Junction box?

[SilverJDM]

I've started a new thread as I don't think my problem has been covered.

I'm suffering from abysmal speeds (down 889 up 339) on the Mid package, so I'm trying to resolve any issues that may causing these low speeds so I thought I would deal with cabling & faceplate's.

I have a NTE-5 master socket in the lounge & 1 extension in the main bedroom which both have BT logos.

I checked my master socket as described on this forum, I unscrewed the faceplate, the faceplate has no wires connected to it so I unscrewed the next 2 screws & find 2 wires blue/white & white/blue connected to the back, there are other wires inside the box still attached to the wall but they are just neatly rolled up & not attached to anything, from what I have read this is normal practice.

With me so far?

So I'm thinking how is my extension connected, so I trace the lounge cable (which is located at the side of the house & goes through a drilled hole to the outside) the cable then runs along the outside of the house to the front of the house & connects into a grey BT box (I think this is called a junction box). This box has 1 screw at the bottom & by undoing the screw enables you to slide the cover up and off. Inside this box is a jumble of BT crimped wires & my 1st extension comes directly from here as well as an additional extension cable of which one end is connected inside the grey box but the other end of this cable is then just rolled up & left inside the gas meter cupboard!!!

Still with me?

My questions (at last) are, how can I improve what I have?, what am I legally allowed to alter as all my sockets/cables come directly from a junction box outside?

I would like to move the master socket to a different place in the lounge, how much is BT likely to charge me for this?

Can I use the 3rd cable as a 2nd extension into the spare bedroom where I have my PC?

Sorry for the long post but wanted to make sure all the facts were stated.

Brgds

[Saturday]

It's a grey area but from what you have described my guess is you aren't legally able to change any of that set up yourself as those cables from the grey box are considered BT's side of the wiring.

Ideally those extensions would be run off the master socket and then it would be a simple job to replace the faceplate.

You can't (or shouldn't) move your master socket yourself. BT charges something like £85 for the first hour and £65 for each hour after that.

There are a couple of guys on the forum who are or were BT engineers. Hopefully they can give you a more authoritative answer. You may also get someone saying do what you like and say it wasn't you if caught. Personally I don't think that would be a good idea but that's your choice.

[SilverJDM]

It's a grey area but from what you have described my guess is you aren't legally able to change any of that set up yourself as those cables from the grey box are considered BT's side of the wiring.

Ideally those extensions would be run off the master socket and then it would be a simple job to replace the faceplate.

You can't (or shouldn't) move your master socket yourself. BT charges something like £85 for the first hour and £65 for each hour after that.

There are a couple of guys on the forum who are or were BT engineers. Hopefully they can give you a more authoritative answer. You may also get someone saying do what you like and say it wasn't you if caught. Personally I don't think that would be a good idea but that's your choice.

Thanks for your comments, as I said I wanted to do things legally but then again I don't fancy paying £85 for a 2 minute job, it won't be much more than that as where I would like the master socket to is only 6" away & already has the holes drilled to the outside for the cable, the previous house owner used to run a business from home & there were sockets everywhere all over the house when I moved in, I just removed the sockets from the wall if they had no cabling attached
Hopefully one of the BT guys can steer me in the right direction

[AndyJG]

Does the cable to the gas box look as if it has been properly installed or is it a recovered cable that been tucked in there to get it out of the way?
One thought that comes to mind is that it might be some form of feed for a remote gas meter reading service.Do any of your neighbours have a similar cable?

Are there any components other than the connectors inside your outside box or are all the cables just paralleled together?
Sorry for all the questions but without seeing it it is hard to tell if it is an official BT installation.
It is possible that the previous owner 'got some one in' or DIyed the installation and they didn't follow the rules.Not entirely helpful I'm afraid.

I tend to agree with Saturday about the caution but I can see the BT charges are a bit of a put off especially if it is someone else's dodgy installation you are trying to correct.

If they are not BT modifications and you feel competent one way would be to remove all the extensions from the box outside (just cut the wires close to the crimp connector but make sure you cut the right ones!) and just have your incoming line going through to the NTE5.Then wire your extensions from there.You could then fit a filtered faceplate and a separate feed for your router (which from personal experience I highly recommend).

Andy

[Gaztops]

Legally, you cannot move the NTE5 yourself, but you wouldn't be taken to court if you do. BT will only give you a hefty bill if you mess up your connection.

A lot of people are worried by all the wires and sockets used in the interior cabling.

The basics of running your own wires is pretty straight forward. The pair of wires either coming from the pole or from underground to your home has a dial tone on the end. All you need to do is to get that dial tone from outside of your home to the location of where you want your NTE5.

We do this by adding internal cable to the external line using the Blue with white rings and the white with blue rings.

Just remember that it is only a pair of wires, so just forget about the orange and green wires, they are of no use.

It's exactly the same when running extensions.

The extra cables in your Grey box are there to supply a dial tone to different phone points inside your home.

It is easier to run cables from the Grey box (BT 66) than to "daisey chain" your sockets together because this requires alot of cabling from room to room.

You can use the third cable to provide the service to where you have your computer.

[SilverJDM]

Legally, you cannot move the NTE5 yourself, but you wouldn't be taken to court if you do. BT will only give you a hefty bill if you mess up your connection.

I might give it a go, all I want to do is disconnect the NTE-5 & pull the cable out of 1 hole & poke it back through another hole (that is already drilled), this way I can then fit a new cupboard where the wife wants it.

It is easier to run cables from the Grey box (BT 66) than to "daisey chain" your sockets together because this requires alot of cabling from room to room.

You can use the third cable to provide the service to where you have your computer.

I was hoping you would say that!!

Brgds

[Gaztops]

I'll keep an eye on this thread just in case there are any problems.

[SilverJDM]

Does the cable to the gas box look as if it has been properly installed or is it a recovered cable that been tucked in there to get it out of the way?

Hi Andy,
Sorry I didn't explain that part properly, it is a recovered cable that been tucked in there to get it out of the way

Brgds

[SilverJDM]

I'll keep an eye on this thread just in case there are any problems.

You are the man!!

[SilverJDM]

If I were to change the faceplate on the master to a adslnation XTE-2005, what faceplate do I have to get for the 2 extensions remembering that the extensions come directly from the BT 66 junction box outside & are not taken from the master socket.