** Rob Malpass <rob@???> [2007-10-08 20:07]:
> Does anyone know how ADSL broadband works with phone extensions?
>
> I have two phone points on the same BT line. Trouble is - the extension has been very professionally fitted - there's no indication as to which is which (i.e. which is the master socket and which is the slave). There's no socket coupler fitted to either point and the cable runs under the floorboards - and the wife won't let me investigate!
>
> As such, which (if not both) do I need to fit the microfilter(s) to? And if I only fit a filter to one, will the other be usable for calls?
>
> Hope I've explained that clearly enough - and sorry if this is ADSL for beginners but I'm stumped.
** end quote [Rob Malpass]
The short answer is both :)
The long answer goes a little like this:
Microfilters are used to protect standard telephone equipment from the
ADSL signal, which in theory could damage it (although I've not actually
had personal experience of that). This means that you don't technically
need a microfilter on the socket you are connecting the ADSL equipment
to, although you generally do since you either want to connect a phone
or extension as well, or the connector for the ADSL cable isn't a
standard BT one (and the microfilter is a convenient adapter).
Where you might have an interest in which is the master socket is if you
want to connect the ADSL equipment directly to it to reduce the signal
loss over the extension. In this case if you connect the extensions off
the filtered side of the microfilter then they won't need additional
filters.
As an aside, and with the proviso that I'm not a telephone engineer, you
may find that you can work out which is the master by removing the
faceplates. If you have a fairly modern socket the faceplate often is in
two parts. The back is hard wired, but has a socket on it onto which a
front section fits. This allows the extension to be wired inside the
box, but after the bit you're not supposed to touch. It also means that
you can get an ADSL microfilter that replaces the front section of the
faceplate. Somthing like this:
http://www.adslnation.com/products/xte2005.php
and the guide in PDF format linked of that has a better picture to
illustrate the two section box with faceplate.
--
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