Classic Rotary Phones Forum

Telephone Switching => Telephone & Data Building Wiring Systems => Topic started by: Ed D on April 27, 2011, 11:13:30 PM

Title: Using Conduit?
Post by: Ed D on April 27, 2011, 11:13:30 PM
Hello everyone,

I am going to be working from my home in about two weeks, and ordered a POTS business line today from AT&T, our local phone co.  I also ordered a broadband cable line to be installed.

Both the phone wires and the cable come into the back of the house and directly into my workshop.  There are several fluorescent fixtures in there.  I want to shield the phone from any interference.

Since there is no ceiling in the workshop, and I can run wires easily between the ceilings outside the shop and the floor above, running wires is a piece of cake.

Then I started thinking (this can be a VERY dangerous thing!)  I wondered about running conduit to shield the phone wires, and maybe even run the cable thru there as well.  Then I have my home phone line coming thru the outside wall as well.  If I run that to my home office room, that would be kickin' for me.

So, I have some questions...

I can pick-up conduit from Lows or Home on the Range Train Depot.  Is it OK to run all three sets of wires (home phone + business phone + cable broadband) thru the same conduit, or should each phone line be in a separate conduit (with one phone line sharing the conduit with the broadband cable) to avoid crosstalk interference on the phone lines?

Do I need to use any particular kind of wire for the phone lines?  I have heard of twisted pair, shielded, etc. but I want to do this right the first time.  I may even rewire the entire house for phone service so I have jacks in every room.  (A chicken in every pot and a phone in every room!)

Any ideas or help is appreciated.  I gotta get this done toot-sweet as the new phone installs on May 6th.

Thanks!
Ed

Title: Re: Using Conduit?
Post by: AE_Collector on April 27, 2011, 11:51:51 PM
Hi Ed:

I'm no electrical engineer, not even close. I am a phone installer though with 35 years experience. Respectfully, I think you are wasting your energy messing with conduit for phone/tv/internet in a house.

Good quality RG6 coax is very well shielded. Phone lines don't really need to be shielded but using CAT5 cable will be real good. Home run each phone jack to a central place or even to the NID (phone protector). I'd run them to a distribution spot that is fed by a CAT5 from the protector and terminate everything on 66, BIX or 110 blocks and use jumper wire to loop the phone line to each jack run at that point.

No problem having more than one phone line in the same CAT5 cable. Put them on the blue pair (green/red in jack) and the oronge pair (black/yellow in the jack) and then you can plug in a 2 line phone and pick up both lines or use a 2 line splitter (looks like the usual double jack adapter but splits out each pair in the jack to its own jack) so you can plug a phone into either line easily without having to mess with connections at the distribution point each time you want to rearrange things.


Terry
Title: Re: Using Conduit?
Post by: Ed D on April 28, 2011, 12:18:02 AM
Hi Terry,

Thanks for the advice.  But you kind of lost me on a couple of things (I'm not well versed in the finer points of hooking up stuff.)

Sounds like I should run a separate line for each extension instead of daisy chaining them.  That is OK with me.

I'm totally lost on what "66, BIX or 110 blocks" are, and where does one get them?  And not clear on what "and use jumper wire to loop the phone line to each jack run at that point" means.  (OK, maybe I'm a little dense.  But that never stopped me before.)   :D

Thanks,
Ed
Title: Re: Using Conduit?
Post by: Jim Stettler on April 28, 2011, 01:17:49 AM
Don't worry Ed,
The base concept is that each jack should be "Home Run" to a central point. (seperate cables)

This point is best located in  the unfinished utility room.
A separate cable will be ran to the Demarc (D-Mark) Demarcation point.

D-marc(The grey box from the tel-co)

We can walk you thru it as needed.  It is pretty straight forward.
Jim S.
Title: Re: Using Conduit?
Post by: Greg G. on April 28, 2011, 05:59:30 AM
Quote from: Ed D on April 27, 2011, 11:13:30 PM

Since there is no ceiling in the workshop, ...


What do you do when it rains?
Title: Re: Using Conduit?
Post by: DavePEI on April 28, 2011, 06:19:32 AM
Quote from: Brinybay on April 28, 2011, 05:59:30 AM
Quote from: Ed D on April 27, 2011, 11:13:30 PM

Since there is no ceiling in the workshop, ...


