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Terminology
I've noticed in some posts that people occasionally get confused with the terminology. Maybe this will help:
Master Socket. This is a term used to denote the main BT Linebox. This is the first box, often by the front door, sometimes in the loft (in bungalows) between the outside and any internal sockets you have i.e. all your extensions run off it. If fitted in the last 10 years or so then it will almost certainly be an NTE5 Linebox. This appears to have two halves, upper (blank) and lower (with a socket).
Test Socket. If you unscrew the front of an NTE5 Linebox the lower half removes to reveal what is called a test socket. If you plug a phone or router into the test socket you will bypass the effect any internal wiring is having on your connection.
Faceplate. This is the part of the NTE5 you can remove.
Filtered Faceplate. Internal wiring can generate a lot of noise which ADSL finds hard to deal with. Your router compensates by reducing the connection speed. You can buy a replacement NTE5 faceplate which has high quality filtering in place. The replacement faceplate will have two sockets: an unfiltered one for your router and a filtered one to plug a phone in (note: any extensions are connected to the back (filtered part) of the faceplate - so you don't need dongles on each phone.). Many people find their speed increases and disconnections are fewer with a filtered faceplate.
Ring Wire. Many years ago, in the UK, the component that makes a phone ring was placed in the socket rather than the phone (which is more common in other countries) - this helped stop other phones in the house making noises when a phone is dialled using the old pulse dialling method. However for this to work there has to be a third wire in addition to the "twisted pair" used for the voice connection. In most circuits the twisted pair are "blue/white" (blue with white rings and white with blue rings) and the third wire orange with white rings. This isn't always followed though. One problem not foreseen in the early days was that this third wire acts as an enormous source of noise and noise is bad news for ADSL. A solution is simply to disconnect this wire (terminal 3) on the NTE5. Some modern phones will still ring as they now contain the "missing" component. If in doubt, all phones will ring with a dongle attached. Note that disconnecting the ring wire should not have any beneficial effect if a filtered faceplate is fitted. Some people say it does though so if you still have noise problems after fitting one it may be worth trying.
HTH
Last edited by Saturday; 22-10-06 at 09:14 PM.
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Linear Mode
