How to get old telephone wiring upgraded to modern master socket etc.

property.advert

I live in an old house. The wiring for the telephone comes into the property via the cellar and into one of those oval connector things, such as we had when I was a kid decades ago. From there, there is some more modern wiring to non branded sockets.

I need to move this line and would like to get a modern master socket. I guess I could just break it and Sky would send someone to fix it, which would result in it being upgraded but if you talk to Sky, they have no desire to do so of their own volition, if the thing is still working.

My main concern about doing it myself is the fact that I think the wiring from the outside will also be ancient and perhaps that needs replacing as well.

Any ideas as to the best way to approach this ?

macman

If you break it and ask Sky to replace it, you will be charged around £130 for an OR call out. The oval connector is the property of OR and neither you nor Sky are allowed to touch it. Any user-inflicted damage is chargeable, and they won't change it FOC if it is still working.
You can work on the extensions from the old connector if you wish, and there is nothing to stop you installing a modern NTE5 just downstream of it.

OneWickedSon

I agree with Macman, that old Oval connector (suspect it's a GPO BT3 something or other) is best left alone. Get yourself a NTE5 (should be under £6 easily) and fit a main socket. It's not terribly difficult, but if you're not sure, I'd leave it and get someone in. If your phones work now, you can safely leave the wiring as it is to the GPO box (not that you'd go there - you really can't be playing with that). Nothing wrong with modernising your internal extension cabling.

property.advert

But I need to do something with this old oval box because where it is now will be gone come next month and the cable which comes in from the outside has no slack to move to another place.

Surely if it accidentally stopped working, due to old age , they would not be looking for a reason but would simply replace it. Remember, if it doesn't work, they ain't getting their monthly subscription are they ?

iniltous

When you say the line comes in thru the cellar is it an underground feed or do you have a telegraph pole outside and a cable running from it overhead to your property, and its just the 'lead in' that comes in thru the cellar ?
If the way service is provided at the moment is working and you want it shifted due to building work or just not being in a suitable place this can be arranged with OR via your provider,but at a cost, plus its probable that a telco like Sky wouldnt be interested in arranging it, damage it yourself and report it faulty and you take a chance, because as well as being charged for the repair, they may reinstate it exactly as it is ...the small oval block connector is probably where the external cable is changed to internal cable, so if you aked for an upgrade to an NTE5 type master socket it would probably be fitted where the existing block terminal is ( or pretty close to it ) then the cable to your own sockets would be connected to the consumer panel, and any defects on it now or in the future would be your problem....if the cable is overhead and the lead in is to be moved it would a lot less expensive compared to if you have an underground feed ( ducted or direct in the ground ) because if any digging is required the costs could be huge

property.advert

It is an overhead cable which just comes in through the cellar at outside ground level.

My previous experience is that they would simply change the small oval connection for a new NTE5 one as the decision as to whether they get paid has already been made following your call to Sky. I actually think Sky should have sorted it out before I took them on but they have just ignored it as it was working. Now it si broken, they have to fix it !

macman

How is it 'broken? User-inflicted damage will be charged by OR as a minimum call out fee of £130.00.
And even if not, they won't move it FOC, it would be replaced with an NTE5 in situ.

fidododo

property.advert wrote: »

I live in an old house. The wiring for the telephone comes into the property via the cellar and into one of those oval connector things, such as we had when I was a kid decades ago. From there, there is some more modern wiring to non branded sockets.

I need to move this line and would like to get a modern master socket. I guess I could just break it and Sky would send someone to fix it, which would result in it being upgraded but if you talk to Sky, they have no desire to do so of their own volition, if the thing is still working.

My main concern about doing it myself is the fact that I think the wiring from the outside will also be ancient and perhaps that needs replacing as well.

Any ideas as to the best way to approach this ?

Ok i know it may be a bit late for repling to this ,but if you want to save money it's very easy to sort out. Do as we did, cut the phone line outside get a plastic connector box from the likes of Toolstation Part number 33304 cost £1.32 and a connector strip 79740 cost 32p.Connect the old cable to some new cable run it to where ever you want and buy a BT master socket off ebay. No one will be any the wiser.

Mark_In_Hampshire

This page may or may not be of some help, mostly because one of the links explains the legal position, and another shows how to wire your own new socket to another location off the existing kit. An alternative might be cordless phones?

http://beusergroup.co.uk/technotes/index.php?title=No_modern_test_socket_%3F_and_problems_with_domestic_wiring.

Your setup is not dissimilar to ours; the wiring is close to perishing and is pretty decrepit (star wiring, GPO "coffin boxes" etc), and that may or may not be the reason why it can't manage a broadband service.

I did investigate this and was being quoted sums of up to £300 for someone to come round and take out all the obsolete kit and put in a master socket. In the end we just got rid of the line altogether because we have an alternative and so have no need of it.

However since Sky is your line rental provider you'll have to go via them.

No matter how ancient it all is, if it works for voice it's technically fine, it has to break altogether for you to get a free repair and as stated, that won't necessarily mean that the socket will be relocated.

Since we don't have a phone service any more I've been advised, rightly or wrongly, that I can just remove all the wiring myself back to the "dropwire" necessitating a new NTE5 if we ever wanted the line activated again, so in effect for free, but that's a bit of a drastic step (cancel + restart).

If you're not experiencing broadband issues thanks to the wiring, you might find it easier to preserve the wiring as best you can and "make do".

DVardysShadow

fidododo wrote: »

Ok i know it may be a bit late for repling to this ,but if you want to save money it's very easy to sort out. Do as we did, cut the phone line outside get a plastic connector box from the likes of Toolstation Part number 33304 cost £1.32 and a connector strip 79740 cost 32p.Connect the old cable to some new cable run it to where ever you want and buy a BT master socket off ebay. No one will be any the wiser.

Not until they see a Toolstation 33304 and a 79740, at which pint you will have some explaining to do.