is it ok to extend main BT incoming cable?? UPDATE!!!

[ZETEC153]

hi

we are decirating at the moment after buying our first house. i removed the old phone and there was the really old 1960's style oval junction box.

i have disconnected this and got a new type master socket to connect up to the 2 core incoming cable. however i want to put the box further away than the cable will reach.

is it ok to solder a new cable to the incoming cable??

cheers

george

 

[breezer]

you are not supposed to, but what difference does what i say make? (you still need to extend it)

 

[bernardgreen]

Drop wire does not solder. You will get a bad joint that will eventually make the line noisy and then fail completely.

BT will normally change out the old oval boxes for a nominal charge and fit an NTE 5 master box in its place. Give the technician tea and choccy biscuits and he may extend the cable for you.

You can then DIY wire from the customer side of the NTE 5 to where ever you want.

But keep access availbe to the NTE 5 as in the event of a fault that is the point BT will test up to from the exchange and they may ask you to plug a working telephone in the rear socket of it.

 

[ZETEC153]

Drop wire does not solder. You will get a bad joint that will eventually make the line noisy and then fail completely.

BT will normally change out the old oval boxes for a nominal charge and fit an NTE 5 master box in its place. Give the technician tea and choccy biscuits and he may extend the cable for you.

You can then DIY wire from the customer side of the NTE 5 to where ever you want.

But keep access availbe to the NTE 5 as in the event of a fault that is the point BT will test up to from the exchange and they may ask you to plug a working telephone in the rear socket of it.

cheers bernard!

i have got an NTE 5 socket ready to go in. could i run a new cable down from the box on the wall outside??

cheers

george

 

[TicklyT]

A BT engineer would probably leave the old oval terminal block on the end of the dropwire, and connect new wiring using the screw terminals the telephone cord used to connect to. You only need two wires from your internal cable, usually the blue & white pair. They then connect to the screw terminals on the back of an NTE5.

 

[bernardgreen]

A BT engineer would probably leave the old oval terminal block on the end of the dropwire, and connect new wiring using the screw terminals the telephone cord used to connect to. You only need two wires from your internal cable, usually the blue & white pair. They then connect to the screw terminals on the back of an NTE5.

The old oval boxes should be replaced by the correct gell filled crimp connectors if in a damp location or outside the house.

My method would be to ask BT to provide their NTE 5 where they can and then you take a pair ( terms 2 and 5 ) from the customer side of that BT NTE 5 to your NTE 5 located where you want it. You can do what you want to with your NTE 5.

The BT NTE 5 is then the point to which BT will test and if there is a fault you can use that NTE 5 to determine if the fault is internal and down to you or external and down to BT.

 

[simonpolly]

Cable can be extended but if you get it wrong bt will charge for putting it right,also the cable would need to be insulated from each other if the a and b legs touch you will create a loop and the phone will appear permantley engaged.Best solution is to fit nte in place of old bt(block terminal) and run a extension off the frontplate to where you want it.

 

[ZETEC153]

cheers for the advice guys!

thing is, there is barely enough room to get a box on the wall as the cable is just too short!! also it is not colour coded, just plain grey and old looking!!!

i need to replacew the plasterboard on the wall which the cable comes through on and once i do tis then it will be impossible to connect it up to anything again.

Can i buy special cable to just extend it 300mm at most, then fit the NTE box onto the end there??

cheers

george

 

[simonpolly]

old type dropwire(incoming cable from overhead)only had one pair, a and a b leg,new type has two prs orange and white pair one,and green black pair two,does not really matter if you get legs crossed over as long as they are insulated from each other and earth.You can buy cable from screwfix or electrical retailers for phone lines,this should only be used indoors but is ok to extend line as long as you get it right and don`t call out openreach to correct any internal problems.

 

[Infidel]

You could of course keep reporting your line as noisy Crackling etc and any engineer worth his salt will swop out your old D/W3 with D/W10 to a new nte we used to. But not when it was ****ing down or cold or you didn't make us a cuppa. That was the old days, if you happend to be a young attractive bored female thats another story

 

[ZETEC153]

right, bit of an update here and think it has changed the goalposts now!!!

i have currently got the plasterers in skimming and re boarding the ceiling after a previopus owners bodged artexing attempt!!!!

unfortunately, they CUT THE BLOODY PHONE CABLE OFF and now there is nothing at all for me to connect to to extend the cable!!!!

looks like i need to runa new cable down from the box on the wall (is this allowed??) and feed it back in somewhere which brings me to my next question - what is the best way to feed a cable through the wall and seal it up again afterwards??

many thanks

george

 

[simonpolly]

Do you mean the box on the outside of the house ?,if so this is bt openreach property,they will only charge you if you call them out to put it right,if you extend it and it goes faulty they will charge you, roughly 130 call out plus 90 per hour.Some electricains run internal cable from the internal master socket and leave a coil on the outside for bt to connect to (on new houses),this is not up to b.t standards,firstly its internal cable outside and secondly b.t is responsible for the incoming line upto the master socket. New build houses will soon have a external nte fitted and all internal wiring will be the end users responsibility.My advice would be to pay to have the line moved to where you want it,its cheaper than a call out plus hourly charge and they will replace the dropwire so there are no joints between the d.p and the nte (pole and master socket ).(OR DOCK the money from the plasters WAGES)