Connecting my Elk to Home phone distribution and RJ31X

[Swancoat]

I understand there's a lot of questions around connecting the Elk to the RJ31X, and I've found a lot of threads explaining it, but of course, I think my situation has just enough of a small twist that I need more help.

My builder installed a home phone distribution hub in my house, which includes an output for 'security' (pic attached). Is it a fair assumption that this also contains the RJ31X functionality?

If so, I assume I can just wire up that Cat5 in the 'security' jack to the Elk and be done with it (without using Elk's included RJ31 adapter, etc...).

So my next question is: Which wires are which in the Cat5? I know I only need 4 of them. (The line from the phone company and the line from the pictured hub to the security panel are both wired T568A).

I ASSUME that Tip and Ring are Blue and w/Blue (does it matter which is which?), and I also assume than that T1 and R1 are Orange and w/Orange (again, does it matter which is which?).

Is this correct? Am I way off and have to do something totally different, like install Elk's RJ31X?

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[video321]

Have you looked up the manual on that hub? All the 31X does is jumper the pins for the phone line when the Elk phone line is removed.
What you need to verify is that the telco line from the demarc hits the alarm panel first, then distributes that signal to the rest of the phones.

edit...just noticed there is a switch for the security jack so that tells me it will do exactly what the 31X does.

 

[Swancoat]

No manual for that hub. I can't find a model no. and googling everything On-Q has doesn't seem to bring it up.

Even the manuals I have found on these things aren't explicit to what pinouts to use when you use Cat5. I'm guessing Tip/Ring is the blue pair and T1/R1 is the orange pair (largely because they're the center pairs and look backwards compatible with the old style smaller phone jacks.

 

[Sandpiper]

No manual for that hub. I can't find a model no. and googling everything On-Q has doesn't seem to bring it up.

Even the manuals I have found on these things aren't explicit to what pinouts to use when you use Cat5. I'm guessing Tip/Ring is the blue pair and T1/R1 is the orange pair (largely because they're the center pairs and look backwards compatible with the old style smaller phone jacks.

Correct. T/R is the blue pair, blue being R and blue/white being T, but it really doesn't matter. If you swap the pair leads everything will still work. The phone companies around here don't even pay attention to that anymore.

T1/R1 is the orange pair. I'm quite sure the OnQ panel acts like a RJ31X, but an RJ31X doesn't have a switch like that. I'm guessing the switch just bypasses the security jack altogether. Here is my guess as to how the panel is wired internally. The phone circuit goes from the Line-in to the Security jack. If you plug something in the Security jack, the phone pair goes to the alarm panel (on T/R), then back to the security jack on the second pair (T1/R1), the second pair is then connected to the 8 jacks on the left. If nothing is plugged in the security jack, or the the switch is "ON", the phone pair is connected from the Line-in directly to the set of 8 jacks on the left.

That would make the most sense to me.

 

[video321]

You're probably correct in that they follow 568A. In any case blue & blue/wh. would be T/R and eiher the orange or green pair (depending if your cable is 568A/B ) would be T1/R1. Hook it up you won't damage anything.

edit...if I had waited just a minute I could have posted this guy - :hesaid:

 

[mustangcoupe]

I would guess it is close to this product, but that does not match the typical wiring of the tia standards...

http://www.legrand.us/onq/videovoice/voice-modules/tm7554.aspx

but as said above the other wires being unused it shouldnt hurt anything, it just wont work right..

 

[Swancoat]

Awesome. That's largely what I suspected, but it feels good to get some confirmation.

Next thread will be about these damn keypads...

 

[tmbrown97]

I did help someone with that module a good year or so ago - it isn't as automatic as an RJ31X in that if you're not using a security system you need to flip that switch otherwise you'll have no dialtone on the other phones.

The way it should work is that the dialtone comes in on the center-most pins - and goes to your alarm panel. If you have an alarm panel connected, it returns the dialtone on the outermost pins (on an 8-conductor plug) which the OnQ module puts back on the center pins for the rest of the jacks. The rest aren't used. If you don't have an alarm panel installed, you need to jumper pins 1 and 4 as well as 5 and 8 to get the dialtone back for the rest of the phones (that's what the switch does).

It makes no difference which wiring standard you follow as long as you use straight-through cables (the same on both ends);

 

[Swancoat]

So I shouldn't use orange and w/orange but rather the outermost brown and w/green?

I'll test and report back.

 

[tmbrown97]

FYI, here's a manual for that module and it does show the pinout on Page 2.
Amplified Combo Module, Installation Sheet, IS-0266

OnQ Product Page:
http://www.legrand.us/onq/videovoice/combo-modules-and-kits/364725-04.aspx

 

[Swancoat]

Outstanding. Thank you! (as you can tell, I still hadn't got around to testing this).

I forgot about that video module. It's just a seperate piece held on with two screws and I removed it on day one. (Which is probably why I couldn't find the thing on On-Q's site. I wasn't looking for a combined module.