bridge tap?

[joe.user0@lycos.com]

My apartment has two phone wall jacks. They
are not chained, both come straight from the
phone box for the entire building.

This is apparently called a bridge tap.
Effectively, it is delaying my DSL
installation. I want to deal with it now
without waiting weeks for the telco to take
action.

What would happen if I open one of my two
phone jacks and short-circuit the wires?
Strictly technical, forget the legal aspects.

[Robert Redelmeier]

joe.user0@lycos.com <joe.user0@lycos.com> wrote in part:
> My apartment has two phone wall jacks. They are not
> chained, both come straight from the phone box for the
> entire building.

> This is apparently called a bridge tap. Effectively, it
> is delaying my DSL installation. I want to deal with it
> now without waiting weeks for the telco to take action.

> What would happen if I open one of my two phone jacks and
> short-circuit the wires? Strictly technical, forget the
> legal aspects.

Wiki has a nice article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_tap

If it isn't too long, a simple DSL filter might sufficiently
terminate the unused run. You'd need one anyways to connect
voice devices. Star wiring in modern construction is very similar,
as is attaching to the middle of the traditional daisy chain.

-- Robert

[Steve]

Joe,
if you short the wiring on one jack you will kill the dial tone on the
other, assuming they are tied together at the telco underground. Have your
telco tech install the filter at the UG (underground) for the 2nd
phone/jack, better yet put the DSL on another pair, most newer apartments
are wired with 4 Pair and typically use the W-Bl (white-blue) pair for the
tel line, so you could use the W-Br (white-brown) pair for the DSL, make
sure they put the filter at the UG, the phone tech can figure it out, while
they are out have them check for BT (bridge tap) on the telco cable, there
is almost always end tap at apartments. What telco do you have, Qwest DSL
techs use a 3M 965DSP with TDR (time domain reflectometer) for checking for
BT, make sure they use it and not some old "kick meter" from the 40's! The
Sidekick meter is no good for DSL either, lots of techs like them because
they are fast, fine for analog but no good for digital service.
Steve

<joe.user0@lycos.com> wrote in message
news:334b41a0-39e3-454d-8fb7-286d2f70f618@w56g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
> My apartment has two phone wall jacks. They
> are not chained, both come straight from the
> phone box for the entire building.
>
> This is apparently called a bridge tap.
> Effectively, it is delaying my DSL
> installation. I want to deal with it now
> without waiting weeks for the telco to take
> action.
>
> What would happen if I open one of my two
> phone jacks and short-circuit the wires?
> Strictly technical, forget the legal aspects.

[geo]

>Joe,
> if you short the wiring on one jack you will kill the dial tone on the
>other, assuming they are tied together at the telco underground. Have your
>telco tech install the filter at the UG (underground) for the 2nd
>phone/jack, better yet put the DSL on another pair, most newer apartments
>are wired with 4 Pair and typically use the W-Bl (white-blue) pair for the
>tel line, so you could use the W-Br (white-brown) pair for the DSL, make
>sure they put the filter at the UG, the phone tech can figure it out, while
>they are out have them check for BT (bridge tap) on the telco cable, there
>is almost always end tap at apartments. What telco do you have, Qwest DSL
>techs use a 3M 965DSP with TDR (time domain reflectometer) for checking for
>BT, make sure they use it and not some old "kick meter" from the 40's! The
>Sidekick meter is no good for DSL either, lots of techs like them because
>they are fast, fine for analog but no good for digital service.
>Steve

><joe.user0@lycos.com> wrote in message
>news:334b41a0-39e3-454d-8fb7-286d2f70f618@w56g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
>> My apartment has two phone wall jacks. They
>> are not chained, both come straight from the
>> phone box for the entire building.
>>
>> This is apparently called a bridge tap.
>> Effectively, it is delaying my DSL
>> installation. I want to deal with it now
>> without waiting weeks for the telco to take
>> action.
>>
>> What would happen if I open one of my two
>> phone jacks and short-circuit the wires?
>> Strictly technical, forget the legal aspects.

Bridged extensions are not the same thing as a bridge tap. A bridge tap
occurs when one cable is spliced into another to break out cable pairs
that will appear in more than one location but it usually causes
attenuation and raises the impedance of the line. Taps can be broken
but it is usually an expensive proposition.

--
g