how can i change a phone jack to a cat5e?
i want to change a phone jack to a cat5e. my question is do i need anything additional to do this, or do i need to run new wire or is it as simple as replacing a power outlet? (disconnecting wires from the old one putting them on the new one.) answering these questions and anything else you think might help would be appreciated. P.S. i dont want to just use a converter. THANK YOU
January 27th, 2010 at 10:04 pm
You should run a new line. cat5 wire has 4 twisted prs, phone wire 2 untwisted prs. A cat5 jack has 8pins and a phone jack 4. The phone only uses pins 2&3. the cat5 typically uses 2prs of the 4. Which pins depend on the application. Also the prs in the cat5 are twisted to avoid cross-talk. Technically if you had a gun to your head you could use the 2pr phone wire. you would have to find which 4 pins you need and wire it accordingly. It should work, but if the wire is bridged it won’t. So the up-shot is you’re better off doing it right, and running a new line.
January 27th, 2010 at 10:04 pm
it depends on what is in place – and how it is run…
telephone cable is CAT 3 (but older phone wiring would not be rated)
if your wiring is run from jack to jack – you would not be able to use your telephone wiring as an ethernet network – but you could use your existing wiring for a HPNA network (you would need HPNA network adapters for your PCs
if your wiring is run to a centralized point you could use your existing wiring for your LAN.
most telephone wiring is only 2 pair – while data wiring (CAT 5) is 4 pair – however network wiring only uses 2 pairs of the 4 pairs….
if your wiring is 2 pair CAT3 and run to a centralized location, you can get 10Mbps over it by replacing the jack at either end with a CAT5 jack… you just need to connect to the orange and green pairs of the jack (the blue and brown pairs of the jack are not commonly used for 10/100 networks – unless you are using PoE)
if your wiring is CAT5, and run to a centralized location you just need to replace the jack on both ends of the wire with a CAT 5 jack…. and you will be able to get 10/100 speeds…
you are probably better off just running new wiring to install your network jacks. CAT 5 will support 10/100 networks… if you want a gigabyte network, you will need to run CAT 6 cable with CAT 6 jacks, and use CAT 6 patch cords, as well as gigabyte NIC cards for your PCs and a gigabyte router…. if you are running new – i would recommend running CAT6 to future proof your installation… you can run a 10/100 network over CAT6, and upgrade your hardware as needed… this will be helpful when DOCISS 3.0 cable modem service – and FTTH installations become more popular, and broadband speeds increase beyond 100Mbps…