Finding the "main" phone jack

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itey

476 posts

Ultimate Geek

#160622 13-Jan-2015 22:44

Heya,

I'm just moving into a new house which has a whole bunch of phone jacks (8+, all unused -naked adsl). I've already got adsl connected and have tried it in a 3 jacks, with speeds of 6,8 and 9mbit/sec for the different jacks.

It's an old house (1970's ish), so obviously there is some dodgy wiring with this fairly big speed change across the jacks.

What i'd like to know is :
1) are there any tips in finding the "main" telephone jack that will be the start of the series - this one should have the best speeds.
2) once I find the main jack, can I disconnect the telephone cable that leads AWAY from it to the other jacks. Will this improve speeds by further isolating the line?

Cheers

edit: should have added: on the boundary of a VDSL zone according to chorus (they said vdsl might work), so I was expecting sync rates of about 15mbit/sec on adsl... is this reasonable? (assuming good internal wiring)

PeterReader

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Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#1213428 13-Jan-2015 22:44

Hello... Our robot found some keywords in your post, so here is an automated reply with some important things to note regarding broadband speeds.

If you are posting regarding DSL speeds please check that

- you have reset your modem and router

- your PC (or other PCs in your LAN) is not downloading large files when you are testing

- you are not being throttled by your ISP due to going over the monthly cap

- your tests are always done on an ethernet connection to the router - do not use wireless for testing

- you read this topic and follow the instructions there.

Make sure you provide information for other users to help you. If you have not already done it, please EDIT your post and add this now:

- Your ISP and plan

- Type of connection (ADSL, ADSL2, VDSL)

- Your modem DSL stats (do not worry about posting Speedtest, we need sync rate, attenuation and noise margin)

- Your general location (or street)

- If you are rural or urban

- If you know your connection is to an exchange, cabinet or conklin

- If your connection is to a ULL or wholesale service

- If you have done an isolation test as per the link above

Most of the problems with speed are likely to be related to internal wiring issues. Read this discussion to find out more about this. Your ISP is not intentionally slowing you down today (unless you are on a managed plan). Also if this is the school holidays it's likely you will notice slower than usual speed due to more users online.

A master splitter is required for VDSL2 and in most cases will improve speeds on DSL connections. Regular disconnections can be a monitored alarm or a set top box trying to connect. If there's an alarm connected to your line even if you don't have an alarm contract it may still try to connect so it's worth checking.

I recommend you read these two blog posts:

- Is your premises phone wiring impacting your broadband performance? (very technical)

- Are you receiving a substandard ULL ADSL2+ connection from your ISP?

I am the Geekzone Robot and I am here to help. I am from the Internet. I do not interact. Do not expect other replies from me.

These links are referral codes: Sharesies | Mighty Ape

hio77

12999 posts

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Lizard Networks

#1213438 13-Jan-2015 22:57

If your looking to go through this much effort, why not just look at a master filter installation.

Cat6 fresh from the ETP and get the best speeds you can out of it?

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

InstallerUFB

840 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1213442 13-Jan-2015 23:23

itey: <snipWhat i'd like to know is :
1) are there any tips in finding the "main" telephone jack that will be the start of the series - this one should have the best speeds.
2) once I find the main jack, can I disconnect the telephone cable that leads AWAY from it to the other jacks. Will this improve speeds by further isolating the line?

Cheers

edit: should have added: on the boundary of a VDSL zone according to chorus (they said vdsl might work), so I was expecting sync rates of about 15mbit/sec on adsl... is this reasonable? (assuming good internal wiring)

1. There is no such thing as the "main" phone jack / From the age of the house, there may be a "Master" Jack (the one with a M embosed on the front) but there is no guarantee that this is the first jkpt in from the ETP - be prepared for there to be more than 1 first jkpt in from the ETP ie more than one internal cable run.

But in saying that you could check to see if the jkpts have been converted to 2 wire working ( ie only two 'ports' used on the back of the jacks, 2 & 5 , with the 3 wire (normaly in this case the blue) removed from port 3 on all jacks - (NOTE: If any of the jacks have a 2 embosed on the front then they are 2 wire jacks and it dosent mater if there are wires on the other ports)

Iy you can trace your cableing from the ETP or POE (point of Entry) you may be able to locate the first jackpoint. Alternativly, depending on who your provider is, ther may be a 'non-working' tone signal on the line (plug a standard phone in a jack and listern) which you can use to determine which jack is which by elimination ( be prepared with the right tool (Krone) to connect the wires back up if you make a mistake and pull the wrong ones off)

2 Yes (first jack), 2A possibly

Cbfd

307 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1213500 14-Jan-2015 06:35

Is there an etp on the outside of the house - a good place to start tbh

Jase2985

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#1213517 14-Jan-2015 07:51

request vdsl, technician will install filter and cat5e to where you want the modem

RunningMan

8953 posts

Uber Geek

#1214863 14-Jan-2015 14:56

itey:
1) are there any tips in finding the "main" telephone jack that will be the start of the series - this one should have the best speeds.

You need to physically trace the cables to do it properly - either with a cable tracer tool if you have one, or by sight - pulling all the jack points out, and crawling through the roofspace etc to work out the cable path. See if you can work out where the cable arrives in the house and go from there (could be overhead or underground).

itey:
2) once I find the main jack, can I disconnect the telephone cable that leads AWAY from it to the other jacks. Will this improve speeds by further isolating the line?

Not so much the main jack, as the first jack, assuming they are all daisy chained, which they may not be. What you are trying to achieve for best DSL connection is a single transmission line (i.e. cable) to the modem, with no branches, stubs etc (even unused) that will interfere with the DSL frequencies. Putting in a master filter accomplishes this by bypassing all the internal house wiring, but it can also be achieved with one jack and no other wiring connected.

raytaylor

4014 posts

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#1215038 14-Jan-2015 19:08

History lesson:
As others have said, there is no such thing as the main jack.

Once upon a time there was-- it was called the Master.
The master had a capacitor in the back of it, and all other jacks were daisy chained from that one.
The capacitor came from old times where the ring signal ran on a different wire than the audio signal.
They also stopped a blip ring when you connected or disconnected another phone in the house.

Old master sockets have an M symbol on the front. If you have an S, blank or just an NZPost / telecom logo it would mean its a slave.

These days the wire comes to a demarcation point outside the house. From there, all telephones sockets are daisy chained. However in older houses, it is not uncommon to find the gel filled or outdoor cable going direct from the road to the old master socket.

Ray Taylor

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