In reply to a post by MHC:

Rubbish. As most of the current tends to flow on the outer layers of each strand - skin effect, then a straded cable will offer a lower impedance than a solid one. However, overall an Cat5e or Cat 6 cable should be able to provide full inspec operation over a length of up to 100m - and that applies to both stranded and solid.

Unfortunately this is also rubbish. A regular stranded cable where the individual stands are not insulated from each other will act in a similar way to a solid wire of the same overall dimension since eddy currents can flow between the strands.

In reply to a post by ukhardy07:

doing it the way the op has will cause an openreach engineer to frown.

It was the original openreach engineer who did the original run when my fibre was first installed.

Would a CAT5 socket work better than terminating into a plug ?
Or can you link to a data connection socket ?

Thanks

I would personally get a socket move done but that's just me, I always say do it once, do it right. BT have offered to move mine for free at my new home.

Alternatively I would have a CAT5 socket yes, and an RJ11 cable out of that.

In reply to a post by MrPete:

In reply to a post by ukhardy07:

doing it the way the op has will cause an openreach engineer to frown.

It was the original openreach engineer who did the original run when my fibre was first installed.

Which is exactly what MrSaffron, myself, and at least one other have described to you as the purpose of that IDC connection inside. To run a data extension cable.

So I suggest you stop being so arty-farty and thinking yourself clever than all of us - you through ignorance have undone a perfectly good installation and done yourself no good at all.

With luck, neither have you caused any degradation.

Assuming you have completely disconnected that engineer-installed extension, that is all you have achieved, with no benefit at the master socket.

If instead you are now connecting that extension to some other point for some purpose, I don't think you have at all compromised the setup. But without physically seeing the installation that's impossible to know.

Out of interest, did that extension have a filtered extension socket, or just a DSL one?

He didn't/doesn't need a socket move. He didn't need to alter anything . Just plug into the master DSL socket, with a higher quality than normal DSL cable if he wished.

Which is what his opening post was asking! He simply chose to ignore the replies and make home-made connections with a cable he has apparently made up himself. As opposed to a factory made one.

or what?

When the fibre was first installed, I had a CAT5E cable running from the front of the house to the dining room terminated on a CAT5E socket. At the time that cable wasn't being used.

When BT turned up they asked where I wanted the modem, I advised it prefer it in the dining room .

The engineer used my cable.. he connected the blue pair to the IDC and plugged the modem in to the CAT5E socket.

I've now moved the modem to a few feet from the master socket. Ideally I'd prefer not to used the external socket for the connection as that will leave a trailing cable.

So I've come off the IDC and terminated that on a plug, using a plug that supports solid wire.

It's easy enough to change the plug to a socket and patch into that, but my initial query was whether there was any difference in the two connectors available.

Which I've been advised there isn't.

I do appreciate the advice given.
Thanks

What some people are forgetting is the telephone connection which you are extending is analogue (voice) not digital (ethernet).

You should be using stranded patch cable not solid wire.

If you check the power supply cable to the modem you will see that it is stranded not solid for similar reasons.

That makes no sense - electrically or otherwise, wiring is agnostic as far as waveform is concerned (within limits!) and as has been pointed out ad nauseam, the extension is to a *DSL modem or modem/router. No mention of a handset.

The modem is acting as a handset

Mr Pete, if you were to terminate the extension cable into a patch socket, it would indeed look 'nice' and satisfy the installation pedants, however, you would also be introducing another three interconnections which have the potential for corrosion, oxidisation or plain old aging, along with the existing connections you already have. So if you can live with the apparently jarring aesthetics (to some) the current number of interconnects and therefore potential points of failure are lower than they would be if you were to change the status quo. Whatever you decide, it's not going to 'break the internet', is it?