NTE5 box - not connected to anything!

Hello all,

Sorry to start my posting here with a plea for help, but I'm stuck!

Before I upgrade to MaxDSL, I decided to make sure all my filters an
cabling was top drawer, as my line stats are not that great.

I purchased a replacement NTE5 faceplate from ADSLNatio
(http://www.adslnation.co.uk/products/xte2005.php) but on fitting it t
my NTE5, I got no DSL sync. All extensions seem to work, but not th
ADSL port.

On a hunch, I peeked behind the BT side of the NTE5 (I know, I know
not supposed to) - to find it's not connected to anything. There is
seperate 5 or 6 core cable back there but it's completely detached.
The test socket is dead as a dodo. Putting the original faceplate bac
on and connecting my router via a regular filter works fine.

I've lived in this house since it was built about 6 years ago, and
remember the BT engineer fiddling with other phone points other tha
the NTE5, so I'm wondering if he's done some wacky wiring.

Anybody got any theories?

Thanks!
Chri

--
FRL

FRL Wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> Sorry to start my posting here with a plea for help, but I'm stuck!
>
> Before I upgrade to MaxDSL, I decided to make sure all my filters an
> cabling was top drawer, as my line stats are not that great.
>
> I purchased a replacement NTE5 faceplate from ADSLNatio
> (http://www.adslnation.co.uk/products/xte2005.php) but on fitting it t
> my NTE5, I got no DSL sync. All extensions seem to work, but not th
> ADSL port.
>
> On a hunch, I peeked behind the BT side of the NTE5 (I know, I know
> not supposed to) - to find it's not connected to anything. There is
> seperate 5 or 6 core cable back there but it's completely detached.
> The test socket is dead as a dodo. Putting the original faceplate bac
> on and connecting my router via a regular filter works fine.
>
> I've lived in this house since it was built about 6 years ago, and
> remember the BT engineer fiddling with other phone points other tha
> the NTE5, so I'm wondering if he's done some wacky wiring.
>
> Anybody got any theories?
>
> Thanks!
> Chris

A little extra info...

I believe the 'loose' 6 core cable was a red-herring - probabl
something to do with the the house being pre-wired for a burglar alar
when it was built.

There are (were) two 6 core cables connected to the 2-3-5 points on th
front plate of the NTE5 - nothing connected to the A-B points on th
backplate. One of these appears to be a typical extention run t
another socket. Connecting the other to the A-B on the backplate an
attaching the filtered faceplate works, and filters two of the thre
slave sockets in the house, leaving one unfiltered.

My assumption is that at some point between entering the house an
reaching the NTE5, the cable I now have connected to A-B splits off t
feed the now unfiltered socket, hence the filtered faceplate has n
effect on it.

Question is - does that assumption make sense, and where does tha
place the demarcation point between BT's stuff and mine? I don't wan
to be messing where I shouldn't be, but quite honestly as it stand
that could be anywhere!

Appreciate any thoughts!
Chri

--
FRL

FRL wrote:
> FRL Wrote:
>> Hello all,
>>
>> Sorry to start my posting here with a plea for help, but I'm stuck!
>>
>> Before I upgrade to MaxDSL, I decided to make sure all my filters
>> and cabling was top drawer, as my line stats are not that great.
>>
>> I purchased a replacement NTE5 faceplate from ADSLNation
>> (http://www.adslnation.co.uk/products/xte2005.php) but on fitting
>> it to my NTE5, I got no DSL sync. All extensions seem to work,
>> but not the ADSL port.
>>
>> On a hunch, I peeked behind the BT side of the NTE5 (I know, I
>> know, not supposed to) - to find it's not connected to anything.
>> There is a seperate 5 or 6 core cable back there but it's
>> completely detached. The test socket is dead as a dodo. Putting
>> the original faceplate back on and connecting my router via a
>> regular filter works fine.
>>
>> I've lived in this house since it was built about 6 years ago, and
>> I remember the BT engineer fiddling with other phone points other
>> than the NTE5, so I'm wondering if he's done some wacky wiring.
>>
>> Anybody got any theories?
>>
>> Thanks!
>> Chris
>
> A little extra info...
>
> I believe the 'loose' 6 core cable was a red-herring - probably
> something to do with the the house being pre-wired for a burglar
> alarm when it was built.
>
> There are (were) two 6 core cables connected to the 2-3-5 points on
> the front plate of the NTE5 - nothing connected to the A-B points
> on the backplate. One of these appears to be a typical extention
> run to another socket. Connecting the other to the A-B on the
> backplate and attaching the filtered faceplate works, and filters
> two of the three slave sockets in the house, leaving one unfiltered.
>
> My assumption is that at some point between entering the house and
> reaching the NTE5, the cable I now have connected to A-B splits off
> to feed the now unfiltered socket, hence the filtered faceplate has
> no effect on it.
>
> Question is - does that assumption make sense, and where does that
> place the demarcation point between BT's stuff and mine? I don't
> want to be messing where I shouldn't be, but quite honestly as it
> stands that could be anywhere!
>
> Appreciate any thoughts!
> Chris

