Newish house - no master phone socket?
Newish house - no master phone socket?
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jammy_basturd

Original Poster:

29,778 posts

236 months

Friday 8th July 2011
quotequote all
We've been having a few broadband issues of late with the DSL connection dropping out, so I've been trying to find the master socket to plug the router into the test socket.

However, for the life of me I can't find one. The house was built in 2006, and I've found where the telephone wiring enters the house (from the ground near the front door). It goes through the study wall, but there isn't a phone socket in the study (there isn't even a socket on the other side of the wall, and it appears to enter the wall roughly behind the skirting board. I've also taken every socket fascia off and none of them have any of the resistors or ring capacitors on any of them. Nor is there a grey box on the outside of the house, the wires from the ground are just crimped to the wire from the house.

Is it possible for a house not to have a master socket at all? Or am I going to have to knock a hole in the wall to trace this wire?

Paulbav

2,144 posts

259 months

Friday 8th July 2011
quotequote all
It is possible not to have a standard looking BT master as so long as one of the sockets has the capacitor to deliver the ring, if you take all of your sockets off I'm sure you will find one with the capacitor (little barrel type tube thing) and that will be your master. Failing that try the socket closest to the incoming line, normaly coming in over head or from under ground with a grey capping over it.

Paul

Crafty_

13,868 posts

224 months

Friday 8th July 2011
quotequote all
Its probably going to be the nearest one to where the wires enter the building.
I'd just unplug everything and just use one socket, see if things improve. Swap your microfilters around too - they quite often pack up.

Deanno1dad

603 posts

248 months

Friday 8th July 2011
quotequote all
The property,if built in 2006 would have had a master socket..someone could have messed about with sockets,but the line will not ring in your home without a master socket,with a capacitor in situ.

Just create your own socket,either bribe a BT engineer or get one from elsewhere and fit it at the first incoming wire point after the crimped external connection outside.

Then wire the rest of your points as extensions.

jammy_basturd

Original Poster:

29,778 posts

236 months

Friday 8th July 2011
quotequote all
Yea, as I say the wire comes in from under ground, and has grey plastic capping over it. There are only two sockets downstairs, both about 15m (direct line) away. Nothing is close to where the wire comes into the house. I've taken both the faceplates off the two sockets downstairs and neither have any capacitors. I'll add that all the sockets in the house aren't the normal cheapy white plastic jobbies - all are metal.

The other 'nearest' socket will be the one in the room directly above the study, my room. I'm looking at the insides of that socket right now and again, no capacitors.

It's really baffling me, could well ruin my weekend if I can't find it soon! hehe

EDIT TO ADD: I'm currently using a spare router and filter I had (Virgin messed up and sent out two), but it hasn't made any difference, in the normal socket, or the two downstairs.

jammy_basturd

Original Poster:

29,778 posts

236 months

Friday 8th July 2011
quotequote all
This is the wiring as it comes into the house if it helps?



Deanno1dad

603 posts

248 months

Friday 8th July 2011
quotequote all
jammy_basturd said:
This is the wiring as it comes into the house if it helps?


this is standard wiring connecting underground cable from the exchange to your internal wiring.
Forget about this part its where the other end of the wire that feeds inside you need to concentrate on.

jammy_basturd

Original Poster:

29,778 posts

236 months

Friday 8th July 2011
quotequote all
Ah, then I'm at a bit of a loose end. frown

The house is a bit of a T shape, with that wire entering the house in the top left corner of the T. The other two phone sockets downstairs are effectively at the bottom of the T and at the top right of the T, definitely no sockets in the room in which that wire enters. I've had both of the downstairs sockets open and both are just ordinary sockets (in fact I've had all the sockets open).

jammy_basturd

Original Poster:

29,778 posts

236 months

Friday 8th July 2011
quotequote all
Scratch that, just found it, took behind a load of old coats in the cloakroom right in the middle of the house!

Herbs

5,018 posts

253 months

Saturday 9th July 2011
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Found mine in the loft!!

Ripped it out and replaced it with a new one in the comms cupboard

davidjpowell

18,623 posts

208 months

Sunday 10th July 2011
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Loft would be my suggestion..