anderson@allvax.enet.dec.com (Dave Anderson) (03/25/91)
I'm finally about to break down and re-do the telephone wiring in our house and, since I want to do it 'right', I'm soliciting opinions and comments. It's a two story house with unfinished basement and attic; three rooms plus kitchen and enclosed porch on the first floor and four rooms plus bathroom and open porch on the second floor. I can get into the first-floor walls from the basement and into the second-floor walls from the attic; but getting from the basement to the attic requires opening and repairing a hole in a wall, so I'd like to only do it once. The demarc is in the basement. I've got two POTS lines, one with Boston metro service used for most calls (including data calls) and one with measured service (mostly so I'm still reachable while making long data calls). My basic idea is to install punch-down blocks in the basement and attic, run 'enough' pair between them, then run a separate cable with 'enough' pair to each phone outlet. I'm currently planning to install wall boxes with one or two RJ11 jacks for the outlets; this should give me more flexibility than using the common little-box-with-one- RJ11-that-mounts-on-the-baseboard. All wiring will be twisted-pair. (With a little luck, this will also kill off a noise problem; the house is currently wired with quad.) If I remember correctly, the standard surge protector will do a fine job of protecting a 500 set but isn't really up to protecting modern modems (or many electronic telephones, for that matter). I'm considering hunting up a more capable surge protector to install on my side of the demarc. Since I use the same line for voice and (outgoing only) data calls, I'd also like to get some sort of exclusion widget that will, depending on which picks up first, disconnect either the modem or all of the telephones (wired in parallel) from the line. Most of the telephones we have date from before we added the second line. Is there some sort of inexpensive device (even 'micro-PBX' seems far too grand) which would allow our single-line instruments to use and answer both lines without confusing my wife (who is somewhat telephobic). In particular it would need to automatically 'do the right thing' when a phone is taken off-hook in all common situations, while still allowing (for instance) two instruments to be connected to the same line (so we could both talk to someone). If such a device exists, I'd imagine that it would include the modem-exclusion feature mentioned above. I'm interested in both comments on the general scheme and answers to the following specific questions. I'll summarize any answers mailed to me (anderson@allvax.enet.dec.com) but not posted. - What is a suitable number of pairs to run to each outlet? - What is a suitable number of pairs to run between the basement and attic? I'd expect that the minimum reasonable number is about six -- one for each upstairs room plus one for a modem. - What kind of cable do I need? If I remember correctly, it's 24-gauge solid copper twisted pair; but are there different grades or types? What number of pair per cable (of interest to me) are easily available? - If I remember correctly, the punch-down blocks I need are some variant of 66 block. The basic variety has 3+3 connections horizontally and 50 vertically, but I probably want some 6-across connections to make it easier to wire many outlets in parallel? - The punch-down blocks should presumably be enclosed in something, to protect both the wiring and people. What is the appropriate enclosure? - I'll need a light-duty punch-down tool. Any recommendations? - Any comments or suggestions concerning surge suppression, modem exclusion, or 'micro-PBX's? - For all of the above, what are the exact 'standard' part designations and about how much should I expect to pay for them? (I don't have convenient access to any catalogs.) - Where can I buy this sort of material? I live near Boston, and the phone book tells me there's a Graybar not too far away (in Somerville); but is there a better source? I work out near I495, so any place north or west of Boston and not too far beyond 495 is worth considering. Thanks in advance for your help, Dave