Wiring a new phone jack-

So, wether you knew it or not, Ive been MIA for the past month due to moving. ;; I have managed to slip in a sarcastic comment here and there from work, and then when I leach off my neighbors wireless signal. ;; But I havent been able to play xbox online - which sucks! ;; The ISP guy came out, determined that my new place has shitty wiring. ;; He would have to run new wire and install a new jack. ;; That would cost me approximately $200, if no problems arose and more time wasnt needed. ;; I said, "Um, how hard is it to hook up to the incoming line?" ;; I mean the line that the ISP provides, where I get dial tone basically. ;; Turns out, its super easy, you just unhook the old wires and hook up the new ones.

So, ofcourse, I say to myself, "Self, you can do this and do it better!" ;; I know you all know that Tim Allen grunt in the back of your head. ;; The one that convinces you that you are smarter than you really are. ;;

The game plan: Install a new phone jack that has two ports, one for the modem and one for my wireless phone. ;; Yes they will sit right next to each other, but wireless router is 2.4Ghz and the wireless phone is 5.8Ghz. ;; Shouldnt be a problem. ;; Then next to that, install a network jack, run wire down under the hallway and up to the living room behind the TV. ;; Install another jack there. ;; This will make the wife very happy because she wont trip over the patch cable I continually run across the hallway. ;; Simple right? ;; Well, really it is, but Im a novice.

Well, hassle number 1. ;; I moved into a duplex. ;; The crawlspace opening is under the other half of the duplex. ;; Yes, that means that I have to crawl all the way from under his house, just to get to mine, and then ofcourse I have to go 3/4 of the way through mine to get to the spot. ;; Awesome. ;; Im still going strong though. ;; I can do it.

So I go to Frys, get the wire (and damn if you can find just plain Cat 3 wiring), so I just buy Cat 5. It was only $40 for 100 meters. ;; I will only use about 1/2 that and then I dont have to buy wire for the networking side of things. ;; I pick up the dual port phone jack, two RJ-45 keystone jacks and two one slot face plates for those jacks. ;; I also grab some networking wire hangers (the ones with a little plastic bracket attached to a nail), and a punch-down tool for wiring the jacks. ;; Sweet, Im set. ;; I go over to Home Depot, pick up 3 plastic wall boxes and a small drywall saw. ;;

At this point, Im amped up. ;; I get my box of cable, a hammer and the hangers. ;; I figure I will get under there, run the wire to the approximate spot and them come back up for a break and reassess the situation. ;; So under I go. ;; Flashlight in hand, I am barracaded by a wall of spiderwebs on any side. ;; No big deal, I knock stuff down with the hammer and keep moving. ;; I instanly see the problem with the original wiring in the house. ;; Its your basic "flat grade" wire, and there is a spot where about 20 feet is just wrapped around a cold water pipe connected to another wire by a coupling. ;; And not a good one, just one of those $0.99 ones you buy to get by. ;; But whatever, all the landlord has to do is provide dialtone, right... ;;

So I start crawling in this 3 foot space. ;; Run some wire out a crawlspace vent to the spot where the phone panel is. ;; Then I start working my way back. ;; Everything is going smooth, then I hit a heater duct. ;; Hmmm, maybe I can make it. ;; So I squeeze under it, just barely and keep moving. ;; Sweet. ;; I see some piping up ahead, but we will worry about that when we get up there. ;; Well, I should have worried about it sooner. ;; I get up there and cant quite get under it. ;; I get half way and almost get myself stuck. ;; But I breathed out deep and managed to squeeze through again (damn Im glad Im a skinny runt). ;; So, I get to the approximage spot and then head back up to the surface. ;; It only took me about an hour and a half to run the wire. ;; But I must say, after about an hour, that $200 wasnt looking so bad.

DAY 2:
Alright, Im ready now, Ive got my wireless drill charged up, a new 1" drill bit that looks mean, and some other stuff. ;; I put everything in a plastic box so I can easily slide it around under the house. ;; Heres what Ive got: Drill, drill bit, tape measure, wire hanger, needlenose pliers, wire cutters, duct tape, walkie talkie. ;; I have my wife home now, so I use her to guide me under the house. ;; I take measurements from walls, and guesstimate where I will need to drill. ;; Luckily, once Im under the house, I can use a conduit pipe as a guide to where to drill in the first wall. ;; I put box holes in the corner on opposing walls. ;; Once I got under there though, I reallized that I would have to drill through 3 layers of 2x4s to get in to the wall. ;; So Im going to have to patch a hole now. ;; But I get my spot and start drilling. ;; And drilling. ;; And drilling. ;; Bit is smoking, and getting stuck. ;; Hmmm, not good. ;; The wood was really hard and the bit I bought was this new "boaring" type of bit that was too aggressive for the wood. ;; It pretty much drains the battery on my drill. ;; Damn. ;; Back up to the surface. ;;

I make a run over to by buddies house and borrow his set of drill bits, and a wired drill and extension cord. ;; I get back to my place and head back under. ;; I drag along his drill and a few more drill bits for a variety of options should I need it. ;; Well, the wired drill made all the difference. ;; Way more power! ;; I get a good hole and have my wife lower some string down. ;; Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you - I wanted to put the router and modem up high ontop of a cabinet in the kitchen. ;; So I cut holes about 7 feet high on the wall - another bright idea from yours truely. ;; Well, I have my wife drop string down a hole with a nut attached to it for weight. ;; And miraculously I reach up with the wire hanger and am able to pull the string through the hole!!!! I attach the cable, wrap some duct tape around it for security and up it goes. ;; We then repeat the process and send up a second wire. ;; Alright, halfway done. ;;

Now to find the hole for the living room wall. ;; Its only about 5 feet over and 2 feet back. ;; I have my wife measure from above, I measure from below; should be good. ;; I start to drill, and about the point I think I should be breaking through my wife yells, "STOP!" ;; Uh oh. ;; I was off by about an inch and a half and was drilling up into the carpet and baseboard. ;; Its not too noticable though and it will be behind the TV anyways. ;; Lets just hope he doesnt notice when I move out. ;; So I drill a new hole and run the wire up and out. ;; Mission accomplished.

As Im getting things packed up I see where our TV cable lines come up through the carpet. ;; Its not at all where the TV is, so I cut those and drag them over to behind the TV hole and run them up. ;; I will install a new cable jack there while Im at it. ;; Sweet, now all that is left is putting in the jacks.

DAY 3:
I get home from work today and start on the jacks right away. ;; It takes me a practice round on some spare wire to figure out how to hook up the network RJ45 jacks, but I manage alright. ;; After a couple hours, its done! ;; My wireless router and modem now sit proudly up and out of the way and everything is working like a champ. ;; My download and upload numbers are very strong so Im happy. ;;

Here are some pics of the (mostly) finished work:

On top of the cabinet. ;; You can easily see the hole I will have to patch. ;; Not a problem though, done it lots of times.


Look at those jacks - kick ass!


This is where they are in the kitchen.


And here is behind the TV