replace ancient 25pair Dmark?

It would be the telco's responsibility to replace that, and they will likely charge you for it. They can sometimes get testy if the end user replaces it...and there are legalities involved, too.

Take care, Rich

God bless the USA

Thanks, I guess I will move the whole Dmarc for now. It's tempting to do it anyways, but I know if we have a problem later, the phone company will give me a hassle.

I'll have to take some pictures. Randy R

Technically, I'm not even certain you can do that.

And the problem is I don't know who you can call to get an honest answer whether you can or not. If you call the telco they are, of course, going to say 'no.'

Take care, Rich

God bless the USA

Randy,

You can always find the materials from Graybar

I was in a similar situation with a messy demarc, so I simply 'cleaned' it for telco an then made a clean x-connect to my new RJ21x block.

A similar recommendation for you is to 'clean' up the telco block then run a 25pair cable from the existing block to the new location where you want to mount the RJ21x.

Regards, GD

Is a RJ21x block just a 66M block with a female Amphenol-type connector like this?

(This is what I was thinking about replacing the NID with )

The wall where the old "bloc" is located is being demolished and rebuilt. It is a partition wall between the store room and the front of the store. The cable isn't attached to the wall at any point, so I could disconnect the premise wiring, knock out the drywall around it and pull it back up through the ceiling and drop it back down where I want it to go.

Randy R

Here is a picture of the corner where this stuff is:

(I will take some closeups tomorrow with the box open.) The wall on the right is being demolished (there is no drywall on the other side of the wall.) The box under the APC UPS is the "NID", though there is another one connected to it.

Randy R

One thing you want to make sure of as you proceed with this project, is that whoever did most of the wiring shown in the picture should *not be allowed near* the new wiring until it is finished.

Yeah, I figure I can't do worse than the tech that put in the IVR (where most of the wiring on that picture comes from.)

The way the IVR is hooked up, it seizes the lines using RJ31x jacks, I think because I don't have a real phone system. I plan on buying a real phone system and install it in a rack, and I hope I can bypass that mess and connect everything with cat5e. That's why it would be nice to have a 66block with rj45 jacks.

Randy R

Randy R

Randy,

Can you say what city/state this work is at?

I am uploading pictures to

anyone identify the box in the first 2 pictures? I guess technically there's nothing wrong with it, except it would be nice if it had newer wire connected to it.

I had to make one connection between the newer NID and the DSL modem when I moved the modem to the back room. (It used to be connected directly to the server.) Is there any reason not to use wire from a piece of cat5 cable for cross-connects?

Randy R

State of Confusion?

EC&M magazine has a NEC column -"What's Wrong Here"? Here's a sample url:

I suggest the OP submit his photo. :)

Cute! I can only claim responsibility for the network part of it. The only big problem I see with it is that the power cables aren't particularly neat. When I did it I knew it was mostly temporary because we have been planning the remodel for a few years. When it is going to be redone, it will all go in a rack, and the cables will go into conduit.

I have another question. Since this is by the back door, I am a little concerned with humidity and weather causing problems with punchdowns and equipment. Should I spend the extra money to put it all in an enclosed rack? Or would maybe it would be cheaper to build a closet around the networking, telephone and power? Of course there's no closet in the blueprints so that would have to be done after the inspector leaves I guess...

Randy R

That is the "old style" (predecessor to a '66 block') termination for a multi-pair cable. It's a bit 'unusual' in that it only has 16 pairs on it,

25 pairs is much more common. It is, by definition, the "DEMARC", where the telco responsibility for wiring ends, and yours begins.

the only thing it doesn't provide -- that a modern 'NID' does -- is the modular-jack _disconnect_ for testing only telco wiring. With this beastie, you have to physically disconnect the wires from the screw posts, and use alligator clips to attache the test instrument. Big deal.

The big cable coming in at the left-bottom of the box is the multi-pair from the telco. all the stuff 'on top' with the 'binding nuts' (dunno what the proper name for them is) that comes out through the right-bottom opening is, technically, _your_ wire. You can replace/upgrade/clean-up any/all of that as you see fit.

It looks like the 'newer NID' is wired _through_ the 16-pair box, Technically, you now own that box -- the telco _gave_ it to you. it is there simply to provide you with the modular-jack test-point--so they don't have to dispatch a tech to check for line problems. Note: the way the laws read, because your DEMARC is that old-style post block -- *not* the new box they installed -- they cannot charge you for a service call if they do have to send somebody out to diagnose a problem that turns out to be in your wiring.

Note: I _think_ that if you request it, the telco will come out and install modular-jack NID(s) _at_no_cost_to_you_. You might want to investigate this.

Absolutely no reason not to. It is much more expensive than the stuff sold for the purpose, but if you've got cat{anything} scraps laying around, that is a good way to put them to use. Telco phone wire is 'cat 1' -- anything rated that high, or higher, is suitable.

Thanks. That might be one way to get them out here to move the wiring too (their side of it.) I am waiting for the contractor to put up a wall where the network and telco stuff is going to so I can put up a rack and start moving everything.

Randy R

Well, unless you're in some very extreme weather location, I wouldn't worry about it. This kind of stuff lives in wet basements, garages, etc. If it's located in habitable space even the electronic eqpt shouldn't have any problems. Depending on location, I'd worry about physical damage - people carrying big boxes, clothing snagging, etc. A wall or closet is nice since it keeps people from piling stuff in front and blocking access.

I talked to the contractor today about building a closet. I think it's a good idea because this room is going to be the store room for the pharmacy. It would also be nice to be able to add an aditional layer of security to the CCTV/DVR system and the alarm.

Randy R

Wow - at least this is a bit neater: