Splitting the DSL and POTS

Yes, do this. I put one inside the line feeding the house. I had to splice in some RJ11 cable to use the splitter. That and I ran one line to the DSL modem ahead of the splitter. This way all outlets in the house are already filtered and I don't have to worry about who's plugging what into where. Yes, if I move the DSL modem then I'd have to rearrange things.

Now like THAT'S a surprise...

There's probably something that can be bought that uses screw or 110 terminals but why bother? It's just as easy to just cut up an RJ11 cable and use them to rig up a jumper to use one of the supplied splitters.

Run with or run on the same pairs? There's a difference. If you're talking about there being other POTS handsets on the same phone line then each would have to have their own splitter. If you're talking about the DSL being on a different pair in a 4 pair cable then the answer's no. The DSL modem needs a clear unfiltered signal to it. It likewise will not work (well) if there are any POTS devices anywhere on it's same line (pair) that aren't filtered.

I'd suggest running a line directly to the DSL modem. Or move the DSL modem to a place that's conventient and run a CAT5 ethernet line to the rest of your network. The modems are generally 'set and forget' and don't need any operator attention. Just put it so you can see the LEDs and power cycle it should it lock up (unlikely but possible).

-Bill Kearney

Phil,

You might check out this site.

Hope this helps.

Thanks to all for the great information.

Bill, My phone wiring in my house is set up in a Star Topology fashion. Each phone outlet has it's own CAT5e cable. I did it this way so I could use the outlet as Ethernet or POTS, not both at once. There is more than one outlet in each room with two CAT5e cables to it. So would it be better to run the DSL cable, CAT5e, from the splitter to the modem which I'd like near my router, or put the modem near the splitter, which will be in a different room, and run CAT5e from the modem to the router. I hope I'm getting this explained correctly. The reason I ask this is, the cable, whether it's carrying DSL or Ethernet data will have to run in close proximity to several 120v house cables for several feet. Will the EMF from the 120v cabling effect DSL signal more adversely that it will the Ethernet signal. In my experience, the Ethernet doesn't seem to be effected by the closeness of 120v house wiring.???

Thanks again.

I have SBC/Yahoo DSL and as I already had a sec> I recently signed up for SBC DSL and received this box with filters to be

There are a couple of solutions offered at

Good, this means you've got 4 pairs running to each outlet. You can, and many people do, run more than just one thing inside that bundle of cables. Regular 10 and 100BaseT ethernet only requires two pair (4 wires) and as such leaves two other pairs free. Perfect for splitting out and running a POTS device like a handset. Granted, things like Gig-Ethernet require all 4 pair so be careful about painting yourself into a corner. Most home applications are unlikely to exceed 100Mb to each star location so it could be considered reasonable to stick with CAT5. Never say never though...

Technically you could. It'd require splitting out the wiring behind the wall jack.

Look at it this way, the DSL modem does not generally require ANY front panel interaction. Same thing can be said of your typical home NAT router (netgear, linksys, etc). That and Ethernet can be run up to 375' from device to device. So how about you put the DSL modem in a place near the NID and run a single ethernet to wherever you've got your switches setup to distribute out along your star? This way you can filter ALL OTHER telephone lines with one and only one main filter for the entire house.

You don't need the DSL modem to be near anything else. Granted, things like power backup may come into play. If that's the case then, frankly, it's usually just best to run a single line directly from the NID to the desired location for the DSL modem and be done with it.

There shouldn't be all that much RF noise from the electrical wiring anyway. So, in general, it's not terribly important to got to extra lengths to avoid them being close. However, there's no harm in playing it safe and guarding against future technologies that might BE suceptible to AC line noise interference. 120V wiring is supposed to be run in specific ways as is CAT5E for networking. That alone would tend to avoid the problem as well. "Should be" versus actual, of course, varies.

-Bill Kearney