Hello
Want to run at least 4 to 5 new phone lines in my basement and am having trouble. The phones where originally installed with cat 5 wire which are all connected in a box and wire nutted together (6 lines in total). Thought it would be an easy task just to join 4 more wires but am having trouble doing that (working with the very thin wire). They alos didnt leave much wire past the box, adding the fact that the wires are very thin it appears that I may of broken off some of the wires at the originally terminations(but i still have dail tone). The questions are.
Can I run one cable from the orignal box to a new junction box to connect the 4 or 5 new lines (after reparing the damage)?
Are six wires the max you can connect using a yellow wire nut (ie what is the gauge of the wire? (iam guessing 24) or is there another way to connect the wires?
any advice would be helpful
frustrated in pa
Dan
Replies
Can I run one cable from the orignal box to a new junction box to connect the 4 or 5 new lines (after reparing the damage)?
Yes.
"Are six wires the max you can connect using a yellow wire nut (ie what is the gauge of the wire? (iam guessing 24) or is there another way to connect the wires?"
Get a pushdown block and tool at HD or Lowes.
Those used to be "secrete stuff". But commonly available in the last couple of years.
This is the type of system that I am talking about, but it has more than you need. I think that you can just get the phone block part of it.
http://tinyurl.com/4dgcz
Dan: Like Bill Hartmann said - go to Home DePot & think "Media Center Box." Beyond that, get some of those neat little phone wire slpicers they sell. They have a little red button on them that you push in after inserting the wires up into small channels. I had a new phone cable installed last week & the phone guy didn't have any three wire splicers - I did, straight out of Home DePot. He was ecstatic w/ joy. Make the connection & insulate all in one motion. They have the capability of splicing together three wires the same way the phone co. does. Wire nuts aren't reliable for the tiny wires used on phones They break too easily.
Don
the phone wire splicers..... how many wires can you splice....need to run to lowes so i need some clarifications .... push down box couldnt find it on home depot link, further more are the all the wires required if i have a dail up modem? I really would like to thank each of your for getting back to me so soon. I have to finish this project and you have been a great help. Will let youns know how it works out. By the way I just used and electrical box as a junction box just like the existing can I still use what youns recommended?
Dan
For phone wiring you really don't need a box or cabinet. But if you have one it does prevent the wire from getting accidential damaged. So if it is high up under the joist in a basement, out of the way it would not be as likely damages as say 4ft high in the middle of a garage wall.The buttons are only good or 3-4 leads so you would need to daisy chain a bunch of them for the number of wires that you are talking about.And pull on them after you use them. It is easy, specially if you are working overhead, for one of the wires to slip out just before you crunch it.Each "line" or number needs a pair. The common household RJ-11 jack will has contacts for 2 lines. And those are commonly wired to all jacks in the house.I don't know if you modem is on a separate line or not.If it is then you might want to install an outlet with 2 RJ-11 jacks, the first wired Line1/Line2 and the 2nd wired Line2/Line1
The closest thing I found on the Home Depot site is this thing, which is a combo telephone/coaxial cable box. It was $51.00, so that's probably more elaborate than what you're looking for. You should be able to find one that has just the telephone side for a lot less money. Home Depot may have something that they don't show on their website.
View Image
http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=misc/searchResults.jsp&N=2984+5777&cm_ven=hd_goog&cm_cat=Search&cm_pla=D-Brand&cm_ite=bid10130339-home_depot
Just as a point of clairifacation, you only need 2 conductors for a phone, so likely several of those condoctors in that cat 5 are not actually needed.
If you decide to go the punch down block route, you need to get the punch down tool too.
I ran Cat 5 in my house for phones and network. The toys sold to accomplish this is impressive but all I really needed was a $30 phone punch down block from the electrical supply house. It has room for MANY phones and 2 (or possibly 4?) liines. All I needed to punch down the wire was the back of a utility knife blade...i stripped the wire first, though that may not have been necessary.
The block was a really simpple black plastic thing with LOTS of slots for connections.