Running phone over CAT 5 ethernet - what cables?

[Mr Punter]

I have got some CAT 5 cabling in most rooms, running back to a central location.  Both ends are terminated with RJ45 sockets - faceplates in the rooms and a patch panel in the central location.

 

In the central location is the main BT socket and internet hub but I don't want a phone there as it is in a wardrobe.  There is the normal OpenReach master socket which then splits to internet and phone sockets.  I would like to be able to connect the phone side into the patch panel and connect the corresponding wall outlet in another room to a phone.  Any ideas what connecting cables I need to buy and where from?

[richi]

Standard RJ11 phone plugs will fit into RJ45 sockets. You just need BT-to-RJ11 cables, which are widely available.

 

For example, at Amazon (as usual, any tiny kickback goes to our favourite dog-rescue charity)

Edited March 19, 2018 by richi
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[Nickfromwales]

+1. Just remember not to exceed the REN ( ringer equivalent number ) of 4. Each SLT ( single line telephone ) typically has a REN of 1, so no more than 4 phones. 

If more are necessary, you can get REN boosters, but most folk will have one base station and a bunch of DECT cordless phones registered to that base station. Have you tried connecting a cordless phone to the socket there and then checking for DECT range throughout the house ? Id do that first and see if you need a remote phone elsewhere. 

 

Edit : DECT = Digital Enhanced Cordless Telephony aka signal jumping to use the best signal during the calls. 

Edited March 19, 2018 by Nickfromwales

[Mr Punter]

We have DECT with a main and 2 others.  I will check out reception range.  Do I need a phone signal for this to work?

 

With the cable, I need one with 2 plugs to go in the wardrobe, to plug into the BT and the RJ45.  Some of the cables say they are crossover.  Does this make any difference?

[Temp]

+1 to DECT phones. Get a set of 4 or 6 and scatter them around the house.

[Nickfromwales]

1 hour ago, Mr Punter said:

We have DECT with a main and 2 others.  I will check out reception range.  Do I need a phone signal for this to work?

 

With the cable, I need one with 2 plugs to go in the wardrobe, to plug into the BT and the RJ45.  Some of the cables say they are crossover.  Does this make any difference?

No need to connect to a phone line for internal signal check. Just register two handsets and then start an intercom call between them and do a walk test.

Crossover shouldn't matter for phone lines, thats usually just for data interference mitigation. 

[Gone West]

15 hours ago, Nickfromwales said:

Just register two handsets and then start an intercom call between them

We use the intercom sometimes on ours, between the bungalow and house. Quite useful.

[le-cerveau]

17 hours ago, Mr Punter said:

Any ideas what connecting cables I need to buy and where from?

 

16 hours ago, Mr Punter said:

Some of the cables say they are crossover.  Does this make any difference?

 

Be careful about crossover with phone cables, also some cables aren't standard BT connectors.

You want a BT to RJ45 (RJ11 will fit but is not snug) cable, then at the other end you want an RJ45 to BT (Master/PBX changer) it provides the ringer circuity to make a 2 wire phone work.

If you want to connect more than one phone then you need to serially connect the pins on the patch panel, I have a separate patch panel to cross connect the BT network points, BT in to the panel and the other 7 (16 port with 8 wired together) out to the network sockets that will have phone's on (REN4 limit).

I got my cables from https://www.run-it-direct.co.uk/ other sources available.

For a butter description on how it works look for 'Mr telephone' on Youtube.

[richi]

1 hour ago, le-cerveau said:

the ringer circuity to make a 2 wire phone work

 

If you like antique phones. Or you're not using dangly filters. Has there been a phone sold in the past 20 years that doesn't include its own ring-gen? I always disconnect the ring wire these days, to help balance for xDSL.

Edited March 20, 2018 by richi
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