I usually add telephone jacks by connecting one previously installed jack to a new one in a series. Would like to add another, but don't want to go from one jack to the next. Could I spice the wire and connect another jack. The splice would mean two jacks would be coming from the same wire.
(I'm not using the term 'series' as like a 'series circuit'.... just one after another.)
For telephones you can get the wires from anywhere you can connect to. YOu can rus a seperate set of wires to the main box or any junction you want.
Yes, you can. What you're calling "series", as you correctly noted an explanation for, is actually a "parallel". You connnect phones in parallel electrically.
HTH Pop
Mt completely amateur experience is that you can hook up phone wires just about any old way and they'll work. The only caveat is if you want to run DSL thru it, you need to make all the connections nice and tight. I do my phone wiring in a star pattern.
Why do you need a jack for your telephone? Is it really that heavy? I have never seen the need for a jack, I just pick my phone up and carry it. However, if you really do need a jack for it, any automotive bumper jack or hydraulic floor jack should lift a telephone.
Thanks for the replies. I guess indirectly I was asking whether or not telephone jacks were connected via series or parallel circuits.
Can't believe I've let this 1 hour project last 3 days now. Can't say I'm spending much time on it, but it's been a bit of a struggle. Maybe you can help me avoid some problems in the future and present.
Question 1. Had to drill across two thick pieces of wood that were separated by a 5 inch gap..... total distance of the gap and wood was about
9 inches. Then, I tried to run the telephone wire through afterwards. What a struggle. I pinched the end of the telephone wire to the end of a coat hanger and tried to run it through. Couldn't get that wire/hanger to find the second opening no matter how hard I tried. Eventually, I had to admit I was beaten (what an ego deflator) and widened the initial entrance hole. Then, I found the second hole easily.Granted the original drill hole was only slightly larger than the wire, but I should have been able to find the second hole as it was only a 5 inch gap. A friend of mine said it's normal to drill a much larger hole to allow the wire to go through.
My question is, is there a special way to run these wires across these types of gaps? I doubt one needs to make a much larger hole if the hanger and wire fits through comfortably.
Question 2. I am running the wire along the edge of a cellar ceiling. Both the ceiling and wall are made out of old plaster. Normally, I use u-shaped staples and staple the wire along the edge of a floor or molding. I doubt these staples will hold in the plaster. I have a feeling the plaster will crack and crumble. Someone suggested using small plastic u-shaped clamps and screwing them in. Again, I am afraid the plaster might crack if I screw them in. Any particular size or type of screw I should use? Or, is there something I else I should try to keep the plaster from falling apart? (I know, I may be worrying needlessly on this one as I haven't tested any screws out yet.)
Question 3. After I splice the wire, I'll be using the small plastic electrical caps to marry the wires together. I was thinking of trimming the plastic coating back about 3/8" back. Is this too much or not enough for small caps? I haven't done this in years. I don't think I have to twist the wires together beforehand. I just put the wires, turn the cap and the wires get twisted together when the cap is turned.
Question 4 I know you use black electrical tape afterwards. Where do you start and end taping around these caps so it doesn't look like a hack job when you are finished? Do you completely cover the cap so you can't see it afterwards. I know it doesn't matter. I just want it to look somewhat decent.
Question 5 Learned the hard way that masonry drill bits are not good for drilling through thick pieces of wood. Always thought if the drill bit can go through harder stuff, it should be easier to get through wood. I guess I was wrong. What is the rule of thumb for drill bits. Should I have two or three different sets. One for wood, metal and masonry. I only say this because of the difficulty I had yesterday and last year I broke a number of the smaller bits. I think the smaller bits were titanium tipped. I was probably using them for drilling into wood when they broke.
"Charlie S." wrote in news:pr1Ae.1319$zj4.278@trndny06:
Actually what you are refering to is a daisy chain. Electricly the jacks are parrallel, but the jacks are wired one after the other down a line.
It is almost impossible to find the other whole on the far side of a gap. Any wire that you try to poke through will be less than perfactly streight and will not go directly through the gap. It can be done, but it is a real zen type of experience.
Don't putnails or screws into old plaster walls. Use an adheisive hanger. I'm not sure that they are commonly available, (check an electronics supply store). What you are loking for is a square plastic adhisive pad with slots in it ta accept a tie wrap.
Or you can drill a pilot hole through the plaster and run a long screw into the 2x4 wall header. Leave the screw protuting about .25". Then attach the wire to the screw the way linemen atach wires to insulators.
No need for wire nuts. This is low voltage, low energy circuits. You can simply twist the wires together really good. Add some solder it you want a really good connection.
Interesting you brought up a point about DSL. We are running two lines in the house. The line I am wiring now is not being used for DSL. The other line is. My downstairs DSL telephone line works fine. It is connected to the computer modem and telephone. The phones upstairs pick up static at unpredictable intervals. There are no computer modems up stairs. It's very annoying as the static can be very loud at times. I've come to the point that I am reluctant to call or answer calls on these phones.
Someone told me it could be the DSL connection causing the problem. I found that a bit bizarre as the lines downstairs do not pick up static. I use filters on all the DSL-lined phones. You mentioned that you make an appoint to make all connections nice and tight and run the wiring in a star pattern. Do you do this to avoid static or is there some other reason?
