How to open copper ETP with those wierd 3 wing screw heads? Also is tone tool + PSTN bad?

Forums › New Zealand Broadband › How to open copper ETP with those wierd 3 wing screw heads? Also is tone tool + PSTN bad?

deadlyllama

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#303401 8-Feb-2023 07:16

I'm in the process of helping a rural friend get better VDSL. 4G where they are is rubbish.

They've got a Telecom branded ETP with weird 3 "wing" screw heads. Any hints on how to open it?

Also, I've bought a tone tracker tool to trace their cables. Will I break anything / upset anyone if I connect it directly to cabling that may still be connected to the PSTN?

The only ETP I can find is on a shed and the main house's phone cable pops straight out of the ground with no ETP in sight...

hsvhel

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#3033197 8-Feb-2023 07:25

This should do you for a few odd jobs

https://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/jobmate-screwdriver-bit-set-6150-s-100-piece-25mm/p/277129?gclid=CjwKCAiAioifBhAXEiwApzCzttWsawwe6ZTPwGsCr9xIiCqsUsJHmhLuChCGmnqFh2ssoCGMsSPeKRoCeS8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

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nickb800

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#3033199 8-Feb-2023 07:39

A flatblade pushed in really hard will often work in a pinch too

deadlyllama

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#3033210 8-Feb-2023 08:10

hsvhel:

This should do you for a few odd jobs

https://www.mitre10.co.nz/shop/jobmate-screwdriver-bit-set-6150-s-100-piece-25mm/p/277129?gclid=CjwKCAiAioifBhAXEiwApzCzttWsawwe6ZTPwGsCr9xIiCqsUsJHmhLuChCGmnqFh2ssoCGMsSPeKRoCeS8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Awesome! Another trip to Mitre 10! I've just come back from there ... thankfully it's only 5 minutes drive away :)

nztim

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#3033246 8-Feb-2023 10:06

Disconnect the Street BEFORE using a tone tool, if you brick a DSLAM port or NEAX line card your in big trouble

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richms

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#3033262 8-Feb-2023 10:49

For my tone tool if I put it across a line with power on it, the light comes on for polarity and all is fine.

Richard rich.ms

deadlyllama

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#3033283 8-Feb-2023 11:05

nztim:

Disconnect the Street BEFORE using a tone tool, if you brick a DSLAM port or NEAX line card your in big trouble

The question is going to be, when I go into the ETP, which one is the street? I fully expect to find two identical looking cables, one going to the street, one to the main house.

Time to bust out the old NZPO touch tone phone and enough adapters to attach it to some crocodile clips?

nickb800

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#3033287 8-Feb-2023 11:10

deadlyllama:

nztim:

Disconnect the Street BEFORE using a tone tool, if you brick a DSLAM port or NEAX line card your in big trouble

The question is going to be, when I go into the ETP, which one is the street? I fully expect to find two identical looking cables, one going to the street, one to the main house.

Time to bust out the old NZPO touch tone phone and enough adapters to attach it to some crocodile clips?

Should be a thick and stiff black cable with yellow/black/tan/white wires coming in from the street. Going to the house is likely to be a cable with thinner grey/white/blue sheath

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deadlyllama

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#3033290 8-Feb-2023 11:16

nickb800:

Should be a thick and stiff black cable with yellow/black/tan/white wires coming in from the street. Going to the house is likely to be a cable with thinner grey/white/blue sheath

The cable that pops up out of the ground into the house is a thick, stiff black cable with yellow/black/tan/white wires. IF it connects in to that ETP ... then it won't be distinguishable by type/colour.

nztim

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#3033298 8-Feb-2023 11:42

nickb800:

Should be a thick and stiff black cable with yellow/black/tan/white wires coming in from the street. Going to the house is likely to be a cable with thinner grey/white/blue sheath

if the house is old (pre 1987), it could be that horrible flat ribbon cable that's not twisted, if so that's a call to chorus via your RSP to replace it.

