Dissasembly & Relocation Of Phone Socket - Crimping Tool

WhiteVanJack · 29 Jan 2011

Hi,

I need to dismantle and relocate a wall mounted phone socket but also need to pass the cable through a hole in a brick wall. This will require me to disconnect the wiring from the socket so that the cable will pass through the wall hole. It's not the cable that goes to the phone but it's the cable that comes into the house and goes into the wall socket.

Is it an easy job to get the wiring securely located back in the socket or do I need any special type of crimping tool for this? If there is a dedicated tool for this would anyone please be able to advise me on the make & part number.

Rgds
Jack

MalcofArabia · 29 Jan 2011

One of theses ?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/KRONE-Type-Punch-Telephone-Insertion/dp/B000Q84THG

You may also find you might need a new front.

Chri5 · 29 Jan 2011

If the socket you mention is a BT NTE, it has screw terminals for the external cable on it.

If the terminals are punch down type then a Krone IDC tool is required.

bernardgreen · 29 Jan 2011

If it is a IDC ( punch down ) connection then make sure you have the correct tool for the size of conductor and the size of the jaws it is punched into. Using the wrong tool might work, but you might leave it as bad joint that could make your phone service intermittant, un-reliable and maybe noisy when it is working.

The cable and the socket are the property of BT or your telephone service provider. By rights you should not be interefering with it. Any problems as a result of your work that require Open Reach to come and repair could be expensive.

TicklyT · 29 Jan 2011

There is a cheap 'n' cheerful plastic IDC punch-down tool available, often supplied with DIY extension sockets. It doesn't trim the wires to length but it's good enough for occasional use.

Don't be tempted to use a screwdriver blade. That WILL deform the terminals, leaving unreliable connections.

As above, the incoming line is usually terminated on screw terminals in the back of an NTE5 socket, requiring no special tools, but it is the property and responsibility of your service provider.

flameport · 29 Jan 2011

TicklyT said:
There is a cheap 'n' cheerful plastic IDC punch-down tool available, often supplied with DIY extension sockets. It doesn't trim the wires to length but it's good enough for occasional use.

The only instance where I had to use one of those plastic efforts simply proved it wasn't good enough for even a single use. The plastic blade isn't strong enough to push the wire in without bending or breaking.

TicklyT · 29 Jan 2011

flameport said:
TicklyT said:

There is a cheap 'n' cheerful plastic IDC punch-down tool available, often supplied with DIY extension sockets. It doesn't trim the wires to length but it's good enough for occasional use.

Click to expand...

The only instance where I had to use one of those plastic efforts simply proved it wasn't good enough for even a single use. The plastic blade isn't strong enough to push the wire in without bending or breaking.

Don't know where you got yours, but the one I have is quite substantial - a glass filled plastic I think. The corners are getting a bit rounded, but it still works. Some American (Canadian?) kit was supplied with a small key - shaped pressed steel version - I kept one on my keyring for years.

MrTinker · 29 Jan 2011

As mentioned, the drop cable from the street is the property of BT(or other network operator), and you are not allowed to touch it! If you do disconnect / reconnect it and make a mess of it, and an open reach engineer has to come out to fix it, and see's that it has been tampered with, they can disconnect you permanently, and expect a hefty fine too!

Chri5 · 29 Jan 2011

MrTinker said:
As mentioned, the drop cable from the street is the property of BT(or other network operator), and you are not allowed to touch it! If you do disconnect / reconnect it and make a mess of it, and an open reach engineer has to come out to fix it, and see's that it has been tampered with, they can disconnect you permanently, and expect a hefty fine too!

Urban myth, you'd have to have done something pretty silly to have that happen.
The worst case is the stupid charge for sorting out a mess.

Do you really know of anyone that has ever been fined or disconnected for moving BT stuff in a domestic ?

bernardgreen · 29 Jan 2011

Chri5 said:
Do you really know of anyone that has ever been fined or disconnected for moving BT stuff in a domestic ?

Yes I do. two people. Both had service dis-continued and had to re-apply for re-connection on new contracts. Full new customer charges applied ( so a fine of a sort ).

A third one was dis-connected and refused a new contract. BT considered he had created a hazard to road traffic by moving the anchor point of the overhead cable from secure brickwork on his house to a timber window frame.

MrTinker · 29 Jan 2011

I was told that by a BT engineer, he also said it dose occasionally happen.
Ok yes that is worst case, and not the norm, but what the op is suggesting is not recommended! and illegal

WhiteVanJack · 29 Jan 2011

Hi,

Thanks for all the replies and information.

I have uploaded a picture of the internal circuit board and connectivity of the socket in the hope that someone can confirm what type it is and if there is any risk associated with disconnecting the wiring and reconnecting it.

Apologies for the poor resolution of the image.

The cable that supplies the feed to the socket comes round the back side of the house and seems to be a spur off another box located on the house wall that is fed from a cable coming out of the ground via a pipe. The box that is fed from the ground pipe sends another cable round the front of the house to a socket in the front hall. I dont know if the above is relevant but it might assist in identifying the schematics of the house BT connectivity.

I have purchased a Krone Insertion Tool from eBay which is supposed to have a small hook for removing the wires and the push insertion head for reconnecting them.

My main worry is that if I do it myself and get poor connectivity for phone and internet I then have to shell out for the OpenReach engineer to come and fix it.

On the basis of the image I have uploaded and using the Krone tool is this something I should be able to do myself with reasonable success?

Untitled

WhiteVanJack
29 Jan 2011
1

Rgds
Jack

ban-all-sheds · 29 Jan 2011

TicklyT said:
There is a cheap 'n' cheerful plastic IDC punch-down tool available, often supplied with DIY extension sockets. It doesn't trim the wires to length but it's good enough for occasional use.

No - it's a cheap 'n' nasty tool, good enough for stirring tea.

Alarm · 29 Jan 2011

As a side line............

We never hear from others who have tried and found their skills lacking, wonder why that is?

ban-all-sheds · 29 Jan 2011

WhiteVanJack said:
My main worry is that if I do it myself and get poor connectivity for phone and internet I then have to shell out for the OpenReach engineer to come and fix it.

Re-do it.

It's actually quite easy, and resilient. I had my windows replaced once, and it wasn't until they were there doing them that I remembered that the phone cable came in through the frame of the old wooden window. I cut the cable each side of the frame, drilled a hole through the wall, pushed the cable from outside through it and joined it to the bit inside with 2 pieces of choc-block and a length of 2-core flex. Worked fine for years.

diynot

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.

Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

Dissasembly & Relocation Of Phone Socket - Crimping Tool

Alarm

Similar threads