It is possible to back feed a NTE5a & make it work. It's not standard
& if done is normally by an 'engineer' who can't be arsed to do a
quality job.

To sort it out you would have to find the socket which is fed by the
feed & either..
A) make that the NTE & fit your SSFP there, or
B) using a spare pair push the dial to to the NTE 5 & connect it to
the screw terminals (this although not up to standard is adequate for
what you are trying to do)

<some snipping to get to the relevant bit>

"kráftéé" <kraftee@dontspamkrafteeunless you know
what'sgoodforu.pus.com> wrote in message
news:443edd45$0$9270$(E-Mail Removed)...
> FRL wrote:
>> FRL Wrote:
>>> Hello all,
>>>
>>> Sorry to start my posting here with a plea for help, but I'm stuck!
>>>
>>
>> A little extra info...
>>
>> I believe the 'loose' 6 core cable was a red-herring - probably
>> something to do with the the house being pre-wired for a burglar
>> alarm when it was built.
>>
>> There are (were) two 6 core cables connected to the 2-3-5 points on
>> the front plate of the NTE5 - nothing connected to the A-B points
>> on the backplate. One of these appears to be a typical extention
>> run to another socket. Connecting the other to the A-B on the
>> backplate and attaching the filtered faceplate works, and filters
>> two of the three slave sockets in the house, leaving one unfiltered.

Could it be that the unfiltered slave is the entry point, which has been
looped on to what you describe as the master socket (perhaps, as Kraftee
says, because it has been back-fed) which then feeds the two slaves from
the face plate? I have no idea why it might have been done that way, but
it could describe what you are seeing in terms of filtered/unfiltered
outlets.

Mike Hardy

>>
>> My assumption is that at some point between entering the house and
>> reaching the NTE5, the cable I now have connected to A-B splits off
>> to feed the now unfiltered socket, hence the filtered faceplate has
>> no effect on it.
>>
>> Question is - does that assumption make sense, and where does that
>> place the demarcation point between BT's stuff and mine? I don't
>> want to be messing where I shouldn't be, but quite honestly as it
>> stands that could be anywhere!
>>
>> Appreciate any thoughts!
>> Chris
>
> It is possible to back feed a NTE5a & make it work. It's not standard
> & if done is normally by an 'engineer' who can't be arsed to do a
> quality job.
>
> To sort it out you would have to find the socket which is fed by the
> feed & either..
> A) make that the NTE & fit your SSFP there, or
> B) using a spare pair push the dial to to the NTE 5 & connect it to
> the screw terminals (this although not up to standard is adequate for
> what you are trying to do)
>

emmaitch Wrote:
> -
> Could it be that the unfiltered slave is the entry point, which ha
> been
> looped on to what you describe as the master socket (perhaps, a
> Kraftee
> says, because it has been back-fed) which then feeds the two slave
> from
> the face plate? I have no idea why it might have been done that way
> but
> it could describe what you are seeing in terms of filtered/unfiltered
> outlets.
>
> Mike Hardy
> -

Thanks for the reply Mike. I took a look at the entry point thi
morning and it's starting to make sense. There is one main BT fee
(drop cable?) that meets two seperate internal cables installed by th
house builders at the front door. The BT cable has been spliced t
both these cables using little see-through round plastic clips of som
sort. I haven't been able to trace these to their destination yet, bu
I'd bet one leads to the NTE5 (upstairs) and the other to the rogu
unfiltered socket (downstairs). Would that make sense?