What do you do when it rains?

Wear a rain coat!  ;D
Title: Re: Using Conduit?
Post by: Greg G. on April 28, 2011, 06:21:53 AM
Quote from: DavePEI on April 28, 2011, 06:19:32 AM
Quote from: Brinybay on April 28, 2011, 05:59:30 AM
Quote from: Ed D on April 27, 2011, 11:13:30 PM

Since there is no ceiling in the workshop, ...


What do you do when it rains?

Wear a rain coat!
Title: Re: Using Conduit?
Post by: AE_Collector on April 28, 2011, 10:34:36 AM
Here's one to scare you off.

(This is BIX by the way and the small box top left is the security system control box which is also terminated and cross connected to security runs on the BIX frame next to it. Black cables are COAX runs. Phone runs top right and network runs lower right)

Terry
Title: Re: Using Conduit?
Post by: AE_Collector on April 28, 2011, 10:36:42 AM
Then you just run a couple of patch cords to tie everything together.
Title: Re: Using Conduit?
Post by: gpo706 on April 28, 2011, 05:44:17 PM
AE - that looks like the corner of my room, no wonder I can't find the right cables, you have obviously sneaked through my room in the middle of the night and stole em!  :)
Title: Re: Using Conduit?
Post by: AE_Collector on April 28, 2011, 06:44:55 PM
Quote from: gpo706 on April 28, 2011, 05:44:17 PM
you have obviously sneaked through my room in the middle of the night and stole em!  :)

There's one way to tell for sure....are any of your two tone GPO sets missing?

Terry
Title: Re: Using Conduit?
Post by: Ed D on April 28, 2011, 06:55:34 PM
Quote from: AE_collector on April 28, 2011, 10:36:42 AM
Then you just run a couple of patch cords to tie everything together.
Utter simplicity...  :o

I love it!
Title: Re: Using Conduit?
Post by: Ed D on April 28, 2011, 06:58:59 PM
Quote from: Brinybay on April 28, 2011, 06:21:53 AM
Quote from: DavePEI on April 28, 2011, 06:19:32 AM
Quote from: Brinybay on April 28, 2011, 05:59:30 AM
Quote from: Ed D on April 27, 2011, 11:13:30 PM

Since there is no ceiling in the workshop, ...


What do you do when it rains?
Wear a rain coat!
I really like you guys!  You've got the same sense of humor as me.   :D

Title: Re: Using Conduit?
Post by: gpo706 on April 28, 2011, 07:01:31 PM
Quote from: AE_collector on April 28, 2011, 06:44:55 PM
Quote from: gpo706 on April 28, 2011, 05:44:17 PM
you have obviously sneaked through my room in the middle of the night and stole em!  :)

There's one way to tell for sure....are any of your two tone GPO sets missing?

Terry

No, he only took the cabling, the junk 706's he left in the box... :)
Title: Re: Using Conduit?
Post by: Ed D on April 28, 2011, 07:09:48 PM
OK, so I've read where I can use CAT5 or CAT5E cable interchangeably.  The CAT5E seems to be the same cost as plain ol' CAT5, and I can also use it to make a network cable should I need to do so.  Cool!

And apparently the connection blocks are strips of terminals that let me connect the POTS line from the Demark point.  So I wonder about this "Punch Down" connecting that I am seeing, or just get a terminal strip with screw-down connectors.  I suppose I could crimp terminal lugs on the wires to make a better and easier connection on the terminal strip.  Or is there an advantage to punch down?

Hey, I may have actually learned something.

BB - I keep an umbrella and galoshes in the workshop...   8)

Ed
Title: Re: Using Conduit?
Post by: AE_Collector on April 28, 2011, 08:47:47 PM
I think that basically CAT5e replaced CAT5 but I'm not sure what the exact difference is. And of course now there is CAT6 as well. Any of these will be more than adequate for phone stuff and for Network as well at this point i ntime at least.

I'd go some sort of punch down connecting block/strips rather than screw terminals/spade lugs etc. You can get a BIX Frame that holds as few as two strips and there are strips marked off in 4 pair increments to match your 4 pair cables.

I'm sure the stuff is easy to find on ebaY and there are probably people here on the list with stuff they can sell you.

Terry