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OnQ Question - Telephone and CAT Wiring

post #1 of 14
10/10/10 at 1:53pm
Thread Starter 
Just moved into a new home and it's equipped with an OnQ system that handles all of the coax and patch panels at the outlets. After getting into the system box it appears that each of the rooms data port is wired for telephone vice data. Or is the wiring the wiring and the back end in the box that is dictating what is possible?

Here are two pictures:






Could I remove the CAT cable from the top box that is running to the bottom box and plug that into a router? Or do I need to purchase something like this and plug each into a router?

http://www.legrand.us/OnQ/Data/Data-...363486-01.aspx

I'm not familiar with the wiring and 'punch' process, so specifics are appreciated if I'll need to pull wires.
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post #2 of 14
10/10/10 at 3:26pm
The "8 Port Network Interface module" you linked to is what you'll need in the wiring box if you want to convert the cat5 house wiring from 4-line phone to ethernet.

Also make sure that there are RJ45 jacks at the other ends (the wallplates in each room), not just phone jacks.
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post #3 of 14
10/11/10 at 4:41am
Thread Starter 
What do I need to do/can I retain phone connectivity in certain rooms and repurpose others to use the outlet for data as well?

I need to check, but I'm confident that the jacks are RJ-45 v RJ-11.
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post #4 of 14
10/11/10 at 11:56am
The lines connected to the two phone modules you already have will function as phone lines. Any line which you want to function as data jacks will need to be disconnected from the phone module and terminated in the data module which you linked. From the data module, run patch cables to your router or switch.

Are you sure there aren't any unterminated CAT cables anywhere else? Seems like a waste for the builder to go to the trouble of installing a system like that and not run more than one cable to each room. Are there any blank plates in any of the rooms?
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post #5 of 14
10/11/10 at 12:07pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by eskay View Post

The lines connected to the two phone modules you already have will function as phone lines. Any line which you want to function as data jacks will need to be disconnected from the phone module and terminated in the data module which you linked. From the data module, run patch cables to your router or switch.

Are you sure there aren't any unterminated CAT cables anywhere else? Seems like a waste for the builder to go to the trouble of installing a system like that and not run more than one cable to each room. Are there any blank plates in any of the rooms?

I'll have to take off a wall plate to find out, but on the surface each has only a single data jack. Oddly, they each appears to have 3 coax connections...

It appears that if they had of used this slightly different module I could have connected that directly into a router: http://www.volutone.com/ONQ-363484-0...ULE-P4267.aspx

It's the same as my secondary box, but it also has a WAN port. Unfortunately I cannot find it for sale by itself - P/N 364542-01 .

Is there a special tool to removing, and then in turn reseating the wiring?
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post #6 of 14
10/11/10 at 1:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Superman07 View Post

It appears that if they had of used this slightly different module I could have connected that directly into a router: http://www.volutone.com/ONQ-363484-0...ULE-P4267.aspx

It's the same as my secondary box, but it also has a WAN port. Unfortunately I cannot find it for sale by itself - P/N 364542-01 .

No, that wouldn't allow you to plug those into a router... You need one of the RJ45 panels mentioned above.

Quote:


Is there a special tool to removing, and then in turn reseating the wiring?

Removing - no. Pull each wire straight out from the punch down. "Reseating" - you mean "punching down" and yes, you'll need a "punch down tool" with a 110-style blade.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2


Jeff
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post #7 of 14
10/13/10 at 7:49am
Thread Starter 
Is it possible to have the jacks function as either phone or network, or do I need to choose one over the other with some in the current panels and others in the new networking panels?
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post #8 of 14
10/13/10 at 10:01am
With your current block, you have to choose one or the other. There are more patch-panel-like blocks that can replace your existing telco one. You'd terminate each of the station wires with an RJ45, then plug it into either the new telco block, or directly into an Ethernet switch.

Jeff
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post #9 of 14
3/21/11 at 7:00am
Thread Starter 
I finally started to experiment with the wiring this weekend - been too busy until now to attempt anything.

Is there any way I can wire the setup so that I can have the main router in one room (not at the panel) and then additional devices and/or switches in different rooms? Instead of buying a Onq box, would I just need to terminate the wires once pulled from the current box to RJ45 plugs, and then put a ethernet hub down there?
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post #10 of 14
3/21/11 at 7:27am
Mostly correct, you just need a way to send DSL, Cable Internet, whatever your service is to the one room, and in turn send ethernet back down to the panel. From there it gets "split" with a network switch. Do not use a hub. Also yes you can terminate directly to a RJ45 male end, but it is easier to buy a structured wiring patch panel (doesn't have to be an onq, they are almost all the same) because they terminate faster and easier and is just the preferred method.
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post #11 of 14
3/21/11 at 8:12am
Thread Starter 
Well the weird thing - to me anyway - is that before I did anything I hooked a network cable test up to the panel and then tested the outlets in several rooms. I received positive readouts in each of the rooms I test, yet when I hooked the router up to the wall jack and a computer in another room I couldn't resolve an IP address.

Test Power Module-->In on Second Box-->Aux Second Box to Test/Bridge on First Box

I can understand if the system is wired for phone and it not working, but I don't understand why the cable test would give me a positive result, but an actual real test failed to work with the wiring.

Also, since the Verizon router hooks up via Coax, I'd just have that in a room and then LAN to the wall outlet, which should then allow all the other outlets to access the router/internet.
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post #12 of 14
3/21/11 at 10:09am
Because the cable test is just (likely) testing continuity in the line, not the performance of the signal. Assuming you haven't changed anything from the original picture, it's wired for phone, not network. The difference being that in the phone configuration, every line is wired together at the OnQ box. This creates long 'stub' wires which will very likely interfere with any Ethernet attempt...

If you want to run Ethernet, you definitely need to pull those lines off the phone block, punch them into a network block and use patch cables to the switch. If there's enough slack on those lines, yes, you could also terminate them with RJ45 connectors as well (skipping the block and patch cable steps).

Jeff
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post #13 of 14
1/20/13 at 12:57pm
hmm, I have the same dilemma. I currently have a cable going from my router to the line in but I'm not getting any Ethernet signals on any wall jacks.
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post #14 of 14
1/20/13 at 2:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by davegod75 View Post

hmm, I have the same dilemma. I currently have a cable going from my router to the line in but I'm not getting any Ethernet signals on any wall jacks.

Line in where? Into a test plug on a telco block like in the first post? You need to connect those wires to a network block in order to patch it to an Ethernet switch.
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