What is this phone cable box? (Photo)

[Joseph Sparks]

I'm wanting to trace the telecoms wiring in my house - partly as an interest, partly to see what I can do in the future to move sockets etc.

I'm nearly done finding all the sockets in the house and mapping their function, but have been stumped by this box, just inside the front door:



There's what looks like twin core speaker cable that comes into it, and standard telecoms cable out. There's a third cable that terminates after a couple of centimetres (old earth?), but there doesn't seem to be any electrical components in there at all.

What is it's function? It is likely to be connected? There's a master socket in the basement - is it likely to be connected to this, either before or after?

Many thanks in advance

 

[sparkymarka]

Old junction box

 

[PBC_1966]

It's an old protector unit. The "speaker like" cable is the original incoming line from outside. Where you have two solid links in place is where a pair of fuses could be fitted if needed, and the two sets of contacts at the top is where a pair of carbon protectors could be inserted, one from each side of the line to the earth provided on the middle terminal. The earth connection was also needed for proper operation of the old party lines, which were in widespread use at the time this type of protector was being installed.

 

[bernardgreen]

Haven't seen one of those for years.... if not decades. Nostalgia

 

[Joseph Sparks]

So without fuses or carbon protectors, it's only function is to join wires together?

If so, presumably I could trace the wire back and forward and run new cable to eliminate the box?

 

[PBC_1966]

So without fuses or carbon protectors, it's only function is to join wires together?

Yes.

If so, presumably I could trace the wire back and forward and run new cable to eliminate the box?

Do have a newer type of (round, black) drop wire to a master somewhere, and this old drop wire is just running from a junction elsewhere, or is this still the incoming line to the house?

 

[PBC_1966]

Haven't seen one of those for years.... if not decades. Nostalgia

It's surprising how many are still around - Or perhaps not considering how things which work generally don't get changed without some specific reason. Last time I saw one still in service was about 3 to 4 years ago, not long before I left England, when some friends moved to a new house and asked me to sort out the telephone wiring there. As with the one pictured here, the earth had long since been disconnected, but if I recall correctly it still had the old carbon protectors in place.

 

[bernardgreen]

It highlights the difference in build quality of equipment and perceived hazards in the early days of public telephome service compared to modern methods.

 

[Joseph Sparks]

- Deleted - Double Posted -

 

[Joseph Sparks]

If so, presumably I could trace the wire back and forward and run new cable to eliminate the box?

Do have a newer type of (round, black) drop wire to a master somewhere, and this old drop wire is just running from a junction elsewhere, or is this still the incoming line to the house?

I haven't traced it back yet, but if it is still the incoming line to the house, and before the NTE5 socket, would that mean it's BT property, and as such I shouldn't touch it?

 

[bernardgreen]

would that mean it's BT property, and as such I shouldn't touch it?

In a word.... Yes

 

[Joseph Sparks]

If it turns out to be connected, and I wanted to get rid of it, what are my options - call BT and ask them to move it? Anything else other than leave it alone?

Fingers crossed it's not connected when I trace the wires!!

 

[PBC_1966]

If it turns out to be connected, and I wanted to get rid of it, what are my options - call BT and ask them to move it?

If it's still on the BT side of your NTE (master jack), then yes, it's theirs and you're not really supposed to interfere with it. You might be able to get them to do away with it at no cost if you ask nicely, especially if you have DSL and "might be having problems." If it's on your side of the NTE, then while it might have been BT's property once (G.P.O. at the time it was installed), they've abandoned it and you can do what you like with it.

Do you have a multimeter with which to check for voltage? If not, then in your tracing just pull those links and see what stops working!

 

[PBC_1966]

It highlights the difference in build quality of equipment and perceived hazards in the early days of public telephome service compared to modern methods.

Here's a table summarizing the protection provided on different lines around the time these units were in widespread use. Note the change of policy in 1960:

Of course, today, all they ever have at the subscriber's premises is the silly arrester in the NTE5 which is connected across the line rather than from line to earth, so is pretty useless.