I want to put a socket upstairs in what is to become my computer room. I
have an old (pre-socket) junction box on the skirting downstairs, which is
fed from the master socket, and which in turn feeds 2 single socket boxes.

The junction box has four wires coming in from master socket.- orange
connected to terminal I shall call 'A', blue connected to 'B' green and
brown not connected. then the 2 socket boxes are connected opposite way
round to each other, ie one is connected A to No 2 and B to No 5, the other
is connected A to No 5 and B to No 2. Does it not make any difference which
way round they are, are phones/modems/PCs not polarity sensitive?

Can I just connect 2 and 5 on my new socket to A and B?

And how come when I took the back off the phone, I found four wires
connected inside it, although only 2 of them can be doing anything once they
get to the socket?


TIA
Steve

In article <d7s0n2$kn2$1@newsg4.svr.pol.co.uk>,
	"shazzbat"  writes:

> I want to put a socket upstairs in what is to become my computer room. I
> have an old (pre-socket) junction box on the skirting downstairs, which is
> fed from the master socket, and which in turn feeds 2 single socket boxes.
> 
> The junction box has four wires coming in from master socket.- orange
> connected to terminal I shall call 'A', blue connected to 'B' green and
> brown not connected. then the 2 socket boxes are connected opposite way
> round to each other, ie one is connected A to No 2 and B to No 5, the other
> is connected A to No 5 and B to No 2. Does it not make any difference which
> way round they are, are phones/modems/PCs not polarity sensitive?


Domestic phone apparatus is not supposed to be sensitive to polarity.
However, some things are, particularly some caller display units or
modems with caller display function built in. If you don't want to
use the caller display function, then it probably doesn't matter.


> Can I just connect 2 and 5 on my new socket to A and B?
> 
> And how come when I took the back off the phone, I found four wires
> connected inside it, although only 2 of them can be doing anything once they
> get to the socket?


You have got a bodged install. The pin 3 signal is generated by the
master socket, and should be connected to all sockets too. Some
phones use the ring signal from this, so if it's missing, some
phones can't ring. Pin 4 is a ground connection, but regular
domestic phone apparatus doesn't need it. It was used on old
party lines and is used in some BABX systems for earth recall,
but is never connected in a domestic installation nowadays.

-- 
Andrew Gabriel

shazzbat wrote:

> I want to put a socket upstairs in what is to become my computer
> room. I have an old (pre-socket) junction box on the skirting
> downstairs, which is fed from the master socket, and which in turn
> feeds 2 single socket boxes.
>
> The junction box has four wires coming in from master socket.- orange
> connected to terminal I shall call 'A', blue connected to 'B' green
> and brown not connected. then the 2 socket boxes are connected
> opposite way round to each other, ie one is connected A to No 2 and B
> to No 5, the other is connected A to No 5 and B to No 2. Does it not
> make any difference which way round they are, are phones/modems/PCs
> not polarity sensitive?
>
> Can I just connect 2 and 5 on my new socket to A and B?
>
> And how come when I took the back off the phone, I found four wires
> connected inside it, although only 2 of them can be doing anything
> once they get to the socket?
>
>
> TIA
> Steve


Steve,

Would this link be any help?

http://www.telephonesuk.co.uk/wiring_info.htm

Brian G

"shazzbat"  wrote in message 
news:d7s0n2$kn2$1@newsg4.svr.pol.co.uk...

>I want to put a socket upstairs in what is to become my computer room. I
> have an old (pre-socket) junction box on the skirting downstairs, which is
> fed from the master socket, and which in turn feeds 2 single socket boxes.
>


Are you sure the junction box is not feeding the master socket?

Adam