Converting phone to ethernet

[technewbie]

My new home was prewired with Cat5 for voice and data. I want to convert one of the phone jacks to data (which is what I assume I need to do to plug in my TV to access apps). I have been told that this isn't difficult, but I have no idea what I'm doing. Can anyone explain step by step what I need and how to go about this? I've never done anything like this before, so please simplify as much as possible.

I realize there is at least one other post about this, but I need a little more explanation.

 

[wuench]

First of all, you need to verify the wire is point to point, i.e. you have access to both ends and that the wiring isn't "daisy chained" through other boxes. Assuming that is the case, you just need to terminate both ends. If you buy RJ45 keystones (i.e. Female Jacks) it will have the color coding on there to terminate it properly. It may have two standards labelled 568A and 568B. You just need to make sure you the same standard on both ends of the wire. To use keystones you will need a Cat5 stripper and usually they come with a little plastic punch down tool which is good enough. You just strip the wire and punch down the individual wires with the punch down tool according to the color code on the jack.

Or you can put an RJ45 (male) on one or both ends, again you just need to terminate them the same way using the same standard. You will need a Cat5 stripper, Crimper, and a nice set of wire cutters. You strip the wire, then you need to get the wires in the proper order. Then you use your wire cutters to make sure they are the same length. You insert the wire in the plug and crimp it.

Lastly you should really consider testing, at least doing a wire map test to make sure it is wired correctly. So a beg/borrow/buy a Cat5 tester if you can. Otherwise you can just try to put a PC/Switch on each end and do a bandwidth test (i.e. download a large file) then look for physical errors on the network interface.

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

How are your cables ran to a central wiring closet now? Are they just dangling there? Did the home builder not provide some kind of a termination panel? Where is your internet connection (coax/modem/etc) compared to these cables?

 

[sanders2222]

My 2 cents is the new home should wired correctly. In that case, you don't have to do anything but plug an 8-wire cat5 network cable from your TV to the RJ-45 outlet jack on the wall. Oddly, this jack accepts network cables as well as the 4-wire phone cables that have a standard RJ--M connector and the 6-wire RJ-12 connector.

On the other end (wiring closet), instead of patching this line into a phone distribution panel, you would patch this line to your router/hub.

 

[Del91574]

My 2 cents is the new home should wired correctly. In that case, you don't have to do anything but plug an 8-wire cat5 network cable from your TV to the RJ-45 outlet jack on the wall. Oddly, this jack accepts network cables as well as the 4-wire phone cables that have a standard RJ--M connector and the 6-wire RJ-12 connector.

On the other end (wiring closet), instead of patching this line into a phone distribution panel, you would patch this line to your router/hub.

In a perfect world, I would agree, but my real-world experiences have led me to believe that most electricians make up their own schemes or inproperly terminate the cables, and even though it was suggested before, that little plastic tool that comes with some hardware is worthless for a quality termination. At the big box home improvement stores, a halfway decent punchdown can be had for under $20.

I'd recommend, at a minimum, that the plate be pulled to see how it was terminated to the jack itself, and if it's not punched down or a straight telco jack, replace and reterminate each end, then verify using a tester for no split or crossed pairs.

When it comes to new construction, I have seldom seen a builder bring in a proper LV contractor or EC that has proper qualifications for data cabling in a residence, so nothing can be assumed when it comes to cable integrity and terminations. Just because they "can" academically, doesn't mean that the parties involved were qualified.

For the OP, the basic rules of thumb, such as proper pinouts on both ends, assuming you have a homerun cable with less than 1" total untwist would be a start.