If this is the case, can I get away with unwiring the unfiltere
socket? It's not used for anything, and I'd rather disconnect it an
know that everything was going via the NTE5 as it should do.


kraftee Wrote:
>
> -
> It is possible to back feed a NTE5a & make it work. It's not standar
>
> & if done is normally by an 'engineer' who can't be arsed to do a
> quality job.
>
> To sort it out you would have to find the socket which is fed by the
> feed & either..
> A) make that the NTE & fit your SSFP there, or
> B) using a spare pair push the dial to to the NTE 5 & connect it to
> the screw terminals (this although not up to standard is adequate fo
>
> what you are trying to do)
> -

Thanks for the tip kraftee - looking at it now I think the engineer wa
just trying to make all the sockets work despite one of the being wire
up independantly by the house builders. Dunno if that was deliberat
or not, I guess it could have been wired up to support two seperat
lines, but it seems odd to have the independant socket in the same roo
as another socket. Would've been nice to have a working NTE5 eithe
way!


Cheers,
Chri

--
FRL

"FRL" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> emmaitch Wrote:
>> -
>> Could it be that the unfiltered slave is the entry point, which has
>> been
>> looped on to what you describe as the master socket (perhaps, as
>> Kraftee
>> says, because it has been back-fed) which then feeds the two slaves
>> from
>> the face plate? I have no idea why it might have been done that way,
>> but
>> it could describe what you are seeing in terms of filtered/unfiltered
>> outlets.
>>
>> Mike Hardy
>> -
>
> Thanks for the reply Mike. I took a look at the entry point this
> morning and it's starting to make sense. There is one main BT feed
> (drop cable?) that meets two seperate internal cables installed by the
> house builders at the front door. The BT cable has been spliced to
> both these cables using little see-through round plastic clips of some
> sort. I haven't been able to trace these to their destination yet,
> but
> I'd bet one leads to the NTE5 (upstairs) and the other to the rogue
> unfiltered socket (downstairs). Would that make sense?
>
> If this is the case, can I get away with unwiring the unfiltered
> socket? It's not used for anything, and I'd rather disconnect it and
> know that everything was going via the NTE5 as it should do.
>
>
> kraftee Wrote:
>>
>> -
>> It is possible to back feed a NTE5a & make it work. It's not
>> standard
>>
>> & if done is normally by an 'engineer' who can't be arsed to do a
>> quality job.
>>
>> To sort it out you would have to find the socket which is fed by the
>> feed & either..
>> A) make that the NTE & fit your SSFP there, or
>> B) using a spare pair push the dial to to the NTE 5 & connect it to
>> the screw terminals (this although not up to standard is adequate for
>>
>> what you are trying to do)
>> -
>
> Thanks for the tip kraftee - looking at it now I think the engineer
> was
> just trying to make all the sockets work despite one of the being
> wired
> up independantly by the house builders. Dunno if that was deliberate
> or not, I guess it could have been wired up to support two seperate
> lines, but it seems odd to have the independant socket in the same
> room
> as another socket. Would've been nice to have a working NTE5 either
> way!
>
>
> Cheers,
> Chris
>
>
> --
> FRL

Chris,

sorry none of us have got back to you sooner. You said in your first
post:

<quote>
I've lived in this house since it was built about 6 years ago, and I
remember the BT engineer fiddling with other phone points other than
the NTE5, so I'm wondering if he's done some wacky wiring.
<end quote>

Not sure how old ADSL is. Did you have broadband from day 1 and, if so,
did the engineer ask where you wanted the outlet for the PC? It is
possible in such a case that he may have fitted the NTE5 in the room
where you wanted it. In wiring to the faceplate, not the backplate,
however, they are implying that this is your wiring, which begs the
question as to where the BT master socket is. The difficulty in
answering your most recent question regarding unwiring the downstairs
unfiltered socket comes from the doubt as to where BT's wiring ends and
yours begins. Afraid I will have to leave that one to someone with
installation experience.

