Continuous phone connection ?

[darth_skeeter]

My install is next week... trying to figure out how to get my phone connection. I'm trying to avoid the wireless phone route (I'm cheap and haven't seen a wireless set-up for less than $40+S&H) and I don't feel like running a phone line right now (need to learn how first).

When they say "continuous" what do they mean ? I've heard people say they get a message on-screen saying they need to plug their receiver into the phone line for updates. So could I just plug it in every couple of days until I work out the phone line issue ? I just don't want to get dinged with the $5 fee in the meantime.

Thanks.

 

[pbarca]

you will want to have a phone line hooked up if you have caller ID my 522 displays caller info on the screen. hooking up a phone line is easy...be a man run a wire, wireless is junk, especially if your close to your neighbors. the 522 has a screen that pops up if not connected to a phone line advising the $4.99/mo charge.

 

[Liquidforce88]

If you can't handle it let the installer do it. Most know how and will do it for a small fee (alot less than the 150.00 you would pay the phone company to do it).

 

[chaddux]

Technically, "continuously connected" means it must be connected when the receiver makes its monthly call. If you don't purchase PPV, the 522 will ONLY make one call a month and it will be 30 days between each time. (If it connects on xx/16 and it's a 31-day month, it will next connect on xx/15, etc.) As long as it makes the call within 15 days of your bill date, the charge will not appear on your bill. If, for whatever reason, the connection date is not within 15 days of your bill date, it can be manually altered.

 

[Mark_AR]

Anyone can run a single home phone line.

4 wires - Red, Green, Yellow, Black

2 used - Red & Green

Jacks are color coded too. Run it next to or pry the baseboard moulding to hide the wire. You don't have to worry about voltage unless you get a call while you are touching the red & green. You might get a tingle, but it won;t hurt you. I always save the connection to the main box/junction until last.

Take the plunge and you will have phone jacked in every room in no time. Wire is cheap. It runs about 12 cents or less per foot. I buy in 1000 foot rolls and pay 7 cents.

It also doubles as power supply wires to home security cameras too. (solid core) 24 gauge.

If you need help. let me know and I will try to put together a picture tutorial.

Good Luck!

 

[Mark_AR]

I will also be the first to admit that sometimes when a thunderstorm is imminent, I will unplug the line and forget to plug it in for several days. Since I have a timer that fires at 5 AM to turn my 522 on M-F, I sometimes don't get the warning reminder until a weekend. So far I haven't been charged an extra fee. I would rather unplug the phone than have lightning terminate my 522.

 

[griz_fan]

Sheesh, no love for darth_skeeter I can certainly understand not wanting to run phone lines. the wiring part is easy, but running the wire from point A to point B can be quite a challenge, especially for a 2-story house. I wound up using a couple of those power line phone jack extension thingies for both of my recievers, no problem with those other than caller-ID no longer displays on the TV. But, the $60 I spend there was better than what I could get the local phone company and the Dish installer to do it for.
If you'd rather not spend the $60, you could get a long chunk of phone line and plug in your reciever once a week (usually waiting for the nag message). Where I keep my receivers, that would be a big pain, so I opted for the $60

 

[darth_skeeter]

Thanks Mark for the details... I've actually messed with a phone connection and the wires at the box outside to get an old disconnected line running again. My bigger concern is pulling the stupid wires (no fish tape, etc.).

Anyway, I was mainly just trying to buy some time as I love to procrastinate (especially when confronted with new challenges).

Chaddux, thanks for the call timing info. I have no plan to use Pay-per-View and I figured there was some leeway on the hook-up of the line, just couldn't find the details.

I heard DirectTV doesn't ding there customers for not having a phone line hooked up, annoying that Dish does.

 

[KKlare]

Mark_AR: Note the polarity ususally does not matter. The inner pair red+green are use for the "standard" first phone. I do have a line-powered phone that will hang the line after use if it is left on and the line is reversed. Note each extension cord will reverse the connection because they do not swap the wires at one end.

more Mark_AR: Yes, 24 gauge is good. My house came with 28 gauge and there were some weak connections on the long run. Now I remember, trying to get my modem above 28kb with 26/28 gauge was bad, 24 gauge fixed it--pre-cable internet. Now where possible I try to use Cat-5 with its much tighter twist, several per inch instead of one or so. Flat wire has 0 turns/inch and is thus more susceptible to hum, etc. Even with tight twists avoid running the wire near power wiring or parallel to it.

darth_skeeter: It looks ugly but you can run the baseboard for quite a distance. There use to be (50 yrs ago) metal baseboard clips to hold wires. I wanted them for some RCA/speaker wires but cannot find them anymore -- probably outlawed.

BTW, you can use the RJ45 jacks, which is used for Cat-5 Ethernet. Just plug your RJ11 (?) plug carefully in the center. Too bad my Ethernet switch shorts those lines or I could use them for both phone and E-net where that's all I put in.
-Ken

 

[SimpleSimon]

... Note the polarity ususally does not matter. ...

USUALLY being the operative word. Considering the poor quality of the modems in E* boxes, I've found that polarity CAN be an issue.

That being said, I've ALSO run into houses where all jacks were backward - fix at the Network Interface. Sometimes it's because the phone installer did it backwards.

 

[jpezz]

If you're running between floors, don't forget to take advantage of closets. You can run the wire between the floors in the closet without having to worry about the holes and running wire along the inside of the closet at the ceiling by the door works great as it is virtually impossible to see. Paint the cables the same as the closet walls to make them even more invisible (I didn't bother).

From my basement, I ran TV and phone though ceiling to closet.. I cut hole in closet ceiling to get to the wire as patching in closets is easy - nobody sees. Then I ran it along ceiling at front so it couldn't be seen except from inside the closet through the wall to another closet. There I put a splitter in corner with one TV connection going up through ceiling to floor of closet above then up front wall by closet door about a foot high then through wall to box on room wall next o closet door. TV and phone also ran down basement closet wall to box like the upper floor.

You can't see anything unless you take all the clothes out of closet, stand inside and look up to ceiling or on corner of left wall.

JohnP