Can you really install a phone system?

The one-word answer is "probably."

If you're reading this, you're probably comfortable with computers and other electronic devices. You might be involved in electronics as a hobby, or as a business; and that experience can help you with your phone system. Many of our do-it-yourself clients have installed computer networks, and many are doctors or engineers. One is both an electrical engineer and a doctor, but you don't have to be either.

If you've ever installed a basic phone jack, or a speaker for your stereo system, you can probably install a phone system. You have to be able to strip insulation off wire, without cutting the wire.

The best traits you can bring to the job are patience, thoroughness, and good hands and eyes. Even if you've never done any electronics work, but are good with cars or woodworking or plumbing, you'll probably be fine. Be patient, and don't assume you know more than you do.

The installation requires three kinds of work, and you can choose to do some or all of it yourself, depending on time, money, mood and motivation.

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Phase One: Installing Wire,
the "Brute Work"

Whether you are installing new wire or re-using existing wire, it must be in a "home-run" configuration (what computer people call "star topography"), with a direct path from each phone jack to the control unit. In residential construction, "loop-through" wiring is more common, where the circuit passes from one jack to another and another. If you have a loop-through arrangement, you can change some of the connections to reconfigure one or more jacks as home-runs.

If the wire is going into a house or commercial building that already has walls, you'll probably end up with a combination of concealed and exposed wire. In a home, it's common to run wire in attics and basements. In an office, it usually goes above the ceiling tiles. If the space above the tiles is a "plenum" for the building's heating and cooling system, you will need wire with Teflon or similar insulation. It's more expensive than normal vinyl insulation, and a real PITA to work with.

If the system is going to be in a newly-constructed building or a place where there is extensive renovation going on, it's much easier to install the phone wire BEFORE the walls are closed up -- at the same time that the electrical contractor is installing the electrical wiring. You might want to pay the electrical contractor or alarm guy to install the phone wiring, too. Typical charge for this work, before the walls are closed up, is $25 to $50 per jack.

Make sure you or whomever you hire uses REAL phone wire, not just some randomly-selected multi-conductor wire that happens to be in the back of the truck. The wire should be 24-gauge, "twisted-pair," category 3 (sometimes called "level" 3).

Category 5 or 6 wire, which is normally used in computer networks, will also work fine. It is usually more expensive, and a bit harder to use because the wire pairs are twisted together more tightly; but if you have some around or can get a good deal on it, use it.

If your electrical contractor says something like "don't worry, wire is wire," walk away, QUICKLY. The traditional four-conductor wire (green, red, black, yellow) is no longer considered adequate. It should not be used in new installations, but if there is some already in place, it'll probably be OK to re-use.

It's nice to have spare wire for additional devices later on, or to compensate for wire damaged by plumbers or squirrels. If you are running new wire, we recommend 4-pair or 6-pair 24 gauge to each phone location. Wire is cheap to buy. Installing more wire later on is not cheap, and can be very messy. You can buy wire locally or from us. We also sell jacks, terminal blocks, adapters, tools, cable and various hardware at PhoneGeeks.com 

All phones except the KX-T7130 and 7135 (when connected to an ancient KX-T123211D control unit) use normal four-conductor modular jacks -- the same stuff used for standard home phones. If you buy a phone system from us, we'll give you one free jack for each "system" phone. Just ask, and specify wall jack, flush jack, or surface jack.

Digital phones can work on one pair of wires, but need a second pair for the eXtra Device Port on the back of the phone.

If you are replacing an older "electromechanical" phone system that used 25-pair cable, we can provide adapters that will allow you to put modular plugs into the existing "Amphenol" connectors. You can also simply cut off the connectors and attach standard modular jacks to the old cable.
 

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Phase Two: Connecting things to the wires.
You'll need good eyes and hands.

Are you a stripper or a crusher?

Once the wires are in place, you or someone will have to connect jacks to the ends of the wires where the phones will plug in. In most cases, you will connect four wires in each jack, and you'll probably use a wire stripper, a long-nose pliers, a screwdriver, and a wire-cutter. Phone pros don't strip insulation off individual 24-g wires; they crush the insulation with a long-nose pliers, and it slips right off.

The individual wires within the outer jacket are color-coded with an industry-standard pattern. However, this wire pattern does not match the color code used in most phone jacks, so follow this guide:

Wire in Jack	Wire in Wall	NOTE: Some wire has stripes on only half of each pair. For example, you may find a solid blue wire mated with a white wire with blue stripes. CLICK for more on wire color codes.
green	white with blue stripes
red	blue with white stripes
black	white with orange stripes
yellow	orange with white stripes

Make sure that the wires are looped securely around each screw, between the washers, and not caught in the screw threads. Don't remove any more than a minimum amount of insulation, and watch out for short circuits (one bare wire touching two screws, or another bare wire). 

The other ends of all these wires have to connect to the control unit, and the wires supplying phone company dial tone also have to get to the control unit.

The control unit mounts on the wall, and it's usually helpful to mount some plywood on the wall, to hold the control unit and other components. A 2' by 4' piece of  5/8" or 7/8"  plywood should be adequate. Try to mount it so the center is at eye-level, with the wood panel horizontal. Most control units are about the size of a medicine cabinet, and need a nearby electrical outlet. If possible, use an outlet on a circuit that's dedicated for phone system use, only.

Some phone systems have modular jacks for making connections, Some have 25-pair "Amphenol" connectors and use "66-type punch-down blocks" and "25-pair  connectorized cables" to connect to the wires coming from the individual telephone jacks. With a traditional terminal block, you'll need a punch-down tool to attach the wires coming from the phone jack. This is the "professional" method. We can also supply a terminal block with integral modular jacks, so the entire system can be snapped-together. This method is not as flexible, but doesn't require any special tools or expertise.

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Phase Three: Programming the System (not such a big deal)

Phone system programming should really be thought of as two processes: customizing (selecting from hundreds of possible options, such as ringing patterns and toll restriction, to make the system work properly for you) and inputting (dumping in data, such as numbers for automatic dialing and names for Caller ID).

Some systems, such as the KX-TA824, will work just fine, right-out-of-the box, with no programming changes at all. You'll probably want to set the date and time and a few basic options at first, and gradually customize and optimize the system over several weeks, months and years.

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We're here to help you!

When you buy a phone system from AbleComm, you're starting a relationship, not just making a purchase. We'll provide hand-holding via phone, email or fax; and there's no charge for the help!