dsl splitters

what are the advantages of using a splitter over filters?
where can i get a all weather splitter?

 

By "splitter", I assume you mean a whole-house filter, like they used to do back in the early DSL days-- DSL signal is filtered from your entire premises wiring, with a single, unfiltered line run to your computer room. That's the way mine is, and I was also lucky enough to find one left behind in an HVAC closet of an office I once leased. You may be able to find one on eBay. Or ask a phone company guy on the street somewhere-- chances are he may have de-installed one, and might just give it to you, since they don't really use them all that much any more. There are now some cool compact modular ones out there, too, that look like they fit right in the NID.

 

I highly doubt they will give you on for free. But on average a "nid filture" will run 30-50 dollars.
Plus side of outside "nid filture"
Much less likely to have issues with dsl signal strengh
don't have to have a filture on all individual phones

Downfalls
Will require a tech to come out if moving computer to different area/different phone jack.
If done by yourself, most dsl providers are very unlikly to be very helpful troubleshooting over the phone as they are likely to blame it on your install of the nid filture.

Dslreports.com is a good place for dsl filtures and how to's and explation for nid filtures and what not. Probably worth a visit if your still interested. BTW NID = network interface device (the box where your phone server/dsl enters the house

 

You'd be surprised at what phone techs will hand over without batting an eye or requiring a signature. To date, I have three NIC cards, a DSL filter, and two DSL modems with no strings attached. Any equipment they don't have to account for, or that's considered obsolete, is up for grabs. All things considered, I'd rather have a dedicated unfiltered (CAT5E) line running to my modem than a bunch of filters all over the house, even if it meant pulling cable in the event of a move.

 

Yes doug, but you gotta list all the arguements, not everyone is capable of pulling their on cable and many people rely on tech support from there isp. I can tell you right now if any of our customer called after running such a setup that wasn't done professionaly with contracted people, wouldn't get much or any support.

 

let's clarify.
the nid is about 10 feet from where i want the computer.
i plat to run the cable from the NID along the outside wall.
the real problem is coming up with the splitter and most important how to terminate the end. do i wire it to a standard phone jack?

can you explain how to wire the jack?

 

With DSL, there's nothing special about it. The DSL signal will appear at every jack in the house -- unless you filter it out from all but the one the modem's attached to.With some companies, the installer will wire the DSL jack with the wire pair on the oustside two of the four wires (AKA on the Bk-Yw pair), but that depends on the TelCo. I think you may be making more of the story than is actually necessary.

 

that's the problem, there will be no installer.
i got my self install kit with 4 filters.
the problem is that the jack is about 30 feet from my computer.
if i go through the outside wall it will only be 10 or so feet to the NID.

 

If you go with the self-install kit, there's no jack wiring to be done-- the modem will plug into the standard jack already in the room. They should have supplied one filter that has two jacks-- one filtered, one unfiltered, so that a phone can still be used at the jack used for the DSL.

If you are able to obtain a whole-house filter, there will be a diagram inside the cover showing what's necessary. It's very straightforward. There are 6 screw terminals inside-- 3 pair, actually. One pair for the wire coming from the NID-- you'll have to cut the main wire on the house side of the interface-- one pair going to (reconnecting) your house wiring, and one pair for the DSL wire run.

In the old days, installers used to wire the DSL jack on the outer (black/yellow) pair to prevent using a phone in it. The modem was also wired to use the outer pair, or there was a special cable supplied to connect the modem's inner pair to the outer on the jack. In your case, if you get a whole-house filter hooked up, you can, and should, use the standard inner pair (red/green) on the DSL jack.

 

what does "ring" and "tip" mean?
can i treat the dsl cable as AC or must i observe polarity?

 

Tip and ring are arcane telephone terms referring to the plugs operators used on manual switchboards. Think of any two-conductor phone-type plug-- one wire is connected to the "tip", and the other to the shaft or "ring" of the plug. Phone installers remembered which was which and physical orientation by the mnemonic aid "red ring right (green tip left)".

You can freely disregard polarity, but I always prefer to follow a standard wiring technique anyway. When using CAT5 cable for telephonic applications, the white-dominant wire of the color-coded pair is considered tip.

 

what about surge protection?
what steps should i take to insure my computer isn't fried by phone line surges?

 

If you mean in reference to a whole-house filter, your NID should already be grounded with a heavy wire to either a grounding stake, or some other grounded pipe. The filter will be on the house side of the NID, but you should still take whatever precautions make you comfortable, just as you would with any other device susceptible to damage from voltage surges. In some cases it doesn't matter what you do-- my Dad knows first-hand that lightning can jump across a grounded NID.