This static problem was on my very low priority list, but if the solution is simple I might tackle it sooner than later. I had a feeling I had stapled through one of the wires and I was picking a shortwave radio connection of sorts. Never really thought it could be a connection problem at one of the jacks.
>
The block and tackle sounds like a great idea. Maybe you could just rig up some sort of motorized phone that he could drive around the house. Like you could get one of those old telephone booths and attach it to a garden tractor or golf cart and then build a recharge station with satellite dish and run the whole thing off of a satellite via remote control. Not only could he have phone, but you could even hook up the internet and widescreen HDTV satellite studio with surround sound, inside that booth on wheels. Plus, if he needs any medical monitoring devices, you could hook that to the remote, and even set up a automatic drug dispenser complete with a glass of ice water for pill taking. He'd probably have lots of fun driving that thing around while talking on the phone too. This would also eliminate the need for a jack, unless he gets a flat tire or rolls the thing over while watching the Indianapolis 500 on the HDTV.
Noting his disability problems, why not get an answering machine to take messages? He could call back to anyone that he wanted to talk to when he was able to get there, and not try to run to answer what probably would be the telemarketers calls.
Good point. Someone else brought up the same point to me. I'm assuming you mean why not use a cordless phone and carry it around with you. The basic reason is the phone is used by my elderly father. He has difficulty hearing. And, no matter how clear these cordless phones are, they generally don't match the clarity and/or loudness of a corded phone. Also, the cordless phones bring with them other problems, like they run out of charge and must be put back in the recharge unit. And, carrying them around is a nuisance and difficult for someone walking with a cane or walker. That said, he does have a cordless phone. With more jacks installed he doesn't need to carry the cordless phone around everywhere he walks to in the house. Plus, one less wire extension running across the middle of the floor (to support one of the current corded phone he uses) decreases the chances of him tripping.
By the way, he uses a block and tackle to lift up one of his phones:-)
Where could I find an old telephone booth?
>
Telco, for a couple hundred bucks or less if they just want to get rid of old inventory.
Ebay, probably over a grand for shipping, and if it's labelled "C@@L" or "Vintage", expect to pay double that amount.
Any city street corner, bring along some tools to unbolt it from the sidewalk. Prepare for possible arrest, unless you can convince the cop you either work for the telco or are a soldier of God doing your part to remove a phone that has been used for p*rn and drug dealing.
If none of the above are possible, build your own, and hire an artist to put the "Bell" logo on it.
Sign him up for a few credit card offers and he will get hundreds of telemarketing calls daily. Or just contact a few spammers on the net.
He does use the answering machine from time to time. Generally, it is best he answers his calls as he is generally available to talk. Those who call often have busy schedules and this is an ideal time for them to reach him. As for the telemarketers, I wish there were more of them. He doesn't get many calls.
Hi, There are some cordless handsets with speaker-phone mode. With push of a button, it gets LOUD and talk without holding the HS close to mouth. Also you can tailor your voice or sound for better hearing. Tony
He's welcome to mine. I get 20 or so a day, and am on the Do Not Call list. My answering machine is mainly used to screen calls.
Standard practice in installation of telephone wiring is to drill through walls and floors. Use an 18" drill bit, aprox 3/8 to 1/4" to drill your hole, either with a brace or electric drill turn on the lights in the room on the other side of the wall and get down on your knees and sight through the hole in the wall.. or floor, etc. You will see the light coming through the other side of the drill through.. push the wire through the hole as you are sighting through the hole and you can see the end and align the wire as you push through the wall, etc and through the other hole. The wire will droop as it goes from one side to the other, or insulation may be in the way. That is why you have to sight through the holes to get the wire aligned to get it through the two sides.
Find another way to run the wire. do not run along the top of a plaster wall and ceiling It will crack and not hold. soon will come down. The optional way to do the wire run if no other way is possible is to buy the stick on plastic u-channel, put that up first, run the wire through the channel then snap on the cover. There are some c-clips for wire runs that come with adheasive backs. They do not hold well for the most part.
A splice like this is jack leg for telephone work. If you have to splice into an existine telephone wire run, place a jack where you want to make the tap and then make your connections in the jack. You may have to place two jacks because the existing wire after being cut to make the connection cannot be joined back. The jack insures a secure tight connection and also provides another location to connect a phone and also another test point to isolate for telephone wiring problems., which will come about because of poorly made taps and splices which you are proposing to make in the existing wire work.
You want to drill through masonary? you buy a masonary bit,, can also be gotten in the longer lengths. You can also get a star drill bit, but this is a whole lot of work to beat a hole through a brick wall with one of those.. Better off with a good masonary bit and a hammer drill.. You drill through wood? you buy a wood bit. the two do not intermingle CC
Damn - I thought this was such a good idea......
Seriously, a cellphone might work best for someone is a wheel chair. That is if you can find one that isnt going to cost a fortune since many cost much more than a home phone line. Otherwise get a cordless phone and a spare battery. The problem with any cordless is that when the batt goes dead, you can not get calls. Thats why I always have a plug in phone besides the cordless. The batts always seem to go dead when there is an emergency.
Came up with too many problems with your recommendations.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.