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

deadlyllama

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#3033408 8-Feb-2023 12:23

nztim:

nickb800:

Should be a thick and stiff black cable with yellow/black/tan/white wires coming in from the street. Going to the house is likely to be a cable with thinner grey/white/blue sheath

if the house is old (pre 1987), it could be that horrible flat ribbon cable that's not twisted, if so that's a call to chorus via your RSP to replace it.

There's a Telecom logo on the ETP so I'm assuming it's installed post the NZPO split which Wikipedia says was in 1987.

Behodar

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#3033418 8-Feb-2023 13:00

Mine has a little thingy saying "post office telephone cable from street enters here" :)

raytaylor

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#3036027 13-Feb-2023 15:13

The cable out to the street is typically black and gel filled. It will be quite obvious as the heavy duty cable. If you follow it, it may go up to the gutter and be an aerial drop.

Going into the house will be a indoor, less rugged style of cable.

You can often tell which pair is the live one by looking at the scotchloks. The test pair will probably be scotchloked together while the live line will be scotchloked to the indoor wiring.

You can attach to the test pair on either the street or to the spare pair into the house quite easily to tone out the cable.

Most toners are fine to direct connect to a line line, however some cheap (Sub $200) ones are not so good.

What you should be trying to do is install a master vdsl splitter inside the ETP enclosure. The phone output to the house can go to the general plant wiring.

The VDSL output should go on a spare pair in the cable and arrive at the outlet next to the modem. From there you install another jackpoint connected to the spare pair. Sometimes when wall jacks are daisy chained you need to scotchlok the spare pair in the incoming/outgoing cable together behind the midpoint jack. Ideally you would run a brand new cat5 or better from the ETP to the vdsl outlet instead of using the existing spare wiring.

Ray Taylor

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deadlyllama

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#3036040 13-Feb-2023 15:29

What I did on the weekend:

Spend four hours at the friend's house. Because ...

I discovered that a previous owner had dug up the buried cable from the street to the ETP on the shed ... ran it to their master jack in the house, then ran a new thick black cable from the master jack, underground, to the ETP on the shed.

I pulled the cable-to-the-road off the master jack, put my master splitter in, DSL end to a new jack, and phone end to the master jack.

Also replaced their Netcomm NF4V with a HG659b. The Netcomm needed frequent reboots so I didn't trust it.

Also also now the modem is more centrally located and the main Google wifi unit is sitting on top of a kitchen cupboard with line of sight to most of the open plan living area and inhabited outbuildings.

Sync rate went from ~21Mbps to ~29Mbps while I was there, will check what it is next time I'm there when DLM has had a chance to notice that the modem doesn't constantly disconnect.

Friend tells me her kids say the internet is much faster now. So that's a win.

Don't use needlenose pliers on gel crimp connectors, it doesn't work. Spend another 15 minutes searching for the correct tool, you will thank yourself later...

nztim

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#3036412 14-Feb-2023 14:42

deadlyllama:

What I did on the weekend:

Spend four hours at the friend's house. Because ...

I discovered that a previous owner had dug up the buried cable from the street to the ETP on the shed ... ran it to their master jack in the house, then ran a new thick black cable from the master jack, underground, to the ETP on the shed.

I pulled the cable-to-the-road off the master jack, put my master splitter in, DSL end to a new jack, and phone end to the master jack.

Also replaced their Netcomm NF4V with a HG659b. The Netcomm needed frequent reboots so I didn't trust it.

Also also now the modem is more centrally located and the main Google wifi unit is sitting on top of a kitchen cupboard with line of sight to most of the open plan living area and inhabited outbuildings.

Sync rate went from ~21Mbps to ~29Mbps while I was there, will check what it is next time I'm there when DLM has had a chance to notice that the modem doesn't constantly disconnect.

Friend tells me her kids say the internet is much faster now. So that's a win.

Don't use needlenose pliers on gel crimp connectors, it doesn't work. Spend another 15 minutes searching for the correct tool, you will thank yourself later...

Nice Job

Tool is dirt cheap from anyone who sells CDL Stuff https://cdlnz.com/CT-105

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.