Mike Hardy

emmaitch Wrote:
>
> Chris,
>
> sorry none of us have got back to you sooner. You said in your first
> post:
>
> quote
> I've lived in this house since it was built about 6 years ago, and I
> remember the BT engineer fiddling with other phone points other than
> the NTE5, so I'm wondering if he's done some wacky wiring.
> end quote
>
> Not sure how old ADSL is. Did you have broadband from day 1 and, if so
>
> did the engineer ask where you wanted the outlet for the PC? It is
> possible in such a case that he may have fitted the NTE5 in the room
> where you wanted it. In wiring to the faceplate, not the backplate,
> however, they are implying that this is your wiring, which begs the
> question as to where the BT master socket is. The difficulty in
> answering your most recent question regarding unwiring the downstairs
> unfiltered socket comes from the doubt as to where BT's wiring ends an
>
> yours begins. Afraid I will have to leave that one to someone with
> installation experience.
>
> Mike Hardy

No problem at all - it is Easter after all

You could well be right about the NTE5 placement - as you say, th
question is, where is the master socket. I'm inclined to give BT
ring, explain the situation and try and get an engineer out t
correctly fit the NTE5 without it costing me an arm and a leg. Here'
hoping!

Chri

--
FRL

FRL Wrote:
> I purchased a replacement NTE5 faceplate from ADSLNatio
> (http://www.adslnation.co.uk/products/xte2005.php) but on fitting it t
> my NTE5, I got no DSL sync. All extensions seem to work, but not th
> ADSL port.
>
> On a hunch, I peeked behind the BT side of the NTE5 (I know, I know
> not supposed to) - to find it's not connected to anything. There is
> seperate 5 or 6 core cable back there but it's completely detached. Th
> test socket is dead as a dodo. Putting the original faceplate back o
> and connecting my router via a regular filter works fine.
>
> I've lived in this house since it was built about 6 years ago, and
> remember the BT engineer fiddling with other phone points other tha
> the NTE5, so I'm wondering if he's done some wacky wiring.
>
> Chris

Just wanted to belatedly explain how this all panned out. I arrange
for a BT engineer to visit on the basis that I effectively had n
master socket, on the vague understanding that if I was lying and / o
had messed with the NTE5 myself, I'd have to cough up £130ish, but i
it had been installed incorrectly by BT originally, it'd be a freebie.

Engineer showed up, scratched his head a bit, cursed whoever installe
it originally, and wired it all in correctly there and then. Drop wir
now goes up the front of the house into the back of the NTE5, extension
are connected via the front plate. He even took the time to make sur
all the extensions still worked. Top man.

Thanks for all the suggestions I received here - much appreciated.

Chri

--
FRL

FRL wrote:
> FRL Wrote:

> Engineer showed up, scratched his head a bit, cursed whoever installed
> it originally, and wired it all in correctly there and then. Drop wire
> now goes up the front of the house into the back of the NTE5, extensions
> are connected via the front plate. He even took the time to make sure
> all the extensions still worked. Top man.

My experience of BT engineers is they fall into two distinct camps.

Either they're totally incompetent and clueless, or they know what's
what, and have a problem sorted instantly and properly. It also seems
that the second type drive around the area putting right problems
created by the first type.

Why not just fire the first type, and save *everybody* any grief ?

--
Mark
Please replace invalid and invalid with gmx and net to reply.

"Mark Carver" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
| FRL wrote:
| > FRL Wrote:
|
| > Engineer showed up, scratched his head a bit, cursed whoever installed
| > it originally, and wired it all in correctly there and then. Drop wire
| > now goes up the front of the house into the back of the NTE5, extensions
| > are connected via the front plate. He even took the time to make sure
| > all the extensions still worked. Top man.
|
| My experience of BT engineers is they fall into two distinct camps.
|
| Either they're totally incompetent and clueless, or they know what's
| what, and have a problem sorted instantly and properly. It also seems
| that the second type drive around the area putting right problems
| created by the first type.
|
| Why not just fire the first type, and save *everybody* any grief ?
|

Guess what, they don't do that - they promote them. In BT there is a saying,
Shit floats to the surface. In my view shit is shit no matter what colour it
is...