just look at the wire and condem it and rewire
| it back to the pole considering I want ADSL installing and it looks
| like it would fail the noise test anyway.

If you ask the engineer really nicely (and he's got one on the van) he might
give you an ADSL Linebox which has a built-in splitter for the broadband and
phone signals. Even if he doesn't, a Linebox is better than a master socket
because (a) it's easier to wire your extensions to, and unplug them for
testing, and (b) you can unplug the front of it and replace it with an ADSL
one with a built-in splitter like the first two items at

http://www.clarity.it/acatalog/ADSL_Installation.html

It is BT's responsibility to fix the linebox so let them do it. If they
later found you had an unauthorised (non-BT) master socket and there is a
fault they can charge you a 'regularisation' fee.

Owain


Buttered him up with a cup of tea and biscuits and deined all
knowledge of the missing box and hacked off wiring.

Put me a new master socket on without saying anything so left it at
that. Said the wiring was ok for broadband so have to see if it fails
the test etc. when that's booked.

Mark S.

Owain Use Postmaster to email me. wrote:
"Dave Holland" wrote
| The phone line enters my house from underground within the house
| boundary (the linebox is on an internal wall). Is that relatively rare?
It's normal on new build estates where poles and overhead wiring are
disliked.

That makes sense. Though on a couple of houses built within the last few
years I've noticed the phone line comes up from underground outside the
house, adjacent to the wall, then usually goes into the house through
the wall, leaving (say) 30cm cable exposed.

Dave

On Mon, 08 Sep 2003 21:09:28 +0100, Andy Hall
wrote:

On Mon, 08 Sep 2003 20:51:42 +0100, Mark S.
wrote:




Buttered him up with a cup of tea and biscuits and deined all
knowledge of the missing box and hacked off wiring.

Any biscuits left? :-)


Put me a new master socket on without saying anything so left it at
that. Said the wiring was ok for broadband so have to see if it fails
the test etc. when that's booked.

Mark S.

You can run a test from BT's web site which will do a basic line check
and give you an indication of what you can expect to get in terms of
speed choices - i.e. maximum of 512k down or up to 2Mb.
I don't think that this noise tests the line, but rather works out
line characteristics.

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

No took them to work, sorry. ;-)

I've booked today with Demon as it took them overnight to put my
number on the system at BT.

Gives some garbage about it being too far from the exchange but
suspect it read just for uploading and a 1 or 2 mb connection. Said
the 512K download would be ok so we'll have to see. :-)

Mark S.

On Tue, 09 Sep 2003 23:25:38 +0100, Mark S.
wrote:



I've booked today with Demon as it took them overnight to put my
number on the system at BT.

Gives some garbage about it being too far from the exchange but
suspect it read just for uploading and a 1 or 2 mb connection. Said
the 512K download would be ok so we'll have to see. :-)

Mark S.


That can be. There are nominal distances from the exchange that are
used as a guideline, but that's all they are. Sometimes people are
disappointed because they imagine that the cable will take the most
direct road route, but that's not always the case.

In the event they go on line loss. If you want a 1Mb or 2Mb
connection, you can apply for that and you will get a pass or a fail.
The fall back is a technology variant called RADSL (at 512k) which
will allow operation under worse line conditions and by implications,
longer distances.